A saint, a monk, a rock: Bulgaria's euro coin designs

The motifs are already on the lev, the currency Bulgaria adopted 1881 and which is named after an archaic word meaning "lion".

- Rider of independence -

The Madara Rider, a rock relief created at the beginning of the eighth century during the first years of the formation of the Bulgarian state, graces the one, two, five, 10, 20 and fifty-cent euro coins.

The art work, showing a knight triumphing over a lion, is carved into a cliff near the village of Madara in northeast Bulgaria. The site has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979.

- Patron saint -

The one-euro coin features Bulgarian patron saint John of Rila (c. 876–946), regarded as the founder of the Rila Monastery, the largest in the country.

He is said to have become a hermit in the mountains and to have lived in the hollow of a centuries-old tree.

- Monk who wrote key work -

The two-euro coin features Paisius of Hilandar (1722–c. 1773), a monk of the Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos who wrote a key work of Bulgaria's national revival.

The edge of the coin bears the inscription: "God protect Bulgaria".

(AFP)