National Workshop for Handmade Paper

About

National Workshop for Handmade Paper in Ohrid is one of the city’s most charming craft museums, preserving a tradition that dates back to medieval scriptoria. Housed in a stone building near the old bazaar, it is one of the few places in Europe where visitors can watch paper being made exactly as it was centuries ago, using wooden moulds, cotton fibres, and slow, careful drying techniques. Inside, the highlight is the functioning replica of a Gutenberg press. Staff demonstrate how early printers worked, showing how each sheet was inked, pressed, and hung to dry. It’s a rare chance to see the mechanics of Europe’s printing revolution up close. The workshop also displays historic tools, watermarks, and samples of handmade paper used for icons, manuscripts, and official documents. Another engaging section focuses on Ohrid’s own manuscript heritage. Reproductions of medieval texts illustrate why durable, high‑quality paper mattered so much to local scribes. Shelves of contemporary handmade products—cards, notebooks, art sheets—show how the craft continues today.

Ohrid North Macedonia

Location

The National Workshop for Handmade Paper is located right in the heart of the historic center, at Car Samoil 72, Ohrid 6000, North Macedonia. It sits on the main old-town street that goes up from the lake, tucked between the stone houses, just 50 meters from the Robevi House Museum and right next to Villa St. Sofija. It is a tiny place but hard to miss, and that is the beauty of its location - everything else is within a two or three minute walk. Right next door is the Robevi Family House, the National Museum of Ohrid, with its wood-carved ceilings and archaeological collection. Just a few steps down the same street you come to the magnificent Church of St. Sophia, one of the most important medieval churches in the country. If you keep walking up, in less than five minutes you reach Samoil's Fortress, the old castle that dominates the hill and gives you that amazing view over Lake Ohrid and the town. On your way there you will also pass the Ancient Theatre of Ohrid, still used for concerts in summer. Downhill from the workshop you are back at the lake promenade and the old bazaar, with small churches like St. Clement and Panteleimon and St. John at Kaneo just a short walk along the shore.