Things to see and do Kavadarci

This is the largest artificial lake in the country (Тиквешко Езеро/Tikveško Ezero). With an area of 14 ^km2, it is used for fishing (wild fish and livestock) and frequented by bathers in summer with many second homes in the northern part, around the Tikveš dam and the hamlets of Brušani/Брушани, Resava/Рeсава and Goleš/Голеш. To the south, on the western shore, is the most valuable historical monument in the region - the Polog Monastery, which is only accessible by boat. The lake extends 29 km in length from south to north to the dam. The 105 m high dam is used for electricity production and irrigation. Since 1968, it retains the waters of the Crna Reka ("black river"), a tributary of the Vardar, which reaches a depth of over 100 m. The lake is dominated in the west by the Višešnica mountain which reaches 1,557 m in altitude. The landscape is beautiful and well preserved, as there are no roads around the lake except those connecting Kavadarci to the hamlets in the northern part. Four ancient hills emerge from the waters to form the islets of Brušani and Gradište/Градиште (in the northeast), Dradnja/Драдња (in the northwest), and Blaštica/Блаштица (in the very south). In addition to the Polog Monastery, the area around the lake contains another ^16th-century monastery as well as two rock churches. The one of St. Nicholas, known as "Mark's Church" (Маркова Црква), is located near the hamlet of Dradnja, northeast of the lake. It is decorated with the damaged frescoes from the ^14th century.

This small 100^m2 museum (Вински Музеј за Pегион Тиквеш-Кавадарци) is dedicated to viticulture in the Kavadarci-Tikveš region. It looks back at the history of wine in Greater Macedonia geographically, from Greek antiquity to the rise of Kavadarci winemakers and merchants in the ^18th century. Mainly on display are barrels, stills and utensils used in the ^19th and ^20th centuries to produce wine, rakija and madzoun, a thick local grape juice. Store with wines from different producers and sometimes tastings.

This Orthodox monastery (Полошки Манастир/Pologški Manastir) is occupied by a small community of Macedonian monks and houses remarkable frescoes from the ^14th century. It is only accessible by boat: since the impoundment of the artificial lake of Tikveš, the paths leading to it and the nearby village of Pološko are submerged. Dedicated to St. George the Victorious, the Byzantine-style catholicon (main church) enjoys a magnificent setting at the foot of Mount Višešnica and on the shore of what was then Crna Reka (today's lake). The complex was probably founded by Bulgarian monks in the ^9th century. But it owes its fame to the Serbian king, then emperor Stefan Dušan (1308-1355). In 1340, he had the catholicon built in honor of the "holy warrior" George to celebrate his victories against the Bulgars and the extension of his territory to the Aegean Sea. The kingdom of the Nemanjić dynasty was then at its peak, constituting for a short time the leading power in Europe. Out of devotion, Stefan Dušan donated the monastery and its outbuildings to the great Serbian monastic complex of Hilandar, on Mount Athos, in Greece. But in 1378, the monastery was entrusted to the Russian monks of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos by two Serbian nobles and brothers who were vassals of the Ottomans: Jovan Dragaš (c. 1343-1378), who ruled over the region of Kumanovo, and Konstantin Dragaš (c. 1350-1395), lord of Velbăžd, Bulgaria. All this appears in the inscriptions of the catholicon.

Frescoes and boat. The frescoes in the narthex (vestibule) were painted in 1608-1609. But most of them were done between 1343 and 1345. The most striking is the one depicting Stefan Dušan honored by St. George. He is surrounded by his wife Helena and their son, then 9-10 years old, the future Stefan Uroš V, known as "the Weak", who will make the Serbian Empire collapse in 1371. Below, another family portrait, painted around 1378, appears: that of Jovan Dragaš, with his wife, his son and his mother in nun's habit. In the nave, a fresco intrigues: we see Joseph threatening Mary. This could be an allegory of the bedtime at the court of King Dušan. Note also the carved wooden cross (1584) of the iconostasis (1679). To be able to admire this, you have to go to Resava, in the northeast of the lake. There, fishermen and boat owners offer their services. The crossing takes about 1h30 by normal boat and 15 minutes by fast boat. Prices vary from 1 200 to 4 000 MKD.

Opened in 1976, this municipal museum (Музеј-Галерија Кавадарци) has four collections. Archaeology: fishing and hunting tools from the Neolithic period, funerary stelae from the Roman period in the courtyard, etc. Ethnological: traditional dress of the region, everyday objects from the ^18th and ^19th centuries, viticulture, etc. History: homage to two local figures linked to musical traditions, weapons of the rebellion movements against the Ottomans and the partisans of the Second World War, etc. Fine arts: local painters and temporary exhibitions.