The best museums Ohrid

This national gallery (Галерија на Икони/Galerija na Ikoni) is the jewel of the country's museums. The basement room, without much interest, contains recent icons and liturgical objects. But the main room, on the first floor, contains the thirty-six most valuable icons of Ohrid. Here is our selection.

Forty Martyrs of Sebaste - V. 1070 - 43,5 x 33 cm . This is the oldest representation of this type in the world and the second oldest icon in the gallery after the one of St. Basil the Great and St. Nicholas (no. 272) dating from 1045/1055. Painted for the Saint Sophia Cathedral, it illustrates the martyrdom of forty Christian legionaries put to death on the frozen lake of Sebaste (Sivas, Turkey) during the winter of 320. This episode is common in Eastern iconography. It is striking for the strength of conviction and stoicism of the martyrs. But it is especially important politically: it serves as a pretext for Constantine to take over the entire Roman Empire and become the champion of the Christians.

Annunciation - Two icons with riza - c. 1115 - 111 x 67,5 cm (each ). This diptych comes from the nearby church of the Mother of God-Perivleptos and bears on the reverse the name of its patron, the archbishop of Ohrid Leo II Mung (1108-1120). It illustrates the announcement to Mary of her divine motherhood by the archangel Gabriel. Each of the two figures is painted on a different support whose background and edges are covered with a superb riza. This protection in embossed metal is used here to "paint" the halos, the background with plant motifs and the holy figures on the sides. Thus, around Mary appear her parents Joachim and Anne, Christ, Saint John the Baptist and various saints and prophets. Mary's raspberry red maforii is held by two semi-precious cut stones.

Christ Pantocrator - With riza - 1262/1263 - 134,5 x 93 cm. This is the oldest icon in the region with an exact date. Behind it is also the name of the patron, the most erudite archbishop of Ohrid, Constantine Kabasilas. Destined for the church of the Mother of God-Perivleptos, it depicts the "all-powerful" Christ(pantokrator in Greek) draped in blue and gold with a halo made of a golden riza. The proportions are not realistic: the shoulders are too narrow, but this allows the painter - anonymous - to highlight the face and hands. The right hand with two outstretched fingers symbolizes the double nature, human and divine, of Christ.

Mother of God Hodegetria (with riza) and Crucifixion of Christ - Second half of the ^13th century - 95,5 x 65 cm. This icon painted on both sides was made by two of the greatest medieval artists of the Balkans, Michailis Astrapas and Eutychios, to whom we owe in particular the frescoes of the church of the Mother of God-Perivleptos. On the front: the Mother of God Hodegetria ("Leader"). The painting is completed by a riza with hammered halos and filigree background. On the reverse: the crucifixion of Christ with the Virgin and the apostle John. The gallery has two other "double-sided" icons that were intended for processions, one of which is magnificent, from the beginning of the ^14th century, showing the Annunciation and, on the front, the Mother of God Psychosostia ("Savior of souls").

Saint Clement of Ohrid - In relief - late ^13th century - 140 x 35 cm. If it looks like a wooden statue, it is in fact an "icon in relief", a very rare type of icon in Byzantine art. It comes from the church of the Mother of God-Perivleptos and is the only one of its kind in the country. The appearance of icons in relief in the ^13th century could be linked either to the first engraved wooden iconostases or to the Western influence after the capture of Constantinople by the Latins in 1204.

Saint Marine - V. 1754 - 92,5 x 60,5 cm . This is one of the most outstanding icons in the gallery. It was made by Constantine of Shpat, master of the school of Berat, in Albania. The saint, known in the West as Margaret of Antioch, died a martyr in 305. As in another icon in the gallery (no. 158), she is traditionally depicted wielding a hammer to slay a demon and/or dragon. Twelve vignettes depict scenes from her life (temptations of the devil, appearance of the dove of the Holy Spirit, etc.) and her martyrdom. Perpetually subjected to temptation, she took a vow of chastity. But for having rejected the advances of the Roman governor Olybrius, she was tortured and put to death. The Romans are represented here as Ottomans, Olybrius being dressed as a pasha. An anachronism probably very voluntary.

Mother of God Panton Chara - 1844 - 57 x 41 cm. It was made by the great Mijak painter Dico Zograf for the church of St. John in Kaneo. It belongs to the subcategory of the "Joy of All"(Panton Chara in Greek), which is related to the icons of the "unfading rose" (evocation of virginity). The Christ child is dressed in the orange-golden garb of the high priest. The inscriptions are written in both Greek and Old Slavonic. At the bottom are six portraits of saints. The last one on the right wears the red Arabic fez adopted in the Ottoman Empire from the ^nineteenth century. He also wears an embroidered vest and a fustanelle typical of the Greco-Albanian region of Epirus. It is the neo-martyr Saint George of Ioannina (Greece), killed in 1838 for having renounced Islam and converted to Christianity.

This national museum (Народен Музеј во Охрид/Naroden Muzej vo Ohrid) is housed in an elegant Bulgarian-Ottoman house built on four levels between 1827 and 1865 by the Robev family (Куќата на Робевци/Kuḱata na Robevci). Since 1951 it has housed the largest part of the region's archaeological collections. On the first floor, the former stables house the lapidary collection with milestones from the Via Egnatia (^3rd century) and tombstones from various ancient necropolises. Note two engraved stones from the Hellenistic period (c. 200 BC) that come from the ancient theater of the city. They represent the Greek god Dionysus accompanied by his muses. On the second floor are reconstructed the apartments of the Robevs, a rich family of merchants and doctors who were at the origin of the "Bulgarian Renaissance" of Ohrid in the ^19th century: furniture, clothes, a large portrait of Constantin Robev, his doctor's bag, etc. The most valuable part of the archaeological collection is on the second floor. It includes coins, jewelry from the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Roman glass bottles and a superb statue of the Egyptian goddess Isis (^2nd century BC). The latter is the centerpiece of the museum. It bears witness to an "oriental" cult that developed in the Greek world after the conquests of Alexander the Great.

Neolithic tomb and view of the lake. One room houses the reconstruction of a Neolithic tomb found in the Samuel fortress. It is presented on a turntable, with jewelry and gold objects. On the third floor there is a reconstruction of the Robev family's large reception room with some examples of traditional wood carvings and a beautiful view of the lake. The museum is part of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and National Museum of Ohrid (Завод за Заштита на Спомениците на Културата и Народен Музеј во Охрид/Zavod za Zaštita na Spomenicite na Kulturata i Naroden Muzej vo Ohrid). This public organization manages various sites in the city, including the Uzunov House, located opposite the Robev House, or the National Gallery of Icons. Its headquarters are located in the former Radnička school, a vast neoclassical building from 1922 that dominates the old town in Uzunov street. It does not house any exhibitions, but the offices are open Monday to Friday from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm.

Established in 2002, this small, privately owned print shop-museum (Национална Работилница за Рачна Изработка на Хартија/Nacionalna Rabotilnica za Račna Izrabotka na Hartija, National Workshop For Handmade Paper) offers reproductions of old works and documents using a variety of handcrafted techniques. There are demonstrations of papermaking, including a replica of the letterpress developed by Gutenberg in 1440. Sale of handmade paper and various prints.

Opened in 2011, this small private museum (Музеј на Долард/Muzej na Dolard, A. den Doolaard Museum) is dedicated to the Dutch writer A. den Doolaard (1904-1994). He wrote about present-day North Macedonia from 1934 and was particularly interested in Ohrid. The city attracts many tourists from the Netherlands. Installed in the Cultura 365 center, the museum consists of photos and excerpts from books by the writer. Since 2006, a monument also pays tribute to him in the park "Holland", south of the Macedonian quay.