Osogovo Monastery

Osogovo monastery stands in wooded mountains above Kriva Palanka near the Bulgarian border, founded in the twelfth century around the relics of Joachim of Osogovo. The small older church of the Virgin survives beside a much larger church of Saint Joachim built in the 1840s, painted inside in the nineteenth-century manner with a carved iconostasis. The monastery takes guests and the complex sits among old trees on the slope. The Osogovo range runs along the Bulgarian border and the monastery sits high enough on it that the air is noticeably cooler than the town below, which is part of why it takes summer guests.

History

The monastery was founded in the mid-12th century by a priest from Ovče Pole who became the monk Teofan, built a church to the Venerable Joachim and became its first abbot. Serbian rulers, King Milutin among them, helped and renovated it, and the Karlovac Chronicle of 1505 says Milutin built a church to Saint Joachim here (Wikipedia, Osogovo Monastery).

Highlights

• The 1840s church - the large nineteenth-century building with painted interior.
• The older church - the small church of the Virgin beside it.
• The carved iconostasis - the nineteenth-century woodwork in the main church.
• The mountain setting - the wooded Osogovo slopes above the town.

When to go

April to October is the season for the road. The monastery is open daily outside services. It takes guests in the konak.

Before you go

The road up is narrow. Photography inside the churches is usually prohibited. Dress rules apply and are enforced.

Nearby

Kriva Palanka is below, and Lesnovo is west.

Key facts