Monasteries

The Monastery of St. Sthephen is situated on the southeast end of the complex of the Meteora rocks, right above the town of Kalambaka and it is the only monastery that one can visit without using stairs because the approach can done by a small bridge.

The view from the balcony of the monastery is magnificent. Down in the valley lies Kalambaka and further away the Peneios river.

Since 1961 this monastery is nunnery with a large and active sisterhood, who along with the rich spiritual and charitable work, can show a remarkable renovating abd building activity in the monastery. An old tradition connects this monastery with female monasterism. The Swede traveller Jonas Bjornstahl, who visited St. Stephen on 3 April 1779, notes certain things for the monastery which he probably had heard by monks and nearby residents: "At the begining this monastery was for women who loved quietism but later became abandoned until re-inhabited by monks".

The history of the early years of the monastery is lost in the past, covered by the mist of the legends abd traditions as it happens with the history of the most monasteries.