The Prespa region as a whole is a pearl of Macedonian cultural and administrative history. Since ancient times, Prespa has been an important crossroads of the Roman road Via Egnatia, and the toponym Pretor (lat. Praetor – manager of the administrative unit) openly speaks of the importance of the place as the seat of the governor of a Roman province. In the Middle Ages, Prespa was a bastion and capital of Samoil’s Macedonian Empire, which here had its brightest moments and its tragic end.

 

In the area of ​​Prespa, 130 archeological sites from different periods of the development of material culture have been registered, then 1000 archeological exhibits, 500 coins, as well as 450 exhibits of ethnological heritage.

 

In Prespa there are 95 churches and monastery complexes, as well as 1024 icons.

 

Till today, the sacred buildings from the period 11-17 century survive: St. Ilija in the village of Grnchari (12th century), St. Gjorgji in the village of Kurbinovo (12th century), St. Sava in the village Pretor (14th century), St. Bogorodica in the village Slivnica (17th century), St. Petka in the village Brajcino (14th century) and St. Atanas and St. Arhangel in the village Dolno Dupeni (14th century).

 

One of the most important monuments of Islamic culture is the Hadjiramadan Mosque, built in 1592.

 

The villages of Brajcino, Ljubojno and Dolno Dupeni are recognizable for their traditional village architecture with houses built of stone that still reflect the spirit of a bygone era.

 

From the city architecture stands out the so-called building Saraj – a cultural monument in R. Macedonia built in the early 20th century during the Young Turk Revolution in the style of neoclassicism following the example of French architecture.

 

The Resen ceramic colony, located in the House of Culture “Dragi Tozija” is a member of the International Academy of Ceramics at UNESCO. Every year, the Ceramic Colony organizes a working session for eminent artists from around the world and it is held in the village Oteshevo.

 

In the village Podmocani there is one of the richest ethnological collections in Macedonia, housed in a privately owned Ethnological Museum.