Exhibition "Slavic Manuscripts from Macedonia, 13th-19th Centuries" opened late Tuesday in Musee Royal de Mariemont in Brussels.

The project, aimed at presenting the millennium-old written tradition in Macedonia through the manuscript cultural heritage, is realized by Skopje-based national and university library "St.Kliment Ohridski", in cooperation with Wallonie-Bruxelles International, and Musee Royal de Mariemont.

The display includes 39 authentic Slavic manuscripts from the 13th up to the 19th centuries. The first three centuries of the millennium (10th-12th) are not included since the authentic manuscripts are currently kept in the Vatican and Saint Petersburg museums.

Culture Minister Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska opened the exhibit, voicing satisfaction that the Belgian museum enabled the presentation of the spiritual and material truth on the development of civilization at Macedonian soil.

"We display the historic reality of our exceptionally valuable manuscripts that present the millennium-old continuity of written and lingual development in Macedonia, as part of the civilization course on the Balkans and Europe. These manuscripts are our national cultural pledge to the process of globalization and cultural spillover of nations on the continent and beyond", said Minister Kanceska-Milevska.

According to her, Macedonia has deep roots in global cultural heritage.

"It is a country-museum, a country of archaeological sites, churches and monasteries, fresco painting, icons, iconostasis, ancient architecture, fortresses, old bazaars etc", added Kanceska-Milevska.

She said the exhibition represented only a small part of the Slavic manuscript heritage.

"Although many manuscripts are beyond Macedonia's borders, this does not mean that the country is beyond reality. Museums preserve while generations remember. From the heart of the European Union, we say that Macedonia belongs to Europe. The presence of our country in Europe is a letter from the presence sent to the future, not the past", underlined Minister Kanceska-Milevska.

The exhibition will be open until October 21.