Ohrid
Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest tectonic lakes in the world, dating back more than four million years. It reaches a depth of 289 meters and covers an area of 360 square kilometers, making it a true Balkan gem. Around its shores are several important and fascinating Christian sites, numerous hotels, and a thriving tourist industry. As the main tourist destination in Macedonia, the lake also boasts an international airport.
The city of Ohrid is located on the northern shores of Lake Ohrid and has great historical significance. It was here that Slavic Christianity began, the Cyrillic alphabet was finalized, and the first Christian university in Europe was founded. It is often called the Jerusalem of the Slavs, as it was known for its 361 churches.
The city was a spiritual center that influenced its surroundings throughout the Middle Ages and remains the most sacred and important site for Macedonians today. The old part of Ohrid, declared a World Heritage Site, is located on a hill overlooking the lake. It is a medieval city enclosed by walls, with picturesque alleys and beautiful churches. To the east and north lies the new town. Along the eastern and northern shores of the lake, there is a scenic riviera with many hotels offering accommodations at various levels. Lake Ohrid is the main vacation destination for residents of Skopje, who escape here from the summer heat, along with many tourists who visit the city.
According to legend, Ohrid was founded by Cadmus, a Phoenician prince and brother of Europa, who had previously founded Thebes (Herodotus dates this to around 2000 BC). Cadmus is said to have brought the Phoenician script to Greece and established the Mysteries on the island of Samothrace. At some point, he was expelled from Thebes and arrived at Lake Ohrid, where he founded the city of Lychnidus, which later became Ohrid. Whether this legend is true or not, it is interesting to note that Ohrid’s historical significance is closely linked to the creation of an alphabet.
The city is situated along the Via Egnatia, the most important road of the Roman Empire, which connected Rome with Byzantium via the port of Durrës. It was first constructed by the Macedonians during the time of Philip the Great in the 4th century BC and later developed by the Romans, who left behind a theater that is still in use today.
The Bulgarians conquered the city in the 9th century and renamed it Ohrid. Its significance grew when the brothers Clement and Nahum arrived in Bulgaria and were sent by Tsar Boris, who had converted to Christianity, to establish the first university of its kind in Ohrid. At the university on Plaošnik Hill, the Cyrillic alphabet was invented, extensive translation work was carried out, and a curriculum of classical studies was developed.
At the end of the 10th century, the center of the Bulgarian Empire moved to the west, and the Cometopuli brothers relocated the capital to Skopje. Later, Tsar Samuel moved it to Ohrid, built the Ohrid fortress, and developed the city on a grand scale. He found it a convenient base for the fight against the Byzantines. Ohrid became the seat of the Bulgarian Patriarchate from 990 to 1018 and is said to have had 365 churches at that time, one for each day of the year, hence it was called “Jerusalem of the Slavs.”
After the renewed Byzantine conquest, Ohrid became an archbishopric, which existed until the 18th century. In the 14th century, Ohrid became part of the growing Serbian Empire, which built a few churches in it. In the 16th century, the archbishopric reached its peak and ruled large parts of the Balkans. The Ottomans made Ohrid the capital of a Sanjak (province), and so Ohrid still has a Turkish, Albanian, and Muslim population and some Muslim sites. However, the most important sites are the Christian ones.
Ohrid boasts a restored Roman theater that is used for performances, an important archaeological museum, and features houses built in traditional and unique designs from the 18th and 19th centuries. The entire city is a living museum with many museum houses. Among the alleys of the old town, there are a multitude of cafes, galleries, and workshops for the production of Ohrid pearls—the lake’s specialties. Besides Ohrid pearl workshops and stores, one can also find paper, woodworking, and icon painting workshops.
Near the old town, there is a large pedestrian street with many shops and restaurants, leading to the promenade and pier on the shores of the lake. From the pier, a seafront esplanade leads eastward to the hotel area, and westward to a small fishing village and the beach of Kaneo below Plaošnik Hill.
Ohrid Churches
Sofia Cathedral
Hiding among the ancient streets of Ohrid is the great cathedral named after the Goddess of wisdom – Sophia. The church was built in the 9th century with the arrival of the Bulgarians to the city, and in its current form by Tsar Samuel, who designated it as a patriarchal church at the end of the 10th century. The main building dates from this period and the beginning of the 11th century. Parts were added to the church in the 14th century, including the beautiful portico with columns and arches on the western side.
The importance of the church is, among other things, due to the fact that it contains rare preserved frescoes from the 11th century. You can see the intense emotional expression and high artistic ability of the images, which suggest a Christian perception that differs from the stagnation of Byzantium. This place was the seat of the Archbishop of Ohrid until the Ottoman period, but the Ottomans converted it into a mosque, and the Archbishop moved to the nearby Monastery of the Mother of God.
The name Sophia is associated with the mystical Christian concept that there is an intermediate world of energies—spheres between us and God, the lowest of which, and with the greatest influence on the world, is wisdom—Sophia, who is the embodiment of the Word—the Logos and the divine light. Churches named after Sophia were built throughout the Christian world, especially in Bulgaria during the First Bulgarian Empire.
The Bulgarian capital is named after the Sophia Church within it. This naming of the patriarchal cathedral may be connected to the teachings of the mystical and heretical Christian Gnostic Bogomil sect that took root in the Bulgarian Empire at that time. Tsar Samuel was inclined toward the Bogomil heresy and supported by it.
Plaošnik
Ohrid is associated with two saints: Saint Clement and Saint Nahum, who are depicted holding a book in their hands in the main square on the shores of the lake. On the nearby hill of Plaošnik, Clement founded what is considered the first university in Europe, where the Cyrillic alphabet was developed and extensive translation work of the Holy Scriptures into Slavic took place. Next to the university, he built the large Church of Saint Panteleimon, which is now also named after him, and is the place where his remains are interred. Both the university and the church were designed by Clement himself, who led the Bulgarian Church and was its first independent archbishop.
The Plaošnik complex is large and beautiful and is considered the holiest place in Macedonia. The Church of Saint Panteleimon was destroyed by the Ottomans in the 15th century. Even though the current church is new, it was built according to the architecture of earlier periods and in the same design. In 2002, the project was completed, and the saint’s remains were transferred there from the nearby Church of the Mother of God. The Macedonians are also re-establishing the University of Clement on the same site, and the reconstruction of the complex symbolizes for them the renewal and triumph of local Christianity.
Saint Clement is buried in a crypt inside the church, which is visited by crowds on holidays and religious occasions. Near the church, you can see the archaeological excavations of the ancient university building, as well as the remains of a large Byzantine basilica with beautiful mosaics. In the churchyard, there is an ancient and impressive baptismal font. From the Plaošnik complex, a path descends to the shores of the lake and leads to the Kaneo Church.
Church of the Mother of God (Perybleptos)
The Plaošnik complex is located on the high western hill of Ohrid, with the fortress of Tsar Samuel above it. On the eastern side of the city, opposite Plaošnik Hill, there is another hill with the important 13th-century “Mother of God” (Perybleptos) Church, and next to it, the Archbishop’s House of Ohrid and a small icon museum.
Inside the Perybleptos Church are wonderful frescoes, which represent the best fresco painting of the Palaeological Renaissance from the end of the 13th century in Macedonia. They were created by the two most important painters of that period, Michael and Eutychios, who reached the zenith of their work here. One cycle of paintings depicts events from the life of Mary, including those that do not appear in the New Testament, and another cycle depicts events from the life of Jesus, including a unique depiction of Jesus voluntarily ascending the cross using a ladder. The paintings reflect the mystical concepts prevalent at the time and teach us that a person must voluntarily sacrifice their old self—the ego—in order to be reborn into the spiritual world, and that this birth is accomplished with the help of the feminine principle symbolized by Mary, embodying purity.
When the Ottomans converted the Plaošnik Church into a mosque and then demolished it, the remains of St. Clement were moved to this place, and it became the main church of Ohrid, the seat of the archbishop who ruled religiously over large parts of the Balkans until the end of the 17th century. The church is located within a large complex, which has an entrance gate with an impressive tower. Inside the church is the archbishop’s house and the archbishop’s library, and next to it is a cemetery where some of the most important figures in Macedonian history are buried, including literary, educational, and religious figures.
Caneo Church
Descending from Plaošnik Hill towards the lake, one comes across what is considered the most beautiful and photographed church in Macedonia, the small Caneo Church. Built in the 14th century by the Serbs who ruled Ohrid at the time, it demonstrates influences of the Serbian Moravian style. Orthodox churches typically have a cross-shaped structure with a dome on top. In Serbian architecture, the dome began to rise upwards, creating an effect of uplifting for those inside. The Moravian style reached its peak in the 14th century, the time of Stefan Dušan, who took control of Macedonia and large parts of the Balkans. Similar churches can be seen at the Matka Canyon near Skopje and at the Ostrog Monastery in the east of the country.
Caneo Church is located on cliffs that rise above the lake in a breathtaking location, perfectly complementing and enhancing the view. Below the cliffs, where the rock meets the water, there is a chapel and a small cave. This is perhaps the oldest sacred site in Ohrid, which has likely been revered since prehistoric times. According to Christian legend, Saint Erasmus, a scholar and martyr in 3rd-century Byzantium, came to the cave. According to Muslim legend, Saint Sari Saltik from Cappadocia visited the cave in the 14th century and fought a dragon there.
