Treskavec Monastery

Treskavec stands at about 1,260 metres on the bare rocky shoulder of Zlatovrv above Prilep, a monastery documented from the twelfth century on a site with earlier remains, with a church of the Assumption holding fourteenth-century frescoes. It burned in 2013 and has been rebuilt. The setting is what people remember: bare granite and open sky, with Pelagonia spread out below, and the approach is either a rough track or a long walk up.

History

The monastery on Mount Zlatovrv was built in the 12th century and rebuilt in the 14th by the Serbian kings Stefan Milutin and Stefan Dušan; an earthquake in the 15th century damaged many of its frescoes, and in the mid-16th century knez Dimitrije Pepić of Kratovo renovated it. At its peak it had around 100 monks, and fires damaged it in 1867, 1991 and 2013, though the church came through the last one untouched (Wikipedia, Treskavec Monastery).

The main sights

• The mountain setting - a monastery on bare granite with the plain below.
• The frescoes - the fourteenth-century painting in the church.
• The Pelagonia view - the plain spread out from the terrace.
• The approach - the rough track or the two to three hour walk up.

When to go

May to October is the season. The track needs high clearance and is difficult after rain. Snow closes it in winter.

What to expect

The track up is genuinely rough and many vehicles cannot manage it; the walk takes two to three hours. The 2013 fire destroyed much and rebuilding is visible. There are no facilities on the mountain.

Nearby

Prilep is below, and Markovi Kuli is south.

Key facts