The most beautiful religious buildings Eastern Macedonia

Founded in 1080, this Orthodox monastery (Вељушки Mанастир/Veljuški Manastir) is located 400 m above the village of Veljusa (population 1,500). Dedicated to the Mother of God Eleousa ("of compassion"), it houses a community of nuns, a garden with boxwood lined paths and various buildings that have been rebuilt many times. The catholicon (main church) preserves elements of the ^eleventh century: fragments of mosaic, marble iconostasis and some frescoes, including that of Christ Emmanuel in the dome. Beautiful views over the plain of Strumica.

Set on a peak 1,005 m above sea level, this Orthodox monastery (Матеички Манастир/Mateički Manastir, Manastiri i Mateçit) is one of the most precious in the country. Alas, it was severely vandalized during the Albanian uprising of 2001. Founded in 1057 by the Byzantine emperor Isaac ^I, the complex was restored by the Serbian kings Stefan Dušan and Stefan Uroš V between 1300 and 1357. Dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God (Успение на Пресвета Богородица/Uspenie na Presveta Bogorodica), it was a major monastic center in the ^15th century, before gradually falling into disrepair, until its revival in the 1920s. In the meantime, the lead from the roof was removed in the ^18th century to cover the Sinan Tatar Bey mosque in Kumanovo. But the most significant damage was caused by members of the KLA-M in 2001. Since then, little work has been undertaken. The annex buildings remain in ruins. As for the elegant catholicon (main church), if it seems in a correct state from the outside, it has lost most of its frescoes. Only a cycle of the Dormition of the Mother of God and the portrait of King Dušan with his wife Helena and their son Uroš V are well preserved. The church also preserves a Greek inscription about the foundation in the ^11th century. Located between the Skopska Crna Gora massif (Skopje region) and the Žegligovo valley (Kumanovo region), the monastery is in the municipality of Matejče (Mateç/Mateçi in Albanian), which has a population of about 2,900, almost all of whom are Albanian since the 2001 conflict.

Founded in th s. by the Local and local saint Gabriel of Lesnovo (sveti Gavril Lesnovski), this orthodox monastery is dedicated to the archangel Saint Michel. The current monastery was erected in 1341 by the powerful Serbian knight Jovan Oliver, influential member of Emperor Stefan Dušan's courtyard. Today he is famous for his iconostasis carved wooden between 1811 and 1814 by Frckovski and the Filiposki brothers. The visit also applies to the church mosaic and frescoes. It was one of the main intellectual centres of the Slavic Orthodox church in the Middle Ages, renowned for the quality of its scribes. One of the oldest written papers recounted the life of Gabriel de Lesnovo. Another historical character, the monk Stanislav founded a calligraphy school there. He had many disciples, and Lesnovo became an important literary center, then during the Ottoman period, a shelter for revolutionaries and liberation groups fighting for the freedom of Macedonia.

Zletovica de Probištip organizes guided visistes of the monastery and the village of Lesnovo. Information from Aleksandar Mihajlovski, ✆ + 389 32 48 32 56, [email protected]. It is possible to stay in the old village school.

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.

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 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 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.

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.