Resen is a town in the south-western part of Macedonia. Resen is also the only town in the Prespa Lake area and is seat of Resen municipality.

According to the 2002 census, Resen has 8,748 inhabitants.

Resen rises 880 meters above sea level and is very close to Lake shore of Prespa lake. Resen is equidistant between Bitola (31 km) and Ohrid (35 km) and is located on the E-65 international route. Skopje via Ohrid is 193 km away.

Resen is not a very large city and most of the sites are close to each other, so walking is the best way to get from place to place. Resen is host of Prespa’s Ceramic Colony, an art gallery that takes place in the Saraj castle.

Climate & when to come in Resen

Resen together with the Prespa region as well, have a mild continental climate with cold winters and warm summers, which makes them a tourist desired destination, especially in summer. The mean value of the temperature during the year is 10,2°С. July is the warmest month with a temperature average of 21°С, while January has 0,3°С.

Resen tourist attractions

• GOLEM GRAD ISLAND Also known as Snake Island, is an island located in Prespa Lake. It is about 18 hectares big and includes ancient ruins from Roman, Neolithic, and Hellenic times. It also includes six churches and monasteries, and much more. Apart from the preserved church of St. Peter, the attention is drawn by the medieval church dedicated to St. Demetrius, as well as the early Christian basilica from the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 5th century, where remnants of a floor mosaic have been found. It is home to many endemic plants, rare birds, and many snakes 24.69 km S from Resen center Natural attractions
• RESEN MUSEUM The Resen museum is settled in the Resen castle, which was built in 1908 by Ahmed Niyazi Bey. It would give you the feeling that you were in France, due to the fact that Ahmed Niyazi Bey was educated in Paris and made this castle in French style. This castle now houses the Resen Museum. The museum of Resen contains a great collection of archaeological and ethnological finds from the Resen area. 0.35 km SE from main square / Resen Museums
• SAINT GJORGI MONASTERY In the Prespa region, near the picturesque village of Kurbinovo, embraced by the mountain Pelister there is the church dedicated to St, George. According to the time of its fresco-decoration, it is supposed that the church was built in the year 1191. There are still no other reliable documented data on it. In the 19th century, the church in Kurbinovo was renovated, and in the first decades of the 20th century, a wooden ceiling and the porch were built, and the southern and the northern entrances were closed and transformed into two windows. What impresses and amazes in this church is its fresco-painting, which, coupled by the one in the church Sveti Panteleimon near Skopje, represents an original and a peak of the artistic mastery in the times of the art of Komnens in Macedonia. On the west facade, there are visible remnants of frescoes with depictions of female and male characters in full size, vested in imperial clothes, as well as a figure of a church nobleman. It is most probably a depiction of the people who built the original small church.The fresco-painting in the interior of the church is divided into three zones. The drawing is expressive, dynamic, with accentuated slenderness, vivaciousness and movement of the painted figures. Typical is the depiction of the drapes that are vivacious in baroque style, with a great number of animated folds. The frescoes illustrate scenes from the life of Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary. In the altar apse, the composition Annunciation is painted, that has made this church exclusive and a part of the annals of the peak achievements of the Byzantine fresco-painting. The depiction of the Archangel Gabriel stands out in it. It has almost become a symbol and landmark of the church in Kurbinovo. Interesting and rare are the depictions of Jesus Christ and the patron of the church, St. George, from the north and the south wall, with a monumental size. Outstanding among the frescoes are the portraits of Ana and its daughter Mary, the Mother of God, painted in the lower zone of the south wall of the naos, as well as the portraits of the Macedonian enlighteners Cyril and Methodius, in the altar space. The depiction of St. Methodius is its oldest portrait known in the entire Slavic-Byzantine world. Opposite from them, there is the figure of St. Clement of Ohrid. The fresco-painting in the temple St. George is a synthesis of infusible into a single entity, a junction of its pinnacle elegance and the high expressiveness. 12.56 km SSE from Resen center Sacred heritage
• SLIVNICA MONASTERY Among the treasure of cultural monuments in the region of Prespa is the monastery Mother of God in the vicinity of village Slivnica. The monastery complex comprises the church, the renovated and carefully designed lodgings, situated in the big monastery court. By the church, there is a spring of holy water, of which miraculous and healing properties people speak with admiration. The church Mother of God is positioned on an oblong basis, in the shape of an inscribed cross, with a dome and a semi-circular apse, five-sided from the outside. Above the west entrance from the inner side of the church there is an inscription that says that it was built and fresco-painted in the times of the abbot Nikanur, in the year 1607g. As donors of the church are noted several people, among whom especially prominent is Mihailo Petkov from Bitola, whose son Kupen (who died in 1599), is depicted on the north side of the altar apse, attired in ceremonial clothes. Five years after the church was built, the dome-covered narthex was built and fresco-painted, and in the year 1645 parts of the old fresco-decoration were renovated and repainted, and in the 19th century, the closed porch and the wooden bell-tower were built again. The fresco-decoration in the church is a work of several masters who all have their individual characteristics. Among them, the name of the zograph Nikola is noted in the inscription in the niche over the west entrance, where the composition Mother of God with Christ is painted. Most probably, the frescoes on the west facade is work of this zograph. The Great Cross and the Deisis plate are preserved in this church. The Royal Doors and the throne icons originate from the 16th century. 14.49 km SSE from Resen center Sacred heritage
• PRESPA LAKE The Prespa lake is second largest lake in Macedonia. The Prespa lake is settled in the south-western part of the Republic of Macedonia and lies in the Prespa valley, between the Resen field and Baba, Suva Gora and Galicica mountain. South – eastern of the lake Golem Grad is the point that connect the Macedonian – Greek – Albanian border. The lake of Prespa covers and area of 274 sq km, of which 176,8 sq km are in Macedonia, 49,4 sq km are in Albania and 47,8 sq km are in Greece. Prespa lake lies of an attitude of 853 above the sea level. The Prespa lake is contained from Golema Prespa and Mala Prespa and the second one Mala Prespa as a gulf, deeply enters in south-west between the Suva Gora and Galicica mountain. The length of the Prespa lake is 28,6 km and the width is 16,9 km. The approximately depth of the Prespa lake is 18,75 meters and the deepest point is at Golubino depression, 54 meters. On the bottom of the lake there are more depressions like, Nivicka, Konjska and Stenjska. The coast of the western part of the lake is fill of cliffs, while the eastern part of fill of beautiful sand beaches. Prespa lake, as part of Galicica National Park, its rare plant and animal life that have been preserved through the centuries, are strictly protected. Boat trips may be taken around the island, and escorted land trips are available under the auspices of the park authorities. The Prespa lake, most important water sources are, Golema Reka, Brajcinska Reka and Kranska and the Malo Prespa lake, that is 3 meters above the Golemo Prespa lake. So through the place Perovo the water from the Malo Prespa lake flows, in the Golemo Prespa lake. The water of the Prespa lake has it’s highest temperature in August, 24,3 degrees, while in the winter is the coldest and sometimes may freeze. The color of the water is variable yellow-green and heavenly blue. 18.6 km S from Resen center Natural attractions