A common characteristic for all Orthodox monasteries is that they are spotted at the most natural beautiful points on earth. Seems like the biggest concern during the creation of these complexes was the location. In time, probably because of respect not just towards religion, but high-quality architecture that is implemented, these centers remains the same for centuries now. As the Ohrid Lake area is fairytalelike beautiful it is expectable many monasteries to be part of this landscape. One of the oldest ones is monastery St Naum Ohridski, 30km south of Ohrid.
The construction of this monastery started by st. Naum, the loyal disciple of the Slavic educators St. Cyril and Methodius. They founded in Ohrid one of the first Slavic University in Europe. The central church of the monastery is built in the 9th century. St Naum is buried in the church and the legend says that if you bend over his grave, you can hear his heartbeat. Until the 1940s here in this monastery was prepared a big amount of small buns, bread. There was a person in charge of giving away this bread to the hungry people and people that travel. These buns were pressed with recognizable seal and people were taking not only for feeding themselves but also like an amulet or for good luck.
Nowadays, in the yard of this monastery, you can see beautiful peacocks, white and blue, contributing to the unusually peaceful atmosphere of this spot. The white ones are also known as heavens birds and are considered as a symbol of Christianity.
Near this monastery, you can see the springs of the Lake, or how it is made. Very famous are the boat tours along the springs. From 45 discovered springs, 30 are underwater. These springs are a home of endemic flora and fauna like species of alga with violet color.
Very special place. If you are adventures enough, you can try biking from Ohrid to here and you will store memories for a lifetime.
We recommend to book your stays in North Macedonia in advance as it can get booked up quickly during certain periods. If you use this link, you pay the same price and we get a small commission - thanks for your support!
Want to plan a trip here? Build your own hotel+flight package with Live The World, or reach out for personalized advice from one of our travel experts.
The author
Zlata Golaboska
Plan a trip with Maya - your AI travel assistant
