bout 200 square meters is the total area of the wall paintings of the chapel dedicated to St. Nicholai. This is the northern chapel of the Rila Monastery Temple. The wall paintings are painted by Dimitar Zograph, the Samokov master icon-painter. Now the restorers are processing every square centimeters of the original valuable images that are heavily smoked, and in places they are also threatened by penetrating dampness.

Prof. Stefan Tapanov, head of the restoration team says that the most important is to fix the murals, to reinforce all those parts of the paintings that are in very bad condition, reported the Bulgarian National Television.

Bisser Lazarov, lecturer at the "Restoration" Department of the Academy of Art says the team is amazed at the high quality of the work of the old masters. They are Athenian alumni, besides the skilled hand of the artists, we see a virtuosity, he added.

The brilliance of part of the murals has already been restored, and their theological and historical content can be seen. Most of the scenes that are painted are related to the life of St. Nicholai, the Wonderworker.

In addition to the restoration of the murals, a repair of the eastern wing of the monastery is expected to begin because the walls have dangerous cracks.