Bistreshsky monastery was built in the first half of the XVI century, its patron saint is St. John the Evangelist. Due to the period of the desolation of the monastery during the Ottoman rule it was named in honor of St. John the desert. In 1928, at the rededication of the monastery was named after St. John of Rila.

Initially, the monastery was located not in the purpose-built building, and a few are located near each other caves where monks lived. On the west wall, one of them quite large in size, the unknown master wrote five scenes from the life of St. Demetrios. Unfortunately, these remarkable examples of old Bulgarian monumental painting of the early period of Ottoman rule is now almost completely destroyed. But on the few remaining fragments it shows that the painter was one of the most prominent representatives of the medieval Turnovo art school. The images preserved by inscriptions include the name of Dmitry, son of Dubova and the date - 1540 (most likely, at this time the holy abode has been restored).

In a rock high above the monastery is the monastic hermitage. Until recently, the walls could be seen painting depicting St. John of Rila.

In the era of the Ottoman occupation, the monastery served as a refuge for the rebels. Twice the building was destroyed at the initiative of the Turkish authorities and was subsequently rebuilt. The current monastery was established in XIX century.

The monastery church of St. John the Divine - a modest one-nave church with one apse in the altar area. On the roof of the tower is a low cylindrical shape, topped by a dome. In the past, the temple walls were decorated with frescoes, but they were later plastered. Retaining only the composition "Last Judgement" painted on the west wall at a time when the rector of the church was Joash monk from the neighboring village Ozirovo. Probably at the same time last update was carried out of the temple. It has survived carved wooden iconostasis of 1920, made tryavnenskim master Peter Minovym.

Bistreshsky monastery was an important spiritual center of Bulgaria in Vratsa. From preserved documents it is known that in the XVII century, there existed a workshop by injection of crosses made of precious metals.