MEDIEVAL TOWERS OF KRATOVO (КРАТОВСКИ КУЛИ)

This Orthodox monastery (Лесновски Манастир/Lesnovski Manastir) forms a beautiful ensemble around a ^14th-century Serbo-Byzantine church. Enjoying a superb environment, on the southwestern slope of Mount Osogovo and in the center of an ancient volcano crater, it is located in the hamlet of Lesnovo. This one counts only about twenty inhabitants, all Macedonians, but one finds there a small museum and several restaurants. The monastery is dedicated to the archangel Michael and to the holy hermit Gabriel of Lesnovo. It is to the latter that the foundation of the complex is attributed in the ^11th century. The region was then isolated and populated by hermits, including John of Rila, Prohor of Pčinja and Joachim of Osogovo who left to found various monasteries and played an important role in the religious history of the Balkans. For example, John of Rila is considered the patron saint of Bulgaria. Among this group of the "four brothers" of Osogovo, Gabriel of Lesnovo stayed on and probably formed a small community here. But it is only in 1330 that the monastery is mentioned for the first time. Eleven years later, in 1341, it was completely restored by the powerful Serbian lord Jovan Oliver Grčinić (c. 1310-1356), an influential member of the court of Emperor Stefan Dušan.

Frescoes and rock chapels. Several times remodeled, the complex was long renowned for its scriptorium, a copyist's workshop that disseminated texts until the ^mid-19th century throughout the Balkans. Today, the monastery is composed of buildings from different periods, including a chapel built in 2016, but the main feature of the monastery is the catholicon, a beautiful main church built between 1341 and 1349. This houses part of the original frescoes, among which is a whole series of portraits: Jovan Oliver Grčinić and his wife Marija, the archangel Michael on a horse, the hermit saints Gabriel of Lesnovo, Prohor of the Pčinja and Joachim of Osogovo and, in majesty, even dominating Christ, the emperor Dušan and his wife Helena of Bulgaria. Other scenes appear such as the dormition of the Mother of God, the healing of the paralytic, the archangel Michael saving Thessaloniki from the Saracens in the ^10th century and even a scene of kolo, the typical circle dance of the Balkan Slavs. In addition, along the road leading to the hamlet, about 1 km to the south, are still visible three caves used by hermits in the ^14th century and transformed into rock chapels. On the spot, an explanatory panel in English indicates the access.