Jaap van 't Veen's photos with the keyword: Agios Achillios island

The most important church on Agios Achillios island (see: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/47395972) was the Basilica of St. Achilles. The church was founded at the end of the 10th century by Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria. Initially it was the cathedral of the empire of Samuel and later - until the middle of the 15th century - a bishop's church. In the basilica the mummified remains of Saint Achilles - a bishop from Larisa in Thessaly - were kept. These were brought to Agios Achillios after Tsar Samuel conquered Larisa in the 10th century. At the same time he commissioned craftsmen from Larisa to build the three-aisled basilica, which became the seat of the Bulgarian Patriarchate. The impressive church - (20 x 47 meters ) - was a cruciform basilica and among the ruins today one can see the famous sanctuary with three lobed windows, the pillars made of bricks and stones and a tomb on the south side. After the reoccupation of the area by the Byzantines in 1018, the church became dependent on the archdiocese of Ohrid. In 1072 it was plundered by foreign invaders, but it continued to function until at least the middle of the 15th century. Over the years the church was abandoned, deserted and finally became a ruin.

Agios Achillios is a small island in Small (Mikri) Prespa Lake. The name derives from the name of Saint Achilles, bishop of Larisa in the 4th century. The island was both a Roman and a Byzantine settlement and is known for its Byzantine ecclesiastical monuments. On the island there are about ten houses, a guesthouse and a café/restaurant. It is with an island in Lake Pamvotis, nearby Ioannina, the only inhabited island in a lake in Greece. The main sight on the island is the ruin of the Saint Achilles Basilica (see: www.ipernity.com/doc/294067/47408324) . It is said that the island houses water buffalos, but the only animals we saw were some stray cats and ‘normal’ cows. The Agios Achillios island and the Prespa Lakes (also known as Prespes) are located in Northwest Greece, at the tri-border point of Greece, Albania and FYR Macedonia/Republic of North Macedonia. Agios Achillios is connected to the mainland by a 650 m long floating pedestrian bridge.