The exact date of the establishment of the monasteries is unknown. By the 12th century a community had created in Meteora. In the 14th century some monks came to Meteora from Mount Athos. The remoteness of the area was perfect for the monks, without them having any influence of political upheavals. At the end of the 14th century, when Turkish empire was taking over the Greek lands, the monks found inaccessible rock pillars of Meteora to be an ideal refuge. More than 20 monasteries were built, beginning in the 14th century. Six remain today. Original access to the monasteries was deliberately difficult, requiring either long ladders or large nets to haul up both goods and people. Of the six remaining monasteries, four are inhabited by men and two by women. Each monastery has less than 10 inhabitants. The monasteries are tourist attraction now.
The Monastery of St. Stephen (above) was built in 1192 - a fact which is confirmed by historians and scholars. It was damaged by Nazis during the WWII. Nuns took it over and reconstructed it.
The Monastery of All Saints Varlaam (above) is the second largest monastery. The first to live on the rock was the monk Varlaam, who built some cells there with a church around the year 1350. Later some brothers rebuilt on the ruins of the older buildings in 1518. The most impressive building of the Varlaam monastery is the central church of Katholikon. A large building, it is dedicated to All Saints. Supposedly, it housed the finger of St. John and the shoulder blade of St. Andrew.
The Monastery of Rousanou (above) was founded in 1288, still pending historical sources to be confirmed. In the mid 16th century the monastery was restored.
