POLOG MONASTERY (ПОЛОШКИ МАНАСТИР)

This Orthodox monastery (Полошки Манастир/Pologški Manastir) is occupied by a small community of Macedonian monks and houses remarkable frescoes from the ^14th century. It is only accessible by boat: since the impoundment of the artificial lake of Tikveš, the paths leading to it and the nearby village of Pološko are submerged. Dedicated to St. George the Victorious, the Byzantine-style catholicon (main church) enjoys a magnificent setting at the foot of Mount Višešnica and on the shore of what was then Crna Reka (today's lake). The complex was probably founded by Bulgarian monks in the ^9th century. But it owes its fame to the Serbian king, then emperor Stefan Dušan (1308-1355). In 1340, he had the catholicon built in honor of the "holy warrior" George to celebrate his victories against the Bulgars and the extension of his territory to the Aegean Sea. The kingdom of the Nemanjić dynasty was then at its peak, constituting for a short time the leading power in Europe. Out of devotion, Stefan Dušan donated the monastery and its outbuildings to the great Serbian monastic complex of Hilandar, on Mount Athos, in Greece. But in 1378, the monastery was entrusted to the Russian monks of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos by two Serbian nobles and brothers who were vassals of the Ottomans: Jovan Dragaš (c. 1343-1378), who ruled over the region of Kumanovo, and Konstantin Dragaš (c. 1350-1395), lord of Velbăžd, Bulgaria. All this appears in the inscriptions of the catholicon.

Frescoes and boat. The frescoes in the narthex (vestibule) were painted in 1608-1609. But most of them were done between 1343 and 1345. The most striking is the one depicting Stefan Dušan honored by St. George. He is surrounded by his wife Helena and their son, then 9-10 years old, the future Stefan Uroš V, known as "the Weak", who will make the Serbian Empire collapse in 1371. Below, another family portrait, painted around 1378, appears: that of Jovan Dragaš, with his wife, his son and his mother in nun's habit. In the nave, a fresco intrigues: we see Joseph threatening Mary. This could be an allegory of the bedtime at the court of King Dušan. Note also the carved wooden cross (1584) of the iconostasis (1679). To be able to admire this, you have to go to Resava, in the northeast of the lake. There, fishermen and boat owners offer their services. The crossing takes about 1h30 by normal boat and 15 minutes by fast boat. Prices vary from 1 200 to 4 000 MKD.