Eternal Abode of the Hermit

Hidden in the colourful oak forest just above the town of Kriva Palanka and just off the picturesque road to Bulgaria, lies one of the most beautiful monasteries in the Balkans, Saint Joakim Osogovski. The visitor may wonder which is more inspiring: the town shaped by the curved path of the Kriva Reka (Curved River) or the monastery with its fine architecture and breathtaking views. The monastery is dedicated to the hermit and miracle worker Saint Joakim, a disciple of Saint Jovan of Rila. The legend has it that in the 11th century the three hermits who would later be known as Joakim Osogovski, Prohor Pcinski and Gavril Lesnovski, followed in the footsteps of the first monk Jovan, who lived several decades earlier and spread monastic life and Christianity in what today is north-eastern Macedonia. Today the four monasteries dedicated to these saints lie within a circle with a radius of no more than 100 km, but are divided between three states – Macedonia, Bulgaria and Serbia. Read more …