Monastery of Saint Naum

Perched on a rocky plateau above the southern shores of Lake Ohrid, the Monastery of Saint Naum was founded in 905 AD by Saint Naum, a scholar of Saints Cyril and Methodius who helped spread the Cyrillic script across the Slavic world. Though razed and rebuilt through the centuries, the core Church of the Holy Archangels retains its striking Byzantine tri-conch design, enveloped in rhythmic bands of porous tufa stone and fired red brick. Inside, beneath an elevated central dome, the twilight interior is dominated by an intricately carved, gilded walnut iconostasis from 1711 and expressive 19th-century frescoes rendered by Master Trpo of Korçë, depicting biblical scenes alongside depictions of the saint’s legendary miracles. Stepping onto the sun-warmed flagstones of the inner courtyard, travelers are greeted by the shrill cries and iridescent displays of resident peacocks preening beneath ancient cypress trees. Inside the dim, candlelit burial chamber, visitors take part in an enduring tradition: kneeling beside Saint Naum’s marble sarcophagus and pressing an ear to the cold stone to listen for his mythical, subterranean heartbeat. The rich aroma of burning beeswax clings to the cool mountain air, which carries through open colonnades out toward Lake Ohrid and the nearby crystalline, spring-fed waters of the Black Drim River.