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The St. Naum Monastery (IX century ) is located on the southeast side of Lake Ohrid, 28 km from Ohrid in the
immediate vicinity of the Macedonian-Albanian Border. Its building is linked to the name of St. Naum –
the loyal disciple of the Slavic educators St. Cyril and Methodius. They founded in Ohrid one of the first
Slavic University in Europe.
Towards the end of his life St. Naum choose the most picturesque locality on the Ohrid coast – real paradise
on earth – to build the monastery which today is named after him – St. Naum, and was buried there in 910 AD.
Among the local people there is a belief that the place is holy and sacred and that the ghost of St. Naum helps
couples who have problems with having their own children.
The church is cruciform in a square space with a dome supported by four pillars. The tomb of St. Naum is located on the southern side in a separate chamber . In the church there are no preserved frescoes from the time of St. Naum. According to the inscriptions in the church itself, the frescoes were painted in 1806 by the fresco-painter Trpo, son of master Constantine from Korcha, Albania. Particularly impressive are the scenes from the life and miracle of St. Naum of Ohrid.
The iconostasis in the church was carved in 1711. The authors are unknown. They were influenced by the woodcarving traditions of Mount Athos and they created a genuine masterpiece. The icons of the iconostasis: “Crucifixion” and “Entrance into Jerusalem” are treated as one of the best achievements from the first part of XVIII century. Also there are two Cyrillic and one Glagolitic-Cyrilic inscriptions dating from the period between the late X and XII centuries. These inscriptions testify of the development of the oldest Slavic scripts Glagolitic and Cyrillic in the Ohrid region.
