The most beautiful religious buildings Povadarie

This Orthodox monastery of Serbian origin (Манастирот Свети Димитрија/Manastirot Sveti Dimitrija) houses a beautiful ^13th-century church. This one is distinguished by its Byzantine architecture (cloisonné apparatus, beautiful brick patterns), but also by its bell tower added in the ^18th century on the narthex. In 2017, during a restoration, a fresco of the Last Judgment and another representing the founder - not identified - of the church were rediscovered under a layer of plaster.

Nestled against a cliff in the Badar Gorge, this small Orthodox monastery of Serbian origin (Кожленскиот Mанастир/Kožlenskiot Manastir) was founded in the ^14th century but completely rebuilt in 1918. The major interest is the access path that takes the "Stojan Bridge" (Стојанов Mост/Stojanov Most): an impressive 60 m long wooden and steel footbridge spanning the Pčinja. This structure was built in 2012 by Stojan Trajanovski, the janitor of the monastery. He and his wife sell fruits and vegetables at the top. Great views of the gorge.

Overlooking the old town since 1840, this three-aisled basilica (Црквата Свети Пантелејмон/Crkvata Sveti Pantelejmon) is the seat of the Macedonian Orthodox diocese of Povadaria. Thanks to its incredible acoustics, due to clay pots filling the space between double walls, it is nicknamed the "Scala de Veles". It was designed by Andreja Damjanov (1813-1878), a native of the region and considered one of the most important Balkan architects of the ^19th century. He was also responsible for the Osogovo monastery near Kriva Palanka, among others.

This Orthodox monastery (Полошки Манастир/Pologški Manastir) is occupied by a small community of Macedonian monks and houses remarkable frescoes from the ^14th century. It is only accessible by boat: since the impoundment of the artificial lake of Tikveš, the paths leading to it and the nearby village of Pološko are submerged. Dedicated to St. George the Victorious, the Byzantine-style catholicon (main church) enjoys a magnificent setting at the foot of Mount Višešnica and on the shore of what was then Crna Reka (today's lake). The complex was probably founded by Bulgarian monks in the ^9th century. But it owes its fame to the Serbian king, then emperor Stefan Dušan (1308-1355). In 1340, he had the catholicon built in honor of the "holy warrior" George to celebrate his victories against the Bulgars and the extension of his territory to the Aegean Sea. The kingdom of the Nemanjić dynasty was then at its peak, constituting for a short time the leading power in Europe. Out of devotion, Stefan Dušan donated the monastery and its outbuildings to the great Serbian monastic complex of Hilandar, on Mount Athos, in Greece. But in 1378, the monastery was entrusted to the Russian monks of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos by two Serbian nobles and brothers who were vassals of the Ottomans: Jovan Dragaš (c. 1343-1378), who ruled over the region of Kumanovo, and Konstantin Dragaš (c. 1350-1395), lord of Velbăžd, Bulgaria. All this appears in the inscriptions of the catholicon.

Frescoes and boat. The frescoes in the narthex (vestibule) were painted in 1608-1609. But most of them were done between 1343 and 1345. The most striking is the one depicting Stefan Dušan honored by St. George. He is surrounded by his wife Helena and their son, then 9-10 years old, the future Stefan Uroš V, known as "the Weak", who will make the Serbian Empire collapse in 1371. Below, another family portrait, painted around 1378, appears: that of Jovan Dragaš, with his wife, his son and his mother in nun's habit. In the nave, a fresco intrigues: we see Joseph threatening Mary. This could be an allegory of the bedtime at the court of King Dušan. Note also the carved wooden cross (1584) of the iconostasis (1679). To be able to admire this, you have to go to Resava, in the northeast of the lake. There, fishermen and boat owners offer their services. The crossing takes about 1h30 by normal boat and 15 minutes by fast boat. Prices vary from 1 200 to 4 000 MKD.

This triple-naved Orthodox church (Црква Свети Илија) is one of the only buildings in Dojran to survive the wars of the early ^20th century. Built by the Bulgarians in 1848, it was ravaged by fire in 1916, hit by artillery ... Bulgarian. Left without a roof for a century, it was restored and reopened for worship in 2020 with a completely white interior for the moment. A little higher up, the Greek church of Saint George (1911) remains in a state of ruin.

Located in the place called Manastir/Манастир ("monastery"), the ruins of this three-aisled basilica date from the early ^4th century. Local tradition has it that the apostle Paul, during his third journey to Macedonia (between 53 and 58), celebrated his first baptism at this very spot, at the confluence of the Vardar and Bošava rivers. Several buildings were subsequently built, destroyed and rebuilt. In the adjoining medieval necropolis, an icon carved in stone of St. John the Theologian from the ^10th-12th century was discovered in 1952 and is now on display in Skopje.