Church of Saint Sophia

Ohrid, North Macedonia

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 date the building of the church during the rule of Knyaz Boris I (852 – 889). It was basically rebuilt in the last decade of the 10th century as a patriarchal cathedral in the form of a dome basilica, after the replacement of the capital of Bulgaria in Ohrid, during the reign of Tsar Samuil, when the church was the seat of the Bulgarian Patriarchate, an autocephalous Patriarchate. Later it became a seat of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, under the Patriarchate of Constantinople until the 18th century.

It was converted into a mosque during the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The interior of the church has been preserved with frescoes from the 11th, 12th and 13th century, which represent some of the most significant achievements in Byzantine painting of the time. The main part of the church was built in the 11th century, while external additions were built by Archbishop Gregory II in the 14th century.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 9th century AD
Category: Religious sites in North Macedonia

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

CK Cheong (2 years ago)
Oldest church in Macedonia. It was built / rebuilt in the 10th - 11th century. Historical church with beautiful frescoes inside.
Tihomir Šarčević (2 years ago)
Nice place, With a small nice yard.
jeremy kalous (2 years ago)
Beautiful church. This one has some brilliant old frescos as well. Added bonus was a string ensemble
Алиса Карасик (4 years ago)
Very beautiful frescos, definitely must visit. Entrance is 100 denars
sofija anicic (4 years ago)
Lovely place, nice people
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Visby Cathedral

Visby Cathedral (also known as St. Mary’s Church) is the only survived medieval church in Visby. It was originally built for German merchants and inaugurated in 1225. Around the year 1350 the church was enlarged and converted into a basilica. The two-storey magazine was also added then above the nave as a warehouse for merchants.

Following the Reformation, the church was transformed into a parish church for the town of Visby. All other churches were abandoned. Shortly after the Reformation, in 1572, Gotland was made into its own Diocese, and the church designated its cathedral.

There is not much left of the original interior. The font is made of local red marble in the 13th century. The pulpit was made in Lübeck in 1684. There are 400 graves under the church floor.