Artist Builds A Six Million-Matchstick Model Monastery

January 18, 2012

[img]http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/gizmodo/2012/01/monastary.jpg[/img]

[img]http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/images/4/2012/01/xlarge_b98a79c98f80d9a90262c5a1b556f6fa.jpg[/img]

[img]http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/images/4/2012/01/xlarge_1fb728bb1041eca6cdc62a429d1a89f5.jpg[/img]

[b]original monastery[/b]

[img]http://cache.gizmodo.com/assets/images/4/2012/01/xlarge_33afb4eb98c583996b17407c9b62ac52.jpg[/img]

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Michelangelo spent only three years carving[i][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_(Michelangelo)"]David[/url][/i]. Da Vinci's depiction of [i][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Supper_(Leonardo_da_Vinci)"]The Last Supper[/url][/i] required just three. This giant model of the Rila Monastery by Bulgarian artist Plamen Ignatov demanded 16 years of dedication.[/size][/font][font=Georgia, Times,][size=4]
Officially known as the Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila, it is Bulgaria's largest Eastern Orthodox monastery and the second-largest temple in the world, behind the Orthodox Church of Mount Athos in Greece. It was founded in the 10th century—reportedly growing from a cave that housed the monastery's founder. After being rebuilt at the end of the 15th century, it long served as a repository for Bulgarian culture during times of foreign occupation—including nearly 500 years of Ottoman rule. The Rila Monastery is now protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site and receives nearly a million visitors annually.[/size][/font][font=Georgia, Times,][size=4]
The model is currently on display in the Bulgarian capitol of Sofia at the National Archaeological Museum.[/size][/font]