# Morodvis Fortress

- **Country:** North Macedonia
- **Coordinates:** 41.849111, 22.416917

Morodvis is a small village situated in the Zrnovci municipality of North Macedonia, nestled at the base of Mount Plačkovica approximately seven kilometers south of Kočani. While currently a modest settlement with a population of roughly 550 people, it serves as the location for Crkvište-Morobizdon, a significant archaeological complex dating back to late antiquity and the medieval period. The site reveals a rich history of continuous habitation and religious importance, originally occupied from the fifth to the seventh centuries before Slavic settlers arrived in the ninth century.

The fortress and surrounding settlement flourished as a major religious center for the Bregalnica region between the tenth and fifteenth centuries. Under the reign of Tsar Samuel, it became a prominent bishopric within the Archbishopric of Ohrid. Architecturally, the site features impressive remnants including a fifth-century church with marble flooring and decorated capitals, as well as a later Romanesque church adorned with frescoes and carved stone furniture. Excavations have uncovered a vast necropolis containing over 350 graves spanning from the twelfth to the nineteenth centuries, yielding valuable artifacts made of gold, bronze, glass, and textile that highlight the area's historical prosperity.

The prominence of Morodvis as an ecclesiastical hub declined toward the end of the twelfth century as Serbian church influence grew in the region, eventually leading to the relocation of the bishopric headquarters to Zletovo in 1347. Today, the village itself is quiet, but the archaeological site remains a crucial testament to the region's layered past. The ruins demonstrate a high technical level of construction and decoration from various eras, offering researchers and visitors insight into the transition from classical antiquity through the medieval ages in the Balkans.

![Photo of Morodvis Fortress](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Morodvis_-_IV_century.jpg)

**Source:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morodvis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)