Troyan (independent) Monastery is the largest monastery in Northern Bulgaria and third in the country. It was founded in the early 15th century. It is located 9 km southeast of Troyan, in the valley of the Cherni Osam.

The monastery was a center of Bulgarian education and literature. Here, in 1765, the first monastic school was founded, and in 1869, it grew into a secular where children from nearby villages were educated.

In 1871, Vasil Levski founded the country's only monastic Revolutionary Committee in the monastery.

Murals in the monastery church are a work of the famous Renaissance artist Zachary Zograf. With its architecture, woodcarvings and decorative art (icons, frescoes) the monastery has influence on the crafts development in Troyan and the Troyan region - pottery, woodcarving.

Except as religious, educational and rebellious center, the monastery is known for its advanced agriculture, livestock and especially fruit growing, in particular plum cultures. Brothers monks produced plum brandy with enviable quality. In 1894, they were involved in Anverskata exhibition (Belgium) with brandy own production and had been awarded a bronze medal and a diploma.

Indeed, the plum brandy produced in the Troyan Monastery is of high quality, with good taste with the scent of natural ripe Troyan plums and amber colour.

Except the ordinary plum brandy, the monks also produce a different plum brandy called Burenovka which contains forty herbs (weeds) picked in the mountains near St. John Chapel This is brandy monastery’s specialty. Except the qualities of ordinary monastery brandy, it has delicious taste, the smell of ripe plums and the scent of herbs that are put into it.