Galičnik

Galičnik (Галичник) is a mountain village in North Macedonia and along with Lazaropole is one of the two biggest and oldest Mijak villages in the region. Galičnik has well-preserved traditional architecture, including an amphitheater in the village square, and is famous for its surrounding countryside and nature reserve.

History
The village is located in the ethnographic region of "Mijačija", named after the Mijaks (Мијаци/Mijaci), the tribe historically inhabiting this mountainous region. This region has plentiful rich pastures for livestock grazing and this feature attracted Vlachs, shepherds, who established settlements based on cattle-breeding and shepherding.

Events
The most important event in the village is the Galička Svadba, a traditional wedding custom held annually in summer (in July), on the day of the village feast of the Patron Saint – Petrovden (St. Peter's day). During the wedding, local men will dance the "Teškoto" (the "hard" or "heavy") - a dance that is meant to symbolize the overcoming of difficulties in life.

Culture
The regional art, dress and music are rich in detail and original in character. While sharing characteristics of regional culture dating back centuries.

The traditional dress and costume adorned during ceremonial events is highly detailed and unique. Examples can be seen at museums.

The village is built based on traditional housing standards used for centuries in the region. Stone wall construction, supported by wooden beams, compact earth insulation and using stone slate roofing.

Historic houses
There are many houses owned by prominent families in Galičnik that are protected by the North Macedonian Cultural Heritage Protection Office. A selected few are as follows:


 * House of Jovan Muratovski
 * House of Pejčin Tomovski


 * House of Miloš and Dingo Melovski



Notable people from Galičnik

 * Slavko Brezoski (1921-2017)
 * Lazar Ličenoski (1901-1964)
 * Doksim Mihailović (1883–1912)
 * Risto Ognjanovikj-Lonoski (1870-1941)
 * Georgi Pulevski (1817–1895)
 * Aleksandar Sarievski (1922–2002)
 * Partenij Zografski (1818–1876)