Monastery of St. Jovan Bigorski

The Monastery of St. Jovan Bigorski, founded in 1020, consists of a church, an ossuary, a defence tower, monastery buildings and a newly built visitors' house. Attacked by the Turks in the 16th century, its reconstruction did not begin until 1743. Between 1812 and 1825, the complex was considerably enlarged. The monastery is famous for its carved wooden iconostasis made between 1829 and 1835 and for its icon of St. John the Baptist, which is said to have miraculous properties.

About this building

Key Features

  • Architecture
  • Monuments
  • Interior features

Visitors information

  • Building shop or souvenirs

Other nearby buildings

Wikimedia Commons/Daniela Stefanoska

St. Nicholas Summer

The church "St. Nicholas Summer" is a neoclassical style church in the village of Mavrovo. The church was built by the master builders of the Debar school in 1850. The icons of the throne were painted in 1855 by the famous master of Debar, Dicho Zograf. The church was sunk under Lake Mavrovo in 1953, but by the beginning of the 21st century, it had largely emerged out of the water due to droughts. In the mid-1990s, construction of a new St. Nicholas church in Mavrovo began and was completed in 2006.

Wikimedia Commons/User:Мико

Monastery of St. George the Victorious

The Monastery of St. George the Victorious is a female Orthodox monastery probably founded in the early 14th century, but the present complex was only built in 1835, on the initiative of Archimandrite Arsene of Galichnik. The church was painted and decorated between 1840 and 1852. Closed by the communist government in 1945, the monastery was converted into stables and fell into ruins. In 1999, a religious community resumed its activity.