Treskavec Monastery of the Holy Mother of God-13th-19th centuries The long history of this monastery complex with a church

dedicated to the Assumption of the Mother of God as a sacral place dating back to the early Christian times, has been confirmed by archeological research. The architectural solutions that are visible today resulted from numerous alterations and date from the period between the late 13 th century and the 19th century. The church, whose layout is rather complicated, consists of a nave with a dome and apse, a narthex with a windowless calotte in its south part and a chapel to the north with a structure that was once a portico, now closed with masonry from both the west and south. The monastic refectory, with its surviving authentic mediaeval stone dining tables, is a separate building to the south-west. The hospices surrounding the church have an entrance on the west side, where there is a quadrilateral twostorey bell tower. The earliest paintings, produced in several stages, have survived in the exonarthex and have been dated to the period between the 1340s and 1360s. Among the compositions in this ensemble, the ones in its west part and in the north dome are particularly significant. The illustrated church calendar contains various scenes and individual saints. The north dome is filled with the composition Heavenly Mansions, which is an illustration of Psalm 44 (45) and Dionysius the Areopagites Celestial Hierarchy. A separate ensemble in the south space is made up Jesus Christs bust in the lunette, Mother of God in the niche and the donors composition of the nobleman Gradislav and his wife, who had the chapel in Treskavec erected in the 14th century. In 1430, an anonymous author from the circle of the painter hieromonk Macarius painted the Mother of God with the infant Jesus above the churchs south entrance. Towards the end of the century, the frescoes in the nave were restored by a group of artisans whom science identifies as the Kastoria Workshop from the 1480s. Their stylistic signature is evident in a number of frescoensembles in Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia and Romania. The east part of the church was restored in 1570 and it was then that the frescoes in the altar space were painted, as is indicated in the inscription on the fresco that refers to the names of the donors Stoyan Hranchev and his wife, the churchs abbot Pachomius and bishop Gregory. Further surviving 16th century works are the wood carved church doors and a silver gospel binding. The restoration work in the 17th century probably involved the refectory, judging by the stylistic features of the frescoes in the apse and in the niche above the entrance, while the iconostasis was renovated in the following century. The authorship of these works dating from the second half of the 18th century has been attributed to the painter Margaritus who is believed to have worked on Mount Athos. More extensive construction and painting works in the church were undertaken in the second half of the 19th century, when the space of the parvis with a blind calotte and windows at the basis was formed. In 1849, in this calotte the famous fresco painter Michael from Samarina, together with his partner Zisi from Krushevo, painted the illustration of the hymn dedicated to the Mother of God (O full of grace, Thou art the joy of all creation). Other notable works dating from the second half of that century are the portrait of the hieromonk Samuel painted by the fresco painter Dicho from Tresonche and few other icons by the popular fresco painters from the village of Magarevo.