MONASTERY COMPLEX "ST.JOACHIM OSOGOVSKI" - SPIRITUAL MACEDONIAN PEARL

The monastery "St. Joakim Osogovski”is located about 3 km northeast of the town of Kriva Palanka, in the arms of the oak forest in the Osogovo Mountains. It was founded in the 12th century, also known as Sarandapor, and is dedicated to the hermit St. Joakim Osogovski, who lived in these areas at the end of the 11th and the beginning of the 12th century. Today the monastery is open to believers, visitors, travelers and well-wishers who come to pray in front of the miraculous relics of St. Joachim which are kept in the monastery. There are two churches, several lodgings that offer accommodation for guests and a restaurant with a wide range of authentic dishes while the nature around the monastery offers unique conditions for walking and recreation.

The oldest building in the monastery complex is the small church "Holy Mother of God", built in the 14th or 16th century, on the foundations of a church from the 11th and 12th century. The building is characterized by Byzantine style and is one of the first medieval churches on the territory of Macedonia.

Old church and new church (from left to right)

In 1847, began the construction of the big church "St. Joakim Osogovski”, completed and consecrated in 1851. The church was built by Andrej Damjanov, the most famous constructor in the Balkans since the early 19th century. Architecturally, the church is a monumental three-nave basilica with twelve domes (seven small and five large). 

View from the final stairs

There are rooms and a restaurant on the top

The entrance is on the west side, and the interior and porches of the church are painted by the skilled hands of Macedonian painters. The most important part is located on the west wall of the church, the work of Dimitrij Andonov Papradiski. One of the most beautiful frescoes is "The Gospel Sermon of St. Pavle ”, on which the folk costume from Kriva Palanka radiates with all its beauty and rusticity.

The inside of the church

 The monastery in the history of Macedonian culture is noted as a place where, according to a tradition, resided and worked Joakim Krcovski, priest and religious teacher, founder of the new Macedonian literature in the 19th century. Every year on August 28th, in the monastery is held the traditional celebration of the religious holiday "Holy Mother of God" which is attended by people from the city, the surrounding area and other cities in Macedonia.