Photos

The bell/clock tower of Panteleimonos Monastery in Mount Athos in Greece. Panteleimonos is inhabited exclusively by Russian monks. Panteleimonos started out as a Greek monastery when it was established in the 13th century, with the monks being Greek and Russian, with the later being the majority since 1497. By 1875 there were only Russian monks, so it is since formally regarded as a Russian monastery. In the monastery there are many portable icons, heirlooms and liturgical vestments. The library contains 1320 Greek and 600 Slavic manuscripts and over 20,000 Greek and Russian books. The monastery in inhabited by a brotherhood of 40 monks.

As a result of its dual heritage, this monastery has both Greek and Russian architectural elements. The bellfry in particular was built in the 18th century and it houses the biggest bell in the Balcans. It weights 12 tonns and it can be heard all the way to the neighbouring peninsula of Sithonia.