Plaošnik or simply Plaoš ( mk, Плаошник, Плаош) is an archaeological site and holy place in
Ohrid
Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...
, 250 meters below
Samuil's Fortress. In the future, the whole complex will have konaks (mansions) as in the time of Saint
Clement of Ohrid
Saint Clement of Ohrid (Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian: Свети Климент Охридски, ; el, Ἅγιος Κλήμης τῆς Ἀχρίδας; sk, svätý Kliment Ochridský; – 916) was one of the first medieval Bulgarian ...
, together with several surrounding objects.
Archaeological sites
St. Clement’s Church
The church was built by
St. Clement in the year 893 on the foundation of an early Christian basilica, and dedicated to
St. Panteleimon. It was here that the
Ohrid Literary School
The Ohrid Literary School or Ohrid- ''Devol'' Literary school was one of the two major cultural centres of the First Bulgarian Empire, along with the Preslav Literary School (Pliska Literary School). The school was established in Ohrid (in what is ...
, a center of
Slavonic literary and cultural activity where more than 3,500 disciples were educated. St. Clement was buried in this church, in the tomb which was built by his own hands.
After the advent of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, St. Clement's church was converted into a mosque, known as the Imaret Mosque ( tr, İmaret Camii), of which only a small enclosure remains. The mosque was built as an endowment and a memorial by Sinan Chelebi, member of the distinguished Turkish family of the Ohrizade. The Imaret Mosque was torn down in 2000 with the reason given that it was constructed over the remains of a church in the Plaošnik area and the former mosque was added to the damaged religious buildings list compiled by the
Islamic Religious Community of Macedonia
The Islamic Religious Community of North Macedonia or IRC ( sq, Bashkësia Fetare Islame e Maqedonisë së Veriut or BFI, mk, Исламската Верска Заедница во Северна Македонија or ИВЗ) is an independent ...
.
Apart from the church's many reconstructions during the time of the Ottoman Empire, it has undergone extensive reconstruction and excavation in the
contemporary period. The most recent restoration started on 8 December 2000 and was completed by 10 August 2002. Most of Saint Clement's relics were
translated
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
to the church.
;Baptistery
On Plaošnik has been discovered the baptistery of the five aisle basilica with hooked crosses (
swastika
The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. It ...
s) on the mosaic floors which date from the period between 4th and 6th century. It is assumed that this early Christian basilica at Plaoshnik upon which the Kliment's monastery was built in the 9th century, was dedicated to
St. Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
the Apostle who preached Christianity in Lychnidos (present-day Ohrid) in the 1st century A.D.
On 10 October 2007, a deposit of approximately 2,383
Venetian
Venetian often means from or related to:
* Venice, a city in Italy
* Veneto, a region of Italy
* Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area
Venetian and the like may also refer to:
* Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
coin
A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...
s was discovered by archaeologists while excavating the monastery. A prominent archaeologist of the Republic of Macedonia,
Pasko Kuzman
Pasko Kuzman ( Macedonian: Паско Кузман; born 1947) is a Macedonian archaeologist.
Work
Kuzman has been working on the whole territory of North Macedonia, but especially in the Skopje area and Lake Ohrid, one of the deepest lakes in ...
, stated that the coins are of special significance because they indicate that Ohrid and Venice were
commercially
Commerce is the large-scale organized system of activities, functions, procedures and institutions directly and indirectly related to the exchange (buying and selling) of goods and services among two or more parties within local, regional, nation ...
linked.
Culture – Republic of Macedonia
Archaeology – Depot with Venetian Silver Coins Excavated, '' Večer'', 10 October 2007
See also
*Ohrid
Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...
References
Gallery
Image:Plaošnik 04.jpg, Plaošnik
Image:Plaošnik 11.jpg, Swastika
Image:Plaoshnik-Ohrid.jpg, Some archaeological works on Plaošnik
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plaosnik
Archaeological sites in North Macedonia
Ohrid
Golden Age of medieval Bulgarian culture