Things to see and do Eastern Macedonia

This Orthodox chapel (Испосница Свети Прохор Пчињски/Isposnica Sveti Prohor Pčinjski) is linked to the origins of the Church of St. George. According to legend, while a Byzantine general was hunting here, a doe found refuge in this shelter of the hermit St. Prochorus of the Pčinja. The latter implored him to spare the animal, assuring him that one day he would become emperor. The hunter, crowned as Roman IV Diogenes in 1068, had the monastery erected here, later remodeled by Milutin.

This mosque (Татар Синан Бег Џамија/Tatar Sinan Beg Džamija, Xhamia e Sinan Pashës) is the oldest monument in the city. Named after the Ottoman dignitary who financed it, it was erected between 1520 and 1532. Despite several transformations, it retains its beautiful orange hues due to the stones from the valley of the Žegligovo, partly in neighboring Serbia. Today it is less used than the Great Mosque (Xhamia e Madhe), to the east, which dates from 2022, and the New Mosque (Xhamia e Re), to the southeast, built in 2020 with two minarets.

This Orthodox church (Црква Свети Ѓорѓи/Crkva Sveti Gjorgji) is a masterpiece of Serbo-Byzantine art. It was founded on the site of a Byzantine monastery of the ^eleventh century by the Serbian king Milutin in 1313. He dedicated it to "St. George the Victorious" after his victory against the Ottomans in Gallipoli, near Constantinople. The interior is decorated with remarkable frescoes made between 1313 and 1318 by the two great Greek painters Michaïl Astrapas and Eutychios, to whom we owe the decoration of several churches listed as World Heritage by Unesco, including Ohrid. Although the building has lost its exonarthex (porch), it is well preserved. Its very compact form comes from the previous church of Byzantine-Armenian style, which was built by Armenian craftsmen who fled to Kratovo. In the narthex (vestibule), above the door, the scene of the dormition of the Mother of God appears in the form of a procession. This dynamic effect is very rare, since the dormition is most often a static lamentation. Also in the narthex, the lower part of the north wall houses the damaged portrait of Milutin, who symbolically offers the church to Saint George. To the left stands Simona Palaeologus, the king's fourth wife, who was reputedly very beautiful. Behind this almost unique presentation of the royal couple lies a sordid story. The Byzantine princess was married to Milutin at the age of 5. The union was quickly "consummated" and this rape later prevented Simone from having children.

Dragon tamed. Following the narthex, the naos is covered with frescoes in seven registers. The third is dedicated to St. George: his martyrdom before the walls of Nicomedia, his miracles (including the fall of "pagan" statues), or the episode of the dragon, very particular. Here, the monster has not been struck down but tamed and is held in check by the princess who has just been saved. In the fourth register, the cycle of the Passion of Christ is of interest to musicologists: above the destruction of the idols by Saint George appears the oldest known representation of a modern recorder. Finally, in the sanctuary, the iconostasis retains its original marble structure and two irremovable icons of St. George and the Mother of God, known as Pelagonitissa. The latter, with the Child contorting himself against his loving Mother, is the most famous of a genre that is especially widespread in Pelagonia, around Bitola.

This pedestrian square (Плоштад Слобода) forms the center of Štip. It took its present form in the 1970s and is not conspicuous for its beauty. It concentrates administrative buildings, including the post office, cafes, fast food and some shops. Nearby are two landmark buildings: the bezistan (30 m to the northwest) and the clock tower (120 m to the north). Both are accessible through passages through the buildings. To the south, towards the Otinja, the square is adorned with a rather ugly statue of Alexander the Great (2010).

Dating from 1851, this cathedral (Соборен Срам Свети Никола) is the seat of the Kumanovo-Osogovo Eparchy of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. It was designed by Andreja Damjanov, to whom we owe the Cathedral Church of St. Panteleimon in Veles. The visit is especially worthwhile for the gallery of icons, mostly from the ^19th century, coming from churches and monasteries threatened with theft in the region. Beautiful icons by the great masters Dičo Zograf, Veno Kostov and Yosif Mazhovski.

This 4.2 ^km2 artificial lake (Езеро Калиманци) was created on the Bregalnica River in 1969 to irrigate the vast rice fields of the Kočani region and to power a small power plant near the dam to the south. Located at 510 m above sea level, it is 14 km long and about 300 m wide. It is not developed in any way, but one can swim in it in summer (the water is 20 °C then) on the way to Delčevo. In the northern part, the town of Makedonska Kamenica/Македонска Каменица (about 4,000 inhabitants) offers beautiful views of the lake.

This strange stone wall (Ѓаволски Ѕид/Gjavolski Zid) is a natural geological formation located at 235 m above sea level, in the small Bogoslovec massif, above the Bregalnica River. Over a length of 300-400 m, limestone and sandstone blocks rise up to form a vertical wall which, in its most impressive part, is 5 m high and 2.5 m wide. This phenomenon is due to various factors, including erosion. The site is associated with many legends and theories: fortress of Alexander the Great, intervention of extraterrestrials..

This 57 ha artificial lake (Беровско Езеро) was created in 1970 with the construction of a 60 m high dam on the small Klepaska River. Located at 990 m above sea level and surrounded by beech and pine forests, it is highly developed in the northern part with several roads and many accommodations including three hotels (Aurora, Bistra and VIP Berovo) and rental villas. Some owners rent or lend mountain bikes that allow you to go around the lake. On the way, we meet small producers offering their honey and mountain herbs.

Located on top of a hill, 485 m above sea level, this monument (Спомен Костурница Зебрњак/Spomen Kosturnica Zebrnjak) has dominated the entire plain northeast of Kumanovo since 1937. It houses the (clearly visible) bones of about 400 Serbian soldiers who died during the Battle of Kumanovo on October 23-24, 1912. This decisive confrontation of the First Balkan War provoked a vast retreat of the Ottomans. The ossuary originally consisted of a stone tower 48.5 m high. This was knocked down by the Bulgarian army in 1942.

This 4,000^m2 pedestrian square (Плоштад Нова Југославија/Ploštad Nova Jugoslavija) is the center of the city. Despite a project to rename it in 2015, it retains its name inherited from socialist Yugoslavia. Here you can find the pleasant Art Paris brewery, the two-towered building of the House of Crafts (1930) or the statue of Batko Gjorgija (2006), a great figure of local folklore. Just to the southeast is the second city esplanade, Maršal-Tito Square.

This 39.5 m high waterfall (Смоларски Водопад/Smolarski Vodopad) is located near the village of Smolari (300 inhabitants), 580 m above sea level, along Mount Beles. This is the Smolarska River, which then joins the Strumica. The place is equipped with a platform and a small market in summer. This is also where the 13.4 km long trail from Smolari to Mount Tumba (1,881 m above sea level), at the junction of Northern Macedonia, Bulgaria and Greece, runs. The route takes two days with overnight stay at the Šarena Češma/Шарена Чешма hut.

This ruined fortress (Тврдина Исар/Tvrdina Isar) offers a beautiful panorama. Placed on a hilltop plateau, 360 m above sea level, it overlooks the city to the west, but also the confluence of the Bregalnica and Otinja rivers to the south, from a height of 100 m. The site was permanently occupied from the ^3rd century BC by miners. They exploited an iron deposit on the site. The plateau was then equipped with a wall defending an area of 7 ha. Later, in the Middle Ages, when the deposit was exhausted, only a part of the plateau was used. The Bulgarian and Byzantine empires succeeded one another here and built powerful walls, in some places more than 1.50 m wide. These are partly preserved as well as the remains of a keep. Two necropolises, one ancient, the other medieval, have also been discovered, as well as a basilica and a cistern. The site was occupied again by the Serbs in the ^14th century, then abandoned by the Ottomans in the ^17th century. The road that leads there stops in front of the necropolis of the partisans of the Second World War dating from 1974. It is marked by beautiful stone blocks carved by the Serbian designer Bogdan Bogdanović (1922-2010). Then you have to climb a long series of steps to reach the top. The most courageous can make the whole climb on foot: a path starts in the city and passes by the beautiful church of Archangel Michael erected in 1332. But this one lost its frescoes when it was transformed into mosque.

This Orthodox monastery (Лесновски Манастир/Lesnovski Manastir) forms a beautiful ensemble around a ^14th-century Serbo-Byzantine church. Enjoying a superb environment, on the southwestern slope of Mount Osogovo and in the center of an ancient volcano crater, it is located in the hamlet of Lesnovo. This one counts only about twenty inhabitants, all Macedonians, but one finds there a small museum and several restaurants. The monastery is dedicated to the archangel Michael and to the holy hermit Gabriel of Lesnovo. It is to the latter that the foundation of the complex is attributed in the ^11th century. The region was then isolated and populated by hermits, including John of Rila, Prohor of Pčinja and Joachim of Osogovo who left to found various monasteries and played an important role in the religious history of the Balkans. For example, John of Rila is considered the patron saint of Bulgaria. Among this group of the "four brothers" of Osogovo, Gabriel of Lesnovo stayed on and probably formed a small community here. But it is only in 1330 that the monastery is mentioned for the first time. Eleven years later, in 1341, it was completely restored by the powerful Serbian lord Jovan Oliver Grčinić (c. 1310-1356), an influential member of the court of Emperor Stefan Dušan.

Frescoes and rock chapels. Several times remodeled, the complex was long renowned for its scriptorium, a copyist's workshop that disseminated texts until the ^mid-19th century throughout the Balkans. Today, the monastery is composed of buildings from different periods, including a chapel built in 2016, but the main feature of the monastery is the catholicon, a beautiful main church built between 1341 and 1349. This houses part of the original frescoes, among which is a whole series of portraits: Jovan Oliver Grčinić and his wife Marija, the archangel Michael on a horse, the hermit saints Gabriel of Lesnovo, Prohor of the Pčinja and Joachim of Osogovo and, in majesty, even dominating Christ, the emperor Dušan and his wife Helena of Bulgaria. Other scenes appear such as the dormition of the Mother of God, the healing of the paralytic, the archangel Michael saving Thessaloniki from the Saracens in the ^10th century and even a scene of kolo, the typical circle dance of the Balkan Slavs. In addition, along the road leading to the hamlet, about 1 km to the south, are still visible three caves used by hermits in the ^14th century and transformed into rock chapels. On the spot, an explanatory panel in English indicates the access.

This small museum (Музеј на Град Виница) belongs to the town of Vinica with a population of about 8,500. Founded in 2006, it is worth a visit for its amazing collection of terracotta objects from the nearby fortress and other sites from different periods. In particular, it possesses very rare Christian terracotta icons from the^{5th to the7th} centuries. But the most famous of these "Vinica icons", which represents the Old Testament characters Joshua and Caleb, is in the Museum of Northern Macedonia, in Skopje... and on the 200 denar banknotes.

Founded in 1952, this museum (Музеј Струмица/Muzej Strumica) is very well presented compared to what you see elsewhere in the country: good lighting, detailed English explanations... Housed in a former Jewish school, it houses Neolithic and ancient artifacts, church frescoes, glazed ceramics and jewelry from the Middle Ages, an ethnographic collection (beautiful men's costume), weapons from the ^twentieth century... Since it is a "national institution" in charge of local heritage, there is information here about almost all the sites to visit in the region.

This site (Археолошки Локалитет Баргала) contains the remains of the Roman and Byzantine city of Bargala, founded in the late ^4th century and abandoned during the ^7th century invasions. The bases of an enclosure wall, baths, stores and workshops are visible, as well as those of a triple-naved basilica, four columns of which have been raised. To the south-east of the site, the two domes of the beautiful church of Saint George, built during the Bulgarian Empire in the ^9th or ^10th century, are also visible.

This site (Виничко Кале) houses the ruins of an important Byzantine fortress of the ^5th-7th centuries. It is located on a hill, 450 m above sea level, and overlooks the town of Vinica from 70 m high. We can see the bases of 3 m thick walls, numerous buildings and a Christian basilica. The place was occupied before the Byzantines and again after them. But it is the Byzantines who left the most significant traces here, in particular the famous "Vinica icons" in terracotta, discovered in the necropolis of the fortress in 1978.

This museum (Музеј на Град Штип) is the largest, richest and best presented in Eastern Macedonia. Founded in 1950, it is housed in the former complex of the Arsovi family, which dates back to the ^19th century. In the building to the left of the ticket office is the beautiful archaeological collection. Here you can see the ceramics of the Anzabegovo-Vršnik culture, which developed in the Bregalnica Valley between Kočani and Štip from 5300 to 4200 BCThis is also where most of the finds from the sites of Bargala and the Isar fortress are grouped: for example, statuettes of Greek deities from the Roman period, but also rarer objects left by the Avars who invaded the region in the ^6th century. A small ethnological exhibition is relegated to a room in the basement. The second building, to the right of the ticket office, houses the history department, which focuses on the revolt movements of the ^19th century and the wars of the ^20th century. One part is dedicated to the city's Jewish community, which was wiped out by the Holocaust in 1943. Štip has only one Jewish family left. It also has an old Jewish cemetery, just above the municipal cemetery, 3 km southwest of the center. A memorial to Jewish victims has stood next to the museum since 1985. In addition, the museum has two other collections: icons in the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God (Novo Selo district, 1.4 km east) and works of art in the bezistan.

This lovely little Orthodox monastery (Манастир Свети Архангел Михаил) was founded in 1840 from a church dating from 1818. Around a neat lawn, the buildings adopt the čardak style with exposed beams and woodwork. The church is half sunken into the ground: the Ottomans then required new churches to be discreet, especially in urban areas like this. The nuns who occupy the place are generally very welcoming with the visitors.

Located in a small and poor Turkish neighborhood, this Orthodox monastery (Манастирот на Светите Петнаесет Тивериополски Свештеномаченици/Manastirot na Svetite Petnaeset Tiveriopolski Sveštenomačenici) is home to a modern church (1974) that isn't beautiful at all. But it is more than worth a visit. Already, it has a remarkable collection of 66 icons from the Middle Ages to the ^19th century. Above all, the complex contains the well-preserved remains of a triple nave basilica from the ^6th century. It was built as a burial place for fifteen or sixteen Christian martyrs executed around 361-362, when the city was called Tiberiopolis ("the city of [the emperor] Tiberius" in Greek). This group was led by bishops Timothy and Theodore who had come from Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) to flee persecution in Asia Minor and convert the local population. They and their followers were put to death by order of the Roman authorities in Thessaloniki. Excavations conducted on site between 1972 and 2008 have uncovered a central tomb and 22 other graves, fragments of mosaic and the oldest fresco of North Macedonia representing some of the fifteen martyrs. The basilica was destroyed during the invasions of Slavs and Avars in the ^seventh century, rebuilt in the ninth and ^tenth centuries, then destroyed again in the ^fifteenth century, at the beginning of the Ottoman period. In the monastery complex, one can also enjoy the pleasant garden where turtles and peacocks live.

Dating from 1925, this cathedral (Католичка Катедрална/Katolika Katedralna) is the seat of the Macedonian Greek Catholic Church, most of whose 11,000 faithful, of the Byzantine rite, reside in the Strumica area. Built of brick, it has a richly decorated ceiling and a large carved wooden iconostasis. Like the unfinished Orthodox cathedral in Strumica, it is dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God (Успение на Пресвета Богородица).

This beautiful Orthodox monastery (Водочки Mанастир/Vodočki Manastir) is located in the village of Vodoča (300 inhabitants). Dedicated to St. Leone of Tripoli, it was founded in 1018 by the Byzantine Emperor Basil II, just after the defeat of the Bulgarian Empire. Occupied by nuns renowned for their icons, the complex has four churches rebuilt over the centuries. The catholicon preserves the marble floor of a basilica of the ^5th-6th century, the apse of a church of the ^9th-10th century and some frescos of another of the ^14th century, destroyed by an earthquake in 1931.

Founded in 1964, this museum (Музеј Куманово) is housed in a villa dating from 1926. The entrance is through the garden, where medieval stelae with Old Slavic inscriptions are presented. The departments of archaeology and history occupy the first floor: objects from the site of Kokino (near Staro Nagoričane), beautiful collection of pre-Roman jewelry, photos of the revolts of the ^twentieth century, etc. Upstairs, the ethnology department: costumes, jewelry, pottery and everyday objects from the ^19th-20th centuries. We regret the lack of explanations in English.

Nestled in a lush forest 850 meters above sea level, this Orthodox monastery (Осоговски Манастир/Osogovski Manastir) is one of the most beautiful in the country. While its catholicon (main church) dates from the ^19th century, the complex itself was founded in the ^12th century in honor of St. Joachim of Osogovo, a hermit renowned for his miracles who lived in the area in the ^11th century. The complex was remodeled by the Serbian king Stefan Dečanski in the 1320s and became a major center for literary dissemination. Most of the buildings were destroyed in an earthquake in 1585, rebuilt with Russian assistance, and then damaged again in the ^18th century. Abandoned for nearly a century, the monastery was reborn in 1847 under the impetus of a Muslim patron from Kriva Palanka who first built a short-lived mosque, then rebuilt the catholicon in 1851. The conception of this one is entrusted to Andreja Damjanov, to whom we owe notably the church-cathedral of Veles. Here, the architect saw big and was inspired by the Serbo-Byzantine style to build a structure with three naves topped by seven domes.

A real small hotel. Dedicated to Saint Joachim of Osogovo, the church was placed under the protection of Sultan Abdülhamid II, who stayed at the monastery during a military campaign in 1884. This is evidenced by the column supported by props and decorated with a turban-shaped sculpture placed near the church porch. The church houses a small part of the relics of the holy hermit (on the right as you enter), a large iconostasis and large colorful frescoes by the Veles painter Dimitar Papradiški between 1884 and 1932. But it is more the monastery as a whole that is worth visiting, with its buildings, chapels, stairways, gardens, fountains and terraces offering magnificent views of Mount Ruen, to the southeast, the peak of the Osogovo massif, at an altitude of 2,251 meters. Another interest: the monks propose here a real small hotel in a superb old dormitory with a restaurant and six simple but comfortable rooms (Wifi, heating and private bathroom). Of course, the restaurant closes at 7 pm and you have to book for lunch, dinner and breakfast, but few monasteries in the Balkans offer such comfort. The place is ideal for exploring the surrounding hiking trails. However, if you want to be quiet, it is better to avoid staying here in August, when there are many visitors, especially around August 29, the feast day of St. Joachim of Osogovo.