This is the definitive example of nineteenth-century Ohrid town architecture – the upper storeys stepping out over the street are the shape the whole Old Town is famous for. The brothers Angele and Anastas Robev bought the earlier house on this site in 1825, took it down to the foundations and completed the new three-level house on 15 April 1827. It burned in January 1861 and was rebuilt over the two years that followed as a dual house: the left half for Konstantin Robev, the right for Anastas.
The master builder was Todor Petkov, a renowned Macedonian carver from the village of Gari, and separate carvers were brought from Debar for Angele's half – the two teams were forbidden to see each other's work, so the two halves of the house are visibly different to this day. It has held the national museum since June 1950 and reopened as a museum on 25 August 1990, with a Robev memorial floor, the archaeology of the Ohrid-Struga region, and Ohrid woodcarving displayed in the shirvan.
Local tip: Hours are tight and it closes on Mondays. The museum publishes a single winter shift of 09:00 to 15:30 from 1 October to 30 April, and two shifts in summer from 1 May to 30 September. Check before you climb up – the limited hours are the one thing reviewers complain about.
Good to know
- Where: Tsar Samoil Street 62, Ohrid 6000
- City: Ohrid
- Website: official site