Located in Ohrid’s old town, Plaosnik is an utterly unique phenomenon:
it was recently reconstructed, with loving attention to detail, precisely
in the style of a Byzantine church, right down to the red bricks and mortar.
An early Christian sacral building dating from the
5th century was discovered here, built over the remains
of an older antique building whose cistern was found in
the atrium of the newly built temple.
Today, Plaosnik is one of the most exhilarating Byzantine-style churches in Macedonia.
Its floor is covered with mosaics of twenty wave-shaped tassel interspersed with the
figures of flowers, birds and animals. The very fact of its reconstruction is evidence
of the strong affection Macedonians still feel for their Byzantine heritage.
St Jovan Bigorski
St. Jovan Bigorski is a 19th century monastery
standing on the slopes of Debar’s Mt. Bistra, above the
banks of the River Radika. While relatively new,
St. Jovan was constructed over the remains of an older
church dating from 1021.
Built on a steep slope surrounded by dense woods and rocky hills,
St Jovan is reminiscent of the cliff top monasteries of Mt. Athos in Greece.
Since the monastery is dedicated to St. John the Baptist,
the faithful believe that icons with his image are blessed
with a miraculous healing power.
The monastery also has a small silver coffin containing
alleged relics of St. John. The monastery complex includes
a dining room and old monastic dormitory, a tower, a charnel
house, and two fountains spilling over with fresh mountain water.
St Naum - Ohrid
The monastery of St Naum, set amidst lush verdure where
the River Crn Drim tumbles into the lake, is a refuge of t
ranquility at the very corner of the Macedonian Republic. S
ituated 29 km (18 m) from the town of Ohrid, and only 1 kil
ometer (0.6 m) from the Albanian border, the monastery brin
gs the Macedonian experience to a dramatic culmination.
As with most Byzantine churches, St. Naum
was chosen primarily for its location – on a high,
rocky outcropping over the lake, above deep forests
and the life-giving springs of the Crn Drim. The monastic complex
and church of St. Naum were built
originally at the turn of the tenth century by the monk of the same
name; Macedonians believe you
can hear the saint’s heartbeat by pressing an ear to his stone coffin
inside the church.
The monastery has been renewed and enlarged several times over
the centuries. While most of its iconostases and frescoes date
from the 16th and 17th centuries, earlier etchings in the Byzantine
Greek vernacular also remain. But numerous orthographical mistakes
indicate that they were written by Slavic-speaking local monks. Other
inscriptions in the church make up some of the oldest epigraphic evidence
of Slavic literacy.
The icons of St. Naum are among the best
achievements of religious painting in the Balkans.
They date from the first half of the 18th century.
The wood-carved iconostasis itself was made in 1711 by an unknown artisan.
A final unusual element of St. Naum is
located not on the inside of the church but on the outside:
the preponderance of multi-colored peacocks strutting around
and luxuriating in the grass.
ARCHEOLOGY
Antique Theater – Ohrid
The builders of Ohrid’s ancient theater calculated carefully
when they put the building in the very center of the elevated
old town. The open theater has a perfect location, as the two hills
(Gorni Saraj and Deboj) keep it protected from winds that could
interfere with acoustics during performances.
Discovered by accident and later completely excavated,
this four-thousand square meter monument to Antique Greco-Roman
culture is today used during the Ohrid Summer Festival
for performances of ancient tragedies and comedies.
It offers a wonderful view of the lake and Mt. Galicica to the southeast.
Heraclea - Bitola
Famous for its dazzling mosaics, ancient theater and Roman baths,
Heraclea is the most vividly preserved city from the Ancient Macedonian
empire surviving in the country.
Founded in the 4th century B.C.E. and conquered by the
Romans two centuries later, it was built on the Via Egnatia
and became one of the key stations on this trading route.
From the 4th-6th centuries C.E. Heraclea also had an Episcopal seat.
The first excavations were done before the First World War, but only
since then have the full glories of the ancient city been revealed.
Beautiful Roman baths, the Episcopal church and baptistery,
a Jewish temple, portico and a Roman theater now used for
summer concerts and theater shows all survive in excellent condition.
