Monasteries in North Macedonia
Monastery of Saint Naum
The Monastery of Saint Naum is an Eastern Orthodox monastery situated along Lake Ohrid. The Lake Ohrid area, including St Naum, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in North Macedonia. The monastery was established in the Bulgarian Empire in 905 by St Naum of Ohrid himself. St Naum is also buried in the church. Since the 16th century, a Greek school had functioned in the monastery. The area where the monaster ...Lesnovo Monastery
Lesnovo monastery is perhaps the best preserved endowment of a Serbian noble of the 14th century, with well-preserved frescoes. It is located on the south-west slopes of Mt Osogovo, in the middle of a volcanic crater. The monastery is located in a secluded region which was popular with hermits of the 11th century. One of them, St Gabriel of Lesnovo, lived in the local caves and died there as well. Very little is known ...Zrze Monastery
Zrze Monastery is located near the village Zrze, approx. 25km north-west of Prilep. The numerous remnants of the ancient period-pillars, basilica remains, and other exponents speak of the rich cultural tradition, of this area. Traditionally the monks lived in carved out stone hollows, from the mountain side cliffs. This is believed to date back to the 3rd and 4th century. Today, Zrze monastery complex consists of the chu ...Treskavec Monastery
The Monastery of Treskavec is situated on the rocky Mount Zlatovrv, 8 km north of Prilep. Built in the 12th century, it currently has only one monk. The monastery possesses a large collection of Byzantine frescoes. The oldest remaining date from the 15th century. It was rebuilt in the 14th century by Serbian kings Stefan Milutin and Stefan Dušan. In the mid-16th century it was renovated by knez Dimitrije Pepić (d. 156 ...Osogovo Monastery
Osogovo Monastery is a Macedonian Orthodox monastery located near Kriva Palanka, North Macedonia, 10 kilometres from the Bulgarian border. The monastery consists of two churches including the larger 'Saint Joachim of Osogovo' and the smaller 'Holy Mother of God.' The monastery grounds also consist of a bell tower, dormitories, a guardhouse, and a residency for the Head of the Macedonian Orthodox Church ...Saint Jovan Bigorski Monastery
The Monastery of Saint Jovan Bigorski is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. One of its most valuable treasures is the iconostasis, created by Petre Filipovski, and considered one of the finest examples of wood-carved iconostases. According to its 1833 chronicle, the monastery was built in 1020 by Ivan I Debranin. The Ottomans destroyed the monastery in the 16th century, but it was restored in 1743 by the monk Ilarion, ...Psača Monastery
Psača Monastery is an Orthodox Christian Monastery in the village of Psača, North Macedonia. It was built by Savastokrator Vlatko and his father Duke Paskač around 1354. The monastery, dedicated to St Nicholas the Wonderworker, lies at the end of the village of Psača, 3 km from the Kumanovo – Kriva Palanka Road, in Rankovce Municipality. It belongs to the diocese of Osogovo-Kumanovo of the Macedon ...Marko's Monastery
Marko"s Monastery is located in the village of Markova Sušica. The monastery bears the name of Serbian Prince Marko who reigned at the time of its completion. Marko"s Monastery has been active since its establishment. Construction of the Church of Saint Demetrius began under King Vukašin in 1346. The church, including the interior paintings, were completed 30 years later. Before Ottoman rule, the monastery ha ...Karpino Monastery
The Karpino Monastery is an important Macedonian Orthodox monastery situated near village Suvi Orah. The main monastery church is dedicated to Presentation of Virgin Mary, it was built of crafted stone in the shape of single nave basilica with apse in form of triconhos, from the 16th – 17th century. The church itself was according to myth erected in the 14th century by Dejan. The monastery and church has been burnt and ...Kičevo Monastery
The Monastery of Immaculate Mother of God is a Macedonian Orthodox monastery situated near the city of Kicevo, North Macedonia. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God. It was founded before the middle of the 16th century and in the 1570s a stone church was built on the site of the present church. In 1843, the monastery was burnt down by Albanians from Debar, but the church remained standing. The church ...Marko's Monastery
Marko"s Monastery bears the name of Serbian Prince Marko who reigned at the time of its completion. Marko"s Monastery has been active since its establishment. Construction of the Church of Saint Demetrius began under King Vukašin in 1346. The church, including the interior paintings, were completed 30 years later. Before Ottoman rule, the monastery had a school and many monks and priests would write manuscript ...Matejče Monastery
The Monastery of the Most Holy Mother of God, commonly known as Matejče, is a 14th-century Serbian Orthodox monastery located in the village of Matejče on the slopes of Skopska Crna Gora. The monastery was built in the 14th century on the ruins of an older, Byzantine Greek church built in 1057–59, evident in preserved Greek inscriptions. It was mentioned for the first time in 1300 in a chrysobull of Serbian king Stef ...Polog Monastery
On the shore of the Tikves lake (very close to Pravednik village) is the Monastery Polog and the church St. George, a significant monument of culture from 14th century richly decorated with frescoes. Built in the first half of 14th century, in the foothills of Mount Visesnica, nowadays it is on the left bank of Tikves Lake. It is assumed that it dates back to 9th century because the architectural style is very similar to ...Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings
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Broch of Gurness
The Broch of Gurness is an Iron Age broch village. Settlement here began sometime between 500 and 200 BC. At the centre of the settlement is a stone tower or broch, which once probably reached a height of around 10 metres. Its interior is divided into sections by upright slabs. The tower features two skins of drystone walls, with stone-floored galleries in between. These are accessed by steps. Stone ledges suggest that there was once an upper storey with a timber floor. The roof would have been thatched, surrounded by a wall walk linked by stairs to the ground floor. The broch features two hearths and a subterranean stone cistern with steps leading down into it. It is thought to have some religious significance, relating to an Iron Age cult of the underground.
The remains of the central tower are up to 3.6 metres high, and the stone walls are up to 4.1 metres thick. The tower was likely inhabited by the principal family or clan of the area but also served as a last resort for the village in case of an attack.
The broch continued to be inhabited while it began to collapse and the original structures were altered. The cistern was filled in and the interior was repartitioned. The ruin visible today reflects this secondary phase of the broch's use.
The site is surrounded by three ditches cut out of the rock with stone ramparts, encircling an area of around 45 metres diameter. The remains of numerous small stone dwellings with small yards and sheds can be found between the inner ditch and the tower. These were built after the tower, but were a part of the settlement's initial conception. A 'main street' connects the outer entrance to the broch. The settlement is the best-preserved of all broch villages.
Pieces of a Roman amphora dating to before 60 AD were found here, lending weight to the record that a 'King of Orkney' submitted to Emperor Claudius at Colchester in 43 AD.
At some point after 100 AD the broch was abandoned and the ditches filled in. It is thought that settlement at the broch continued into the 5th century AD, the period known as Pictish times. By that time the broch was not used anymore and some of its stones were reused to build smaller dwellings on top of the earlier buildings. Until about the 8th century, the site was just a single farmstead.
In the 9th century, a Norse woman was buried at the site in a stone-lined grave with two bronze brooches and a sickle and knife made from iron. Other finds suggest that Norse men were buried here too.