Once upon a time, there was a species of deer that had a white crescent on its gray chest and its neck was like a bull’s. That’s why these deer were called “gushovtsi”.
Legend tell that on the feast of the monastery every year a deer came voluntarily to be slaughtered. Once the deer was very late, he arrived, but he was very tired and thirsty, white foam came out of his mouth because he came from afar. The monks hurried to slaughter him, left him to rest and drink water. From that moment on, deer didn’t come to the feast of the monastery.
A sequel to this legend says that as soon as a deer was slaughtered from the forest, a voice was heard: “This kingdom will fall and another kingdom will come.” After this incident, Bulgaria fell under Turkish rule.
The legend of the voluntary slaughter of a deer is a Thracian legend. There are such legends in different parts of Bulgaria. They are all repeated many times, but the source is the Thracians and the legend is Thracian. And this shows us that in this place, before there was a Christian church and monastery and there was a Thracian sanctuary. And even earlier, because 20 meters around the cross in a circle around the monastery there is a large trench, which is a symbol of the sun.