Zovich

In 2024 we did a daytrip from Bitola to the village Zovich (Zovik) in the Mariovo region. The drive itself already was fun thanks to the interesting landscape of Mariovo. The main reason to visit Zovich was the famous Stone Bridge, also called “Movie Bridge” because it stars in the movie “Dust” by the famous Macedonian movie director Milcho Manchevski.

According to a sign near the bridge there used to be a wooden bridge, until a local villager (Veljko Trajkoski, yes, they like to name and shame in Zovich!) broke the wooden bridge in 1950 with an overloaded wagon. Veljko, his wagon and the ox pulling it fell down into the river. Lucky for Veljko, the miller of the mill under the bridge rescued Veljko who despite some disabilities reached an old age.

In 1955 a new bridge was built using stone. The builder and his workers lived in the village during the construction, and each house had to take care of them for some time. In 2014 the bridge was repaired and got it current look. There is a mill next to the bridge, which was used to grind grain. Location: N41° 07′ 07.9″ E21° 43′ 02.6″.

Just before the bridge there is a fresco of St George on a rock. The original fresco dates back to 1925 and it was restored in 2006.

St Nikola

The Church of St Nikola was built in 1862. It was damaged during the First World war and restored in 1927. Location: N41° 07′ 06.6″ E21° 42′ 45.0″.

St Atanasij

The Church of St Athanasius is located about 500 m north of the Church of St Nikola. We had to walk through some fields to get there. This old church likely is from the 17th century.

Despite its old age, some of the frescoes in the Church of St Atanasij are well preserved. It is worth the walk through the fields! Location: N41° 07′ 14.6″ E21° 42′ 40.3″

Holy water Spring

There was a sign in the village pointing to this spring that alledgedly has holy water. It was basically dry when we visited in September 2024. Location: N41° 06′ 56.7″ E21° 42′ 45.3″

We did not visit the Monastery Complex “Chebren“, which is located outside of Zovich. Maybe next time!

After our visit to Zovich, we visited the villages Staravina and Gradesnica.