MACEDONIAN ARCHITECTURE

The old-town Macedonian architecture is very interesting. It reveals itself to our eyes while walking down the streets of the old parts of our cities, particularly in Ohrid. The master builders of these houses, self-taught bricklayers from the region of Debar, created genuine and wonderful buildings.

The old part of Ohrid is packed in the XIX century houses. They are very important for the survey of urban architecture. Their facades raise above the both sides of narrow and steep alleys. One feels as if the eaves on occasions merge. Along the shore-bordering alley of Kosta Abras, for example, you pass along the houses as though you were passing a tunnel. The mild climate enabled the use of wood for the construction of houses, except for the stone foundations. And the wood, in turn, enabled the construction of higher buildings. The floor structure is made up of beams. On them, from both outer and inner sides, thin boards are nailed. Above them a layer of mortar mixed with chaff was poured. Typically white coloured, both old and new Ohrid houses have rather impressive exterior.

Islamic architecture

With their five centuries long presence in the Macedonian territory, it is natural that the Ottomans have left their strong imprint in many aspects of life, particularly in the architecture. They did it through the construction of religious buildings, various public buildings such as inns (Kursumli An in Skopje), "amami" - public baths (Daut - Pasha Amam in Skopje), clock towers (The Saat-kula in Skopje), bridges (The Stone Bridge in Skopje), although some believe it dates as far back as the VI century A.D.)

Strongholds architecture.

In Macedonia numerous fortresses from various historic periods have been preserved. Among them the most famous are: Fort Kale in Skopje, Samuel's Fortress in Ohrid, Markovi Kuli in Prilep, and many others.