SAINT-NICOLAS-DE-L'HÔPITAL CHURCH

Erected in 1313, this Orthodox church (Црква Свети Никола Болнички/Crkva Sveti Nikola Bolnički) was part of a complex housing a hospital that served as a quarantine place for travelers. A unique case in the country, a two-bay wall-belfry is directly integrated into the building: it is an influence of the Romanesque architecture of the Dalmatian coast, which was then, like Ohrid, under Serbian control. The frescoes date from the beginning of the ^14th to the end of the ^15th century. Those on the south wall are the best preserved with portraits executed around 1340: St. Nicholas, St. Clement of Ohrid, St. Panteleimon and the Anargyrian saints Como and Damian. Below are six portraits of great Serbian figures added in 1345. Archbishop Nicholas ^I of Ohrid appears with the man he enthroned as emperor in Skopje in 1346, Dušan, next to him. Next is his wife, Helen of Bulgaria, and their son, the future Uroš V. On the right, the series ends with St. Sava, founder of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and his father St. Simeon, founder of the Nemanjić dynasty in 1166. In the courtyard are visible the remains of the city walls. Right next to it are the Cultura 365 center and the Church of the Mother of God of the Hospital. The latter was built around 1368. It was used for women in quarantine. The frescoes on the vaults date from the ^14th century, but the decoration of the walls was made in the ^19th century, as was the carved wooden iconostasis.