Tourism in Macedonia

Plaosnik

Located in Ohrid’s old town, Plaosnik is an utterly unique phenomenon: it was recently reconstructed, with loving attention to detail, precisely in the style of a Byzantine church, right down to the red bricks and mortar.

An early Christian sacral building dating from the 5th century was discovered here, built over the remains of an older antique building whose cistern was found in the atrium of the newly built temple.
St. Clement built the monastery in 893 A.D. and dedicated it to St. Pantelejmon, the protector of health. During the Ottoman Empire the church was destroyed and Sultan Mohamed’s Mosque built on the remains of the church, which eventually did not survive on Macedonian soil. In 2000, the construction of today’s church began and was finished and consecrated on August 11, 2002.
During the construction, the tomb of St. Clement was also restored, which is the tomb that St. Clement designated for himself and where he was buried in 916 A.D. In the centre of one of the friezes there is an image of a lion, which is unique to mosaics in Macedonia.
Today, Plaosnik is one of the most exhilarating Byzantine-style churches in Macedonia. Its floor is covered with mosaics of twenty wave-shaped tassel interspersed with the figures of flowers, birds and animals. The very fact of its reconstruction is evidence of the strong affection Macedonians still feel for their Byzantine heritage.