The best specialized museums Struga

Renovated in 2021, this beautiful ^18th-century Ottoman-style house (Спомен Куќа на Браќата Миладинови/Spomen Kuḱa na Braḱata Miladinovi) was the birthplace of Dimitar Miladinov (1810-1862) and Konstantin Miladinov (1830-1862). Struga's two Bulgarian poets, who died of typhus in the same Ottoman prison in Constantinople, are presented here as "Macedonians". Yet they were the driving force behind the renaissance of Bulgarian literature, and the idea of a "Macedonian" identity did not emerge until decades after their death. Transformed into a museum, the house where they were born displays some of their works and personal effects, including a reproduction of the poem T'ga za Jug ("Nostalgia for the South"), composed in 1861 by Konstantin Miladinov. But much of their writing is still censored in North Macedonia, as it is considered probulgar. The house also houses the headquarters of the Struga Poetic Evenings Association (a festival held at the end of August), as well as some superb ^5th-6th century mosaics. These come from the floor of a large early-Christian basilica discovered in the village of Oktisi/Октиси, 10 km northwest of Struga, whose population is predominantly Turkish. Opposite the house is the Vangel-Kodžoman art gallery (Галерија Вангел Коџоман/Galerija Vangel Kodžoman). It houses thirty works by local painter Vangel Kodžoman (1904-1994). Visits by appointment with Miladinov House.