Batuliya village is located about 16 km southeast of Svoge and 36 km north of Sofia. The village of Batuliya can be reached by car from the capital via Road II-16 along the Iskar Gorge to the village of Rebrovo (40 min), and then a right turn for another 6 km. The territory of the village of Batuliya is 23 sq. km and borders with the lands of the villages of Svoge Municipality – Lukovo, Rebrovo, Redina, Bukovets and Bakyovo. The average altitude of the village of Batuliya is 810 m. The population of the village, according to data from 2013, is 105 inhabitants. The feast of the village is on June 2, and a village kurban is made there on May 6.
Tourism
St. Nicholas the Wonderworker Monastery is a functioning monastery of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, part of the Sofia Mala Sveta Gora. It is located on the right bank of the Batuliyska River. The monastery is reached by foot or by car along a black steep road to the right of the anti-fascist monument in the center of the village (1 km). A memorial plaque on the wall of the inn at the monastery cloister reports that the building was built in 1913 during the reign of Exarch Joseph and the Sofia metropolitan bishop Parteniy. The monastery complex consists of a church, two electrified and water-supplied residential buildings, a stone fountain and a bell tower. The church, with Saint Nicolas the Wonderworker as a patron, is one-nave and one-apse, without a dome. To the right of the church is the temple where clergy are buried. The yard of the church is dominated by an impressive vertical rock, which ends with the Stara Planina hill on which the monastery was built. At the top of the rock is a large metal vowel cross. On 29.10.2011 the church of the monastery was donated with a unique ceramic icon of St. Nicholas, 45×71 cm, a gift from the master ceramist Lucy – Lyudmila Doychinova and her husband Sergi. After mounting on a metal base, the icon has been placed on the outer wall in place of the old one.
There are no wall paintings in the church, but its walls are decorated with icons. Against the iconostasis there are beautiful church candlesticks. To the right of the iconostasis there is a beautiful wood-carved Archirian throne with the icons of Jesus Christ and St. Nicholas. Next to it is the great baptismal cup, in which the sacrament baptism takes place. The temple feast of the monastery is on December 6 – Nikulden.
For many years, Father Stefan has been taking care of the monastery and the area. An honored and convincing cleric, he is the embodiment of an Orthodox priest. Near people, with the people and for the people through God. You can contact Father Stefan by phone: 0889727689. The monastery also offers accommodation.
Another place for accommodation in the village of Batuliya is the Tsarskata Villa family hotel. It is situated on a sunny slope 100 meters above the Batuliyska River, amidst a beautiful oak forest. It was built in 1942 by a former employee of Tsar Boris III, on a land donated personally by the monarch, from where it bears its name. Rural legends tell how often it was a bay of officers and royal clerks of the then society. After September 9, it was nationalized and offered as a present by the local party giants to Todor Zhivkov, but he declined. After many years of ruin, the villa was renovated and rebuilt in 2008, and its location between the tall oak trees provides coolness during the hot summer months. The villa is an ideal starting point for hunting and fishing, for walking in the mountains, as well as for lovers of wild mushrooms and herbs. The surroundings of Batuliya are a well-known mushroom area. The villa offers 10 beds in total.
Sources:
Svoge Municipality Newsletter, by materials by Julia Dikova and the Internet