The photographs from Lake Mavrovo spread on their own: people in swimwear climbing the outer wall of the tower of the submerged Church of St. Nicholas. Some standing on the protruding concrete ledge, some hanging off the steps on the side. Below them - water, and below the water - a village.

The author of the post that triggered the reaction says these are visitors arriving in vans and climbing straight onto the structure, dressed inappropriately for a church and a sacred space. The sentence of his that travelled furthest is short: „This is not a beach, it is not a swimming pool and it is not a place for this kind of behaviour.”

The same post raises three questions the institutions never touch: is anyone monitoring this behaviour, does anyone warn visitors that this is a church, and do any rules on access and conduct around the building exist at all.

The problem is not who arrives, but what fails to meet them

Worth noting: the post itself did not take the easy route. It states explicitly that the tourists are not the problem: „It is not a problem that tourists come from Germany, the Netherlands or any other country. Tourists are welcome” - adding that every visitor, wherever they come from, must respect the place they are visiting, its faith, culture, tradition and rules.

That is the difference between anger and a demand. And it is exactly why the demand is reasonable.

The appeal is addressed to the mayor of the Mavrovo and Rostuša municipality, the communal inspectorate, police officers, the management of the Mavrovo National Park and the institutions responsible for protecting cultural heritage. It asks for an urgent on-site inspection to establish whether there is material damage and whether regulations have been breached.

There is a concrete risk here, not merely a symbolic one: climbing the structure can further physically damage a church building that is already deteriorating. This is a building that has stood in water for decades. It needs nothing more than regular loading to have its decay accelerated.

A small request, still unmet

What the citizens are asking for is not expensive: clear rules, warning signs and regular patrols. A sign and a walk-through. That is all.

At the time of writing there had been no official response from the Mavrovo and Rostuša municipality, from the police, or from any of the other institutions named. The church is one of the most photographed spots in the country, it appears on every tourism brochure for Mavrovo, and it apparently never had a single sign explaining what it is.

If the site is good enough for a promotional video, why is it not important enough for one inspection visit during the season?