The monastery is located 7 km from Veliko Târnovo, on the left bank of the river Iantra, near the town of Samovodene, being at the beginning a metat of the Vatodedia monasteries in Sveta Gora. This is the largest monastery in the region, being founded by Tsar Ivan Shisman and his mother, Theodora-Sara, in the fourteenth century. The historical sources recall it as the monastery of Shisman or Sara. It is the fourth largest in the country. After the fall of Târnovo under Ottoman rule, in 1393, the monastery was immediately burned down. It was rebuilt by the monk Zotih in 1825, in a rectangular shape. The monastery church was built by Dimitar Sofianliata in 1834, and after its death the works were resumed by Kolio Ficeto and Ivan Barnata, in 1837. It has three apses, shape of a cross and a dome. Kolio Ficeto builds the bell tower, and later, in 1863, the small church is built over the old chapel. The interior and exterior painting was done by another great master, Zaharii Zograf from the Samokov School, in 1851. Extremely interesting and valuable is the calendar painted with the Wheel of Life. Inside the monastery there is an exhibition with extremely valuable manuscripts and books.