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Macedonia

Ohrid - History


Roman ruins such as the amphitheater attest to its part in the Roman empire. It lay astride the most important overland route from the east, connecting the Balkan provinces with the port city that is now called Durres which in turn brought goods to the start of the famed Appian Way leading to Rome.


Ohrid is famous as the site of a university founded by Saint Klement in the late 800s. He was one of the followers of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the inventors of the alphabet that would eventually become known as Cyrillic. Monuments and icons of all three of the men dot the town.


On the site of his burial, a new church in Klement's honor has been built, but remainders of the old structure still remain. While most of the building itself is long gone, some amazing mosaics from the floor remain - including this one that has a most interesting symbol in the middle. Many of the best preserved, however, are buried under a layer of sand to protect them until full restoration and a more permanent cover from the elements can be constructed.


By the 11th century, Ohrid was the center of a Slavic empire, and the old city walls and fortress of Czar Samuel still overlook the entire valley below.

Ohrid: Main page - History - Churches - Walking around

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