Debar

Debar is a small town located in the west of Macedonia, close to the border with Albania. It lies just south of Mavrovo National Park. More than 50% of the people that live in Debar are Albanians. You will pass through Debar if you choose to take the scenic road from Skopje to Ohrid through Mavrovo National Park (Skopje–Tetovo–Gostivar-Mavrovo-Debar-Struga–Ohrid), instead of the more straightforward route from Skopje via Tetovo, Gostivar and Kicevo to Ohrid. The artificial lake near Debar was made in 1964 for the production of hydro-electicity.

Make sure you visit the Nunnery of St George the Victorious (St Gjorgi Pobedonoset). The nunnery, which was completed in 2001, can be found just before you exit Debar on the road to Skopje. If the main gate is closed, enter through the door a little further down the nunnery outer wall. St George the Victorious is the same patron saint of England who slayed the dragon from his white horse in order to save the princess.

The church itself is one of the best preserved in Macedonia, with many intact 19th-century frescoes. The church dates back to 1835, but is built on the foundations of a 16th-century church that in turn was built on the grounds of the 11th-century castle of St George.
The church contains the only replica of St George’s original icon that stands in the Zograf Monastery at Mount Athos in Greece, where it miraculously appeared after the Zograf Monastery was built. The story goes that local bishop did not believe this spontaneous appearance and wanted to check the icon for fresh paint. When he touched the icon, his finger got stuck to the painting and eventually had to be chopped off. The finger remained stuck to the original icon and a bloody digit represents this on the replica icon at St George’s church in Debar.