The Monastery of The Holy Forty Martyrs near the village of Merdanya stood within the boun­daries of a nearby fort, connected with the victory of Tsar Ivan Assen II over the Byzantines at Klokotnitsa in 1230.
The buildings of the present monastery are situated within the boundaries of an old Turkish farm, rebuilt by the well-known restorer of Kapinovo Monastery, Hadji Kesarius Horozov from Elena in 1856. He became an abbot at the age of 34, and died in 1893.