The Robevci family or just Robev is one of the most eminent and most researched families in Macedonia. They are a family with rich history which reveals information for their life, origin and occupation since the seventeenth century. Today, around 100,000 documents are saved in a library in Sofia, Bulgaria and they’re containing information about family Robev from the 19th century until the Second World War. Family Robevci undoubtedly were considered a noble family. Their line consists of many fathers and sons, most of them successful but also with early deaths (many have died in their twenties and thirties).
They worked in the area of medicine, enlightenment, politics and trade. Most of them have studied in Europe, and had their own trade offices in Istanbul, Vienna, Moscow, Belgrade, Sofia, Leipzig and other European cities. The power of family Robev (political, economic and cultural) is beautifully represented through their house, the house in Ohrid that still stands as proof of the long existence of this family.
Two brothers from the lineage Robevci lived in this house; it was built in 1825 and the same year the house was burnt. Luckily, the following year the house was already renovated and today it is in excellent condition and can be visited.
According to prominent architects and historical researchers, this house today is considered an architectural art and ingenuity, and it is known as the architectural symbol of the city and Macedonian culture, in general.
The house has three floors plus the upper section called Shirvan (mac: ширван). The space of the house serves as an archaeological and ethnological museum section. Monuments of Ohrid can be found in the lower part of the house, and also in this section is exposed the statue of the goddess Isis.
The last floor known as “Shirvan” is known for its rich and majestic interior where copies of carved objects are presented (they were made by famous craftsmen in Ohrid). In the eastern part of the Shirvan The ethnological exhibition of items of furniture family Robevci (trunks, family history books, a fresco by from 1862, the medical bag of Constantine Robev and other objects).
The whole house is full of objects made of quality wood, elegant and expensive furniture, pillows, sheets and blankets with Macedonian folk pattern, large windows, illuminated rooms and walls decorated with portraits and old, valuable paintings).
The last reconstruction of this impressively beautiful house was made in 1990. The house of Robevci stands in a narrow alley and its antique spirit cannot be neglected.
Narrow streets of Orhrid
The old stone streets of the city, flower gardens and the large number of churches and monasteries near the center of Ohrid only add to the beauty of this house.
Worth to visit, isn’t it?
Good article. You missed one little detail tho. The Robev family are Bulgarians, worth mentioning.