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300 Years of the Clock Tower in Ohrid – A Symbol of Time and Cultural Heritage

On the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the construction of the Clock Tower in Ohrid, a significant jubilee was marked today – 300 years of the Clock Tower in Ohrid, one of the most recognizable symbols of our city and a silent witness to the centuries that have passed through its streets.

For three centuries, the Clock Tower has been measuring the time of Ohrid – the time of its people, its traditions, its spirituality and cultural development. It is not merely an architectural structure, but a part of the collective memory and identity of the city, a monument that connects us to the past and reminds us of our obligation to preserve this heritage for future generations.

It was declared a cultural monument by Decision of the then Municipal Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments Ohrid on 28.03.1968 (58 years ago).

As the National Institution Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments and Museum – Ohrid, an institution dedicated to the protection, research and promotion of cultural heritage, we are proud to be part of this commemoration. Our mission is to preserve these values not only as material testimonies, but as a living part of the spirit of Ohrid.

The Clock Tower in Ohrid, with its simple architecture built by Čavaš Dol Sulejman Aga from Shkodër in 1726, erected above the city marketplace near the Church of St. Mother of God Kamensko in the Deboj locality, has unjustly been neglected over the years.

Our institution has an obligation to monitor the condition of the monument and to prepare an Elaboration for its revaluation with a proposal for a special Protection Regime.

On this occasion, Director Mr. Goran Pačev expressed sincere gratitude to the initiator and to all institutions, associates, experts and citizens who contribute to the preservation of our invaluable heritage.

May this great jubilee serve as a reminder that time passes, but the values we preserve remain to bear witness for us.

Visit of Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković to the Gallery of Icons.

The Macedonian and Croatian delegations, led by Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and his counterpart Andrej Plenković, today visited the ambient ensemble of the church complex “St. Mother of God Perivlepta” and the Gallery of Icons. They were welcomed by our institution’s Director Goran Pačev and curator Katerina Risteska Velkоska, as well as curator-archaeologist Atanas Kipro, who presented the rich treasury of the Gallery of Icons to the guests.

General Cleanup Weekend 2026

The National Institution Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments and Museum – Ohrid voluntarily participated in the largest national ecological campaign in the country, titled “General Cleanup Weekend 2026”, on May 8, 2026 (Friday), with our employees taking part at the sites and courtyards of the memorial houses and museums through joint waste collection and outdoor space maintenance.

Meeting with His Eminence, Metropolitan Mr. Georgi – Debar-Kičevo Eparchy

On 05.05.2026, the National Institution Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments and Museum – Ohrid had the honor of welcoming His Eminence, the Metropolitan of the Debar-Kičevo Eparchy, Mr. Georgi. The meeting focused on projects from the Annual Programme of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for 2026, which are to be carried out with the consent and support of the Debar-Kičevo Eparchy, as well as other matters and challenges related to the protection of sacred cultural heritage in the Ohrid region. Special emphasis was placed on their current condition, the need for appropriate interventions, and their promotion to the wider public.

We express our gratitude for the honor bestowed upon us and the interest shown in our dedicated work, with hope for fruitful future cooperation.

Jubilee Awards

At a small ceremony in the premises of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Museum-Ohrid, appropriate certificates of appreciation were awarded to colleagues who met the conditions for receiving a jubilee award for several years of continuous work in our institution, and in accordance with a Decision adopted at a session of the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Museum-Ohrid, for determining and paying a jubilee award to workers for continuous work with the same employer.
Thanks to all colleagues.

“Strengthening the Capacities to Manage the Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region: GIS Database Development Training for the Institute and Museum – Ohrid”

We inform you that we have started with the implementation of the project entitled: ‘Strengthening the Capacities to Manage the Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region: GIS Database Development Training for the Institute and Museum-Ohrid”. https://whc.unesco.org/en/intassistance/3274

The project is implemented by the Institute and Museum-Ohrid and has a total amount of 55 thousand US dollars, and aims to upgrade the knowledge and ability of the professionals in the Institute and Museum – Ohrid in terms of GIS-skills with the help of international experts and in cooperation with experts involved in the development of a GIS platform from our side and from the Albanian side. The project includes various activities, such as: Reviewing the existing documentation and conducting a field inspection of the current state of the cultural heritage based on a list of registered sites of the cultural and archaeological heritage in the Ohrid region and documenting with photos and GPS locating. Digitization of the documentation with a standardized procedure for recording the cultural heritage to be established within the project, which will have to be compatible with the systems already established in our institution with the system of the national electronic register but also with European standards;

The next step will be the cooperation with experts involved in the development of a national GIS platform for archaeological and architectural monuments in Albania and with the with the Regional Directorate of Cultural Heritage, Korce in Albania, in order to strengthen cross-border cooperation for the specific needs of the Ohrid Lake region.

For this purpose, we concluded a memorandum of cooperation with “Cultural Heritage without Borders – Albania” (CHwB Albania), with whom we will jointly conduct training for participants in the “Regional Restoration Camp ” (RRC), organized in both locations consecutively, from September 10 to 22, for Documentation of Historic Places with 21st Century Technology 3D rapid recording using drones & photogrammetry to produce orthophotography and topographic maps for a Geographic Information System of the World Heritage property of the Orhid Region Albania/Northern Macedonia.

You can find an application for participating in the camp in the following link:

(https://www.facebook.com/CHwBAlbania/posts/pfbid0oBsvmZSESgwhjr71tKVrsULjtir5ZcngxM2ZqDCMiwijdWN4pbyenHfYRYnpiVYYl).

Visit of the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China, Luo Shugang

23. 11. 2019

The Minister of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China, Luo Shugang and the Minister of Culture of the Republic of North Macedonia, Hysni Ismaili, visited Ohrid on November 23, 2019.  Minister Shugang heads the Chinese delegation to the Fourth Ministerial Forum for Cultural Cooperation between China and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which is hosted by our country.

 During the visit to Ohrid, the two ministers and the high Chinese delegation, accompanied by the hosts from our institution, visited some of the cultural monuments and museum exhibits that are being cared for by the NI Institute and Museum-Ohrid. They reviewed the permanent display in the world-famous Icon Gallery, the churches of the Holy Mother of God Peribleptos and St. Sophia, the archaeological site Plaosnhik and the archaeological and ethnological exhibitions at the Robev family house. While visiting the old part of Ohrid, Minister Shugang had the opportunity to get acquainted with the rich cultural heritage of our city, expressing great interest in it and expressing satisfaction with its condition, presentation and care for it.  During the visit, the delegation took a stroll through the Old Ohrid Bazaar, and also visited the handmade paper workshop, where the process of making the paper was demonstrated, as well as the method of making the unique Ohrid pearl while visiting one of the shops of the Filev family.

VISIT OF THE US SECRETARY OF STATE MR. MIKE POMPEO TO THE ICON GALLERY-OHRID AND THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD PERIBLEPTOS

04. 10. 2019

During the official visit to our country on 04. 10. 2019, the Secretary of State of the United States of America, Mr. Mike Pompeo, together with his wife, Mrs. Susan Pompeo, was in Ohrid. The Secretary of State and his entourage, which included the former ambassador to our country and now the US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe  andEurasia, Philip Reeker, US Ambassador to Skopje Kate Marie Burns, and advisers Mary Kisel and Ricky Waddell, visited the Icon Gallery within the NI Institute and Museum – Ohrid. They were visibly amazed by the splendor and beauty of the Ohrid collection of icons, expressing great interest about their value and significance.

Manuscripts from IX and X century, which are part of the collection of the NI Institute and Museum-Ohrid, were also temporarily exhibited in the Icon Gallery especially for this occasion and presented to the high guests from theUnited States.

In addition to the Icon Gallery, the guests from the United States also visited the church of the Holy Mother of God Peribleptos from 1295, which is one of the most significant Christian shrines and masterpieces of Byzantine architecture and wall painting.

The conservation of architecture and fresco-paintings of this church, as an important church and cultural heritage site, was implemented as part of a project that ran from 2009 to 2016, with funds of $ 650.000, provided through USAID’s programs and the Special Ambassadors Fund for the Protection of Civilizational Artifacts of Cultural and Historical Heritage.

Visit of the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Robert Alagjozovski

13. 07. 2017

Today, the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Robert Alagjozovski, accompanied by the head of his office Todorce Tasevski and the adviser Petrit Sarachini, had the first official visit of the NI Institute and Museum-Ohrid.

They had a brief working meeting with the director Tanja Paskali-Buntasheska, that was spent in a pleasant atmosphere with presentation of the current projects of our institution, but also the overall work in the past period, as well as certain problems that we face in our day-to-day operations.

After the meeting, the Minister, with his escort, made a tour of the working premises and depots in the administrative building “Radnichka”, where he met the employees and had an opportunity to get acquainted directly with several different segments of the overall work of the NI Institute and Museum-Ohrid, in particular from the field of ​​protection and museology, as the core activities of our institution.

At the end of his stay, the Minister and his associates, accompanied by the director Tanja Paskali-Buntasheska, visited the Icon Gallery and the church of the Mother of God Periblepos and expressed satisfaction with the way of preservation, securing and displaying the valuable icons and the overall condition of the Gallery, as well as the condition of the church after comprehensive conservation (architecture and fresco painting), carried out in the past two years.

Visit of the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Robert Alagjozovski to the NI Institute for Protection Monuments of Culture and Museum-Ohrid