Things to see and do Slivnica

Situated at an altitude of 1,240 m, this Orthodox monastery (Сливнички Манастир/Slivnički Manastir) is dedicated to the Nativity of the Mother of God. Built between 1607 and 1645 by the Bulgarian clergy, it enjoys a beautiful setting on the slopes of Mount Baba with a grandiose panorama of the two Prespa lakes. Spared by French artillery fire in 1917 and restored in the 1990s, the complex is renowned for its miraculous spring, but has not been home to a monastic community since the ^19th century. However, it is possible to sleep here (20 rooms of rather spartan comfort) and is the starting point for hikes in the Pelister National Park. The catholicon (main church) is richly frescoed between 1607 and 1645. The main donors to the monastery are featured prominently. Among them, a certain Michel Petkov from Monastir (Bitola) had his son Kupen, who died prematurely in 1599, depicted in ceremonial dress in the northern part of the apse near the altar. Around the altar are portraits of the Slav evangelizers St. Cyril of Thessalonica, St. Clement and St. Naum of Ohrid, St. Gorazd of Bulgaria and St. Angelar of Ohrid. A rare depiction of Sisoes the Great (^6th-century Egyptian anchorite) lamenting over the skeleton of Alexander the Great can be found on a windowsill on the south wall. The church also boasts a fine iconostasis, whose royal doors and large icons also date from the ^17th century.