Ohrid


Ohrid, Macedonia

In Biblical Macedonia, every path leads to Ohrid. The person coming to Ohrid is at first amazed, and afterwards, deep within his soul, bows to its marks, which simply encourage you to understand or maybe to wonder – why certain places have been chosen to be different, praised and unique in the whole world.

Ohrid is the center of Christianity for all Slavs, an archbishopric seat, a seat of schools and universities, the first ones in this region, and even further. As an important Christian center, it becomes a place where new styles of fresco and icon painting were found, as well as specific sacral architecture (St. Kliment, St. Sofia, St. Jovan of Kaneo, etc.). Today Ohrid remains a center of archaeological sites and discoveries. Ohrid is the city of 365 churches. One church for each day of the year.

Archaeological finds indicate that Ohrid is one of the oldest human settlements in all of Europe. Ohrid town is first mentioned in 353 BC, when it was known as Lychnidos - or, “the city of light.” Only much later, in 879 CE, was it renamed Ohrid. The name probably derives from the phrase “vohridi” – meaning roughly, “in the cliff.” It comes from the time when the town was limited in a small area on the lake side of the hill, which in fact is a huge cliff rising above the lakeshore. The town as we know it today was built mostly between the 7th and 19th centuries. During the Byzantine period, Ohrid became a significant cultural and economic center, serving as an Episcopal center of the Orthodox Church and as the site of the first Slavic university run by St. Clement and St. Naum at the end of the 9th century. At the beginning of the 11th century, Ohrid briefly became the capital of the kingdom ruled by Car Samuel, whose fortress still presides over the city today.

A town of vast history and heritage, it was made a UNESCO heritage site in 1980.

Ohrid lies on the shores of Ohrid Lake and is also under protection of UNESCO.

Lake Ohrid, which came into being between four to ten million years ago, is Europe's oldest lake, and is amongst the oldest in the world.  By its origin the lake is a tectonic one and belongs to the so-called group of "Dasaretian lakes”.

Lake Ohrid lies in the valley between Ohrid and Struga, in the border region between Macedonia and Albania and its altitude is 695 meters above sea level. It covers an area of 358.2 square kilometers, two thirds of which belong to the Republic of Macedonia, and the rest to the Republic of Albania

Ohrid is part of Macedonia in the past seven decades and has greatly prospered. It has become an important tourist resort, made significant steps in the development of tourism industry and now has an extensive network of educational, cultural, medical and other institutions.

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