Ohrid is a large town in southwestern on the shore of Lake Ohrid. A town of vast history and heritage, it was made a in 1980. Nestled between high mountains up to 2,100 m and Lake Ohrid, it is not only a place of historic significance but also of outstanding natural beauty. Ohrid is the jewel in Macedonia's crown. Ohrid and Lake Ohrid Archaeological finds indicate that Ohrid is one of the oldest human settlements in all of Europe. The lake itself is over three million years old. 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 Ohrid Archbishopric. Along with , it became the site of the first Slavic universities in the 9th century. At the beginning of the 11th century, Ohrid briefly became the capital of the Bulgarian Empire, ruled by Car Samuil, whose fortress still presides over the city today. By plane Ohrid has an international airport: St Paul the Apostle : OHD about 7 km from city center which connects Ohrid with , , , and. From June 2015, Wizz Air connects Ohrid twice weekly with and. The airport is open year round but most airlines only fly during the summer, so check with your travel agent or airline for most current information. A new bus service links the airport and the city port of Ohrid. By bus There is a regular bus service from and. The bus from Skopje takes approximately three and a half hours. The easiest way to get to Ohrid is from Skopje, where buses run every few hours. A bus from Skopje takes about 3. It's a little bit trickier to get to Ohrid from Greece. From , the easiest way is to take a travel agency bus to Skopje and then hop on a bus to Ohrid. If you want to reach Ohrid and Macedonia from there is a regular bus line from to Skopje via Albania, passing through , , and. The Ohrid bus station is two kilometers outside of the center of town about a 30 minute walk. In the summer, travelers to Skopje from Ohrid will want to buy a ticket a day or two in advance. You can save a trip to the bus station by buying bus tickets from the Galeb Галеб office the center of Ohrid on Partizanska 41. The office is on the small dead-end road to the north side of Partizanska between Boulevard Macedonian Educators and Kuzman Josifovski. It isn't obvious, but ask in any of the tour agencies on the road and they can help. During the onward journey at least the bus can drop you at Stevi Naum last bus passes near the border and comes back to Ohrid at about 19:20 in August 2017. Bus from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Slovenia Eurobus is an international coach operator based in that has almost daily tours from Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Stops in the major cities Skopje, Tetovo, Ohrid. By taxi Transport in Ohrid is inexpensive and covers all areas of the city. On foot The city center and the old town is compact and best seen on foot. An interesting walk that takes in the main attractions starts in the main square. The city's museums are in this area. From here, visit St. Sophia Church, the Antique Theater. Finally, walk up the hill to King Samuil's Fortress. Plaoshnik, and St John - Kaneo can be visited on the return journey. Ohrid at night Aside from the lake, Ohrid is most famous for its ancient churches, basilicas, and monasteries where Saints Kliment and Naum with the help of the Bulgarian king Boris I students of Cyril and Methodus wrote their teachings and formulated the Cyrillic alphabet used in the Republic of Macedonia, as well as neighboring countries Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro and as far as Russia, and many of the countries of the former Soviet Union. Most of these churches charge an entry which for tourists is normally double that what locals pay, but is still worth it. It is a good idea to cover up when entering a church, but most locals will understand the inconveniences involved during a hot Macedonian Summer. There is also a wonderful ancient walled fortress at the top of the city. Sophia church 11th c. Fourth basilica built on this same spot the oldest one being a Roman basilica courthouse. Present church was built in 1035 by archbishop Lav, front facade with the towers and the open galleries was built in 1317 by archbishop Gregory. The side porch was added when the church was turned into a mosque by the Turks. Inside is the biggest composition of 11th century frescoes preserved in the world. The main altar has scenes from the old testament and an emotional procession of angels bowing to Virgin Mary. The side altars have a fresco of the 40 martyrs Roman soldiers left to freeze because they didn't want to give up Christianity which is very rarely depicted in the left altar and in the right altar portraits of Patriarchs from Constantinople, Jerusalem and Antioch, archbishops from Ohrid and Roman Popes Ohrid archbishopcy always flirted with Roman Catholicism, so it would keep its important position with the Orthodox church. The small square in front of it was the main forum in ancient times. Bogorodica Perivlepta 13th c. The benefactor was Progon Zgur, son in law of the Byzantine emperor Andronicus II. The church was painted by Michael and Eutychius, two young painters. Their work shows that styles later adopted in the Renaissance were already current in Byzantine art long before Gioto. The frescoes they painted have all the elements of the renaissance art except perspective. Important frescoes: eastern wall the portraits of St. Klement and Konstantin Kavasila archbishop of Ohrid , detailed portraits with personal features; Lamentation of Christ, painted with many emotions, Virgin Mary is about to faint, a woman next is holding her, women are pulling their hair from pain in disbelief, on the right notice a woman acting reasonably and trying to stop another from pulling her hair, angels above the whole scene are crying, in the left corner notice a group of women doing what normal people do gossiping about what happened; western wall Prayer in the olive mountain as the apostles are sleeping take a look at their dresses and how well the artists worked with color and showed the roundness of the bodies; northern wall Death of Virgin Mary in order to present the holiness of the moment there is a bunch of angels coming from the gates of the sky to take her soul, above her stands Jesus holding her soul, notice her body and how familiar are the artists with the human anatomy. The figures painted by Michael and Eutychius are not presented the traditional Byzantine way, skinny, emotionless and with their thoughts wondering somewhere. They are presented like healthy, chubby young men with red cheeks. Mihailo and Evtihie are the first Byzantine artists to sign their work on 20 different hidden locations, look on the front columns at the sword and the cloth of two holy warriors. Their work left strong influence on the Byzantine art. John the Theologian - Kaneo church 13th c. Notable about the cute architecture is Armenian influence in the zig-zag line of the roof of the dome. Pantelejmon — Plaoshnik - It has been very important religious center since early Christian times, if not before. It is the site of the first university in Europe, opened in the 10th c. The church you see is a reconstruction of the church St. Klement built when he came here and opened the university. The 5 nave early Christian basilica in the middle of which the church stands is from the 5th century interesting mosaics in the baptistery and in the side chapel covered with red plastic roof. The atrium was built on the side since there was no space in the front. It probably was the cathedral in early Christian times. Klement came here in the 10th c. Because of the large influx of worshipers that followed him, he enlarged the church by building the central part of the church and turning the existent church into an altar chapel, and he dedicated the church to St Panteleimon protector of health. The closed porch and the belltower were added later in the 13th century. Klement died he dig his own grave inside the church. When the Turks came they torn the church down after a rebellion. It still attracted large number of worshipers and pilgrims so they built a mosque above it. Until recently both the mosque and the church were standing in ruins. The reconstruction is a big guess since they didn't know anything but the shape of the church. The height, the shape of the domes and the decorations are a wild guess. Bogorodica Bolnička These two small churches were built with dormitories around them which were used as quarantine stations for visitors of the city. After the coming of the Turks the structure of the city changed and they lost their purpose, so they were turned into hospitals. That is where the name Bolnicki comes from bolnica — hospital. Nikola Bolnički was built in 1313. The small addition on the roof is an influence of the Adriatic architecture and it imitates the belltowers of the churches on the Adriatic coast. The frescoes are in decent condition, a couple of interesting portraits of some royals and Nikola one of Ohrid archbishops. Bogorodica Bolnička was built in the 14th century, and the frescoes are in a bad condition. Even though the church is tiny there is a transverse vault, so the roof would imitate the shape of the cross. Just take the small narrow street opposite the Bolnicki churches. The small square is interesting since this street is one of the very few original streets remaining in Ohrid. It is shaped in form of gentle stairs so walking uphill would be easier. The steps are slightly curved towards the inside so when it is raining the water will stay in the middle. The church is historically important since it is here that the bones of St. Klement were hidden after the Turks took the city. Free entrance; ask for the key in one of the houses around they are allowed to say no. Mali Vraci - This 3 small churches built around St. Bogorodica Perivlepta were all built in
