Debar · Mavrovo · North Macedonia

Bigorski Monastery St John the Baptist

monasteryhistoryartpilgrimagegoogle verified

moderate

10/10

best: morning

spiritual, remote, atmospheric

A local would say...

A miraculous icon kept reappearing every time they moved it — so they stopped moving it and built a monastery instead.

A fully working monastery founded in 1020 where a miraculous icon of St John the Baptist appeared — a place of active monastic life in the mountains above the Radika River, housing one of three renowned iconostases carved by the master Makarije Frčkovski and the Filipovski brothers in the 19th century. The monastery offers dormitory accommodation, and the monks produce Mastika, an aniseed rakija. Pilgrims come seeking healing; visitors come for the extraordinary carved wooden screen.