Religious sites in North Macedonia
Holy Mary Perybleptos Church
Built in 1295, the Holy Mother of God Peribleptos is one of the oldest churches in the historic town of Ohrid in southwestern Macedonia. The domed cross-in-square church was commissioned by the Byzantine governor Progonos Sgouros, a son-in-law of emperor Andronikos II Palaeologos. The frescoes in the church, which have substantially contributed to current knowledge of Palaeologan painting, include images from the Passion ...
Founded: 1295 |
Location:
Ohrid, North Macedonia
Church of the Ascension of Jesus
The Church of the Ascension of Jesus was built in the mid-16th century and is three-nave, with the middle vessel arched and flat pages covered with gains in domes. In the west is the gallery for women. On the south wall, above the present level of the floor during the repair of the church year 1963-64 was discovered a flat painting dating from the 16th-17th century. During the 19th century the church was given the inal l ...
Founded: c. 1550 |
Location:
Skopje, North Macedonia
Church of St. John at Kaneo
Saint John the Theologian is a Macedonian Orthodox church situated on the cliff over Kaneo Beach overlooking Lake Ohrid in the city of Ohrid. The church is dedicated to John of Patmos, the writer of Revelation, who has been by some considered to be the same person as John the Apostle. The construction date of the church remains unknown but documents detailing the church property suggest that it was built before the year 1 ...
Founded: 13th century |
Location:
Ohrid, North Macedonia
Church of Saint Sophia
The Church of Saint Sophia in Ohrid is one of the most important monuments of North Macedonia, housing architecture and art from the Middle Ages. The current church was built on the foundations of a metropolitan cathedral demolished in the first decade of the 6th century by the Barbarian invasions. The next church was built during the First Bulgarian Empire, after the official conversion to Christianity. Some sources d ...
Founded: 9th century AD |
Location:
Ohrid, 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 ...
Founded: 905 AD |
Location:
Ohrid, North Macedonia
Church of Saints Clement and Panteleimon
The original Church of Saints Clement and Panteleimon is believed to have been built when Saint Clement arrived in Ohrid at the request of Boris I of Bulgaria and restored an old church. Sources say that Saint Clement was not satisfied with the size of the church and therefore built a new one over it and assigned Saint Panteleimon as its patron saint. Saint Clement used his newly created church as a liturgical building ...
Founded: 9th century AD |
Location:
Ohrid, North Macedonia
Mustafa Pasha Mosque
Mustafa Pasha Mosque is an Ottoman-era mosque located in the Old Bazaar of Skopje. The structure stands on a plateau above the old bazaar, built in 1492 by Çoban Mustafa Pasha, who later became vizier on the court of Sultan Selim I (1512-1520). The mosque is largely intact from its original state, and no additions have been made through the years. The body of Umi, the daughter of Mustafa Pasha, is entombed in the türbe ...
Founded: 1492 |
Location:
Skopje, North Macedonia
Yeni Mosque
The Yeni Mosque situated in Bitola, North Macedonia, was built in 1558 by Kadi Mahmud-efendi. It is well known for its exquisite decorative ornaments and stalactites. The glazed decorative features found on the Yeni Mosque are the only examples of their kind in the country. Today, this mosque houses an art gallery. Yeni means 'new' in Turkish.
Founded: 1558 |
Location:
Bitola, North Macedonia
Church of Saint Panteleimon
The Church of Saint Panteleimon in Gorno Nerezi, is a small 12th-century Byzantine church located in a monastery complex. The church and monastery are dedicated to St. Panteleimon, the patron saint of physicians. The church was constructed in 1164 as a foundation of Alexios Angelos, a son of Constantine Angelos. The church has a domed cruciform core, three apses, and a rectangular narthex. It is built of irregular ston ...
Founded: 1164 |
Location:
Karpoš, North Macedonia
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 ...
Founded: 1341 |
Location:
Probištip, North Macedonia
Church of St. Clement of Ohrid
The Church of Saint Clement of Ohrid is the largest cathedral of the Macedonian Orthodox Church today. The construction of the Orthodox Cathedral church, designed by Slavko Brezovski, began in 1972 and was consecrated on 12 August 1990, on the 1150th anniversary of the birth of the church patron, St. Clement of Ohrid. This rotunda type church, with 36m x 36m dimension, composed only of domes and arches, is one of the mos ...
Founded: 1972 |
Location:
Skopje, North Macedonia
St. George Church
The church St. George represents one of the rarest and most valuable testimonies of Byzantine art in the Balkan Peninsula. Its fresco-painting represents an original and a unique peak of artistic mastery in the times of Comnenus, who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185. The church is located on the beautiful lower slopes of Pelister mountain (National Park Pelister) with a magnificent view on Prespa lake that co ...
Founded: c. 1191 |
Location:
Kurbinovo, North Macedonia
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 ...
Founded: 15th century |
Location:
Prilep, North Macedonia
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 ...
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Prilep, North Macedonia
Church of St. Nicetas
Church of Saint Nicetas in Banjane is a medieval Orthodox church. The monastery and church, dedicated to Saint Nicetas, was built by the Serbian king Milutin ca. 1300 on the ruins of a previous church. The monastery was donated by Milutin short after their construction to the Serb monastery Chilandar on Mount Athos. St Nicetas was thoroughly renovated in 1484. Saint Nicetas has a simple cross-in-square base with a centr ...
Founded: 1300 |
Location:
Čučer-Sandevo, North Macedonia
Ishak Çelebi Mosque
The Ishak Çelebi Mosque is the largest mosque in Bitola. It is situated along the north bank of the Dragor River. Popularly known as Ishakkiye, this mosque was named after its founder, Judge Ishak Çelebi, son of Isa Fakıh and was built in 1506. The marble plaque and the inscription is written in eight verses divided in eight equal fields.
Founded: 1506 |
Location:
Bitola, North Macedonia
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 ...
Founded: 14th century |
Location:
Kriva Palanka, North Macedonia
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, ...
Founded: 1020 |
Location:
Mavrovo and Rostuša, North Macedonia
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 ...
Founded: 1354 |
Location:
Rankovce, North Macedonia
Sultan Murad Mosque
The Sultan Murad Mosque is an Ottoman-era mosque in Skopje. It was built in 1436 with money donated by Sultan Murad himself. It was burnt down and heavily damaged a number of times during its existence, events and changes to which the three inscriptions above the entrance refer. The first time was the fire of 1537, after which it was reconstructed by Sultan Suleyman in 1539. The second time, it was burnt down by the Austr ...
Founded: 1436 |
Location:
Skopje, North Macedonia