Attractions

  • Saint Sophia Cathedral

    Adresse:
    Tsar Samoil 88, Ohrid 6000, North Macedonia .

    Ohrid's grandest church, 11th-century Saint Sophia is supported by columns and decorated with elaborate, if very faded, Byzantine frescoes, though they are still well preserved and very vivid in the apse. Its superb acoustics mean it's often used for concerts. To one side of the church there's a peaceful, manicured garden providing a small oasis of green in the heart of the Old Town.

  • Potpesh Beach

    Adresse:
    Potpesh Beach, Ohrid, North Macedonia .

    Now featuring a long wooden walkway over the water to reach it from the centre of town that we don’t recommend using if you’ve already had a few, Potpes rightly claims the best position in Ohrid, set as it is on the beach in a quiet cove under the cliffs and right on the edge of the water. Essentially a restaurant, Potpes works best as a bar to spend quality time at during the lazy summer evenings. A really magical place.

  • Church of St. John at Kaneo

    Adresse:
    Kaneo Plaosnik Pateka, Ohrid 6000, North Macedonia .

    One of the most magnificent churches in all of Macedonia stands right above a small fishing settlement, on a cliff rising up from Lake Ohrid; St. Jovan Kaneo is a combination of Byzantine and Armenian architectural styles.

    Built in the honor of St. John the Theologian, St. Kaneo with its sublime atmosphere and views of the placid lake below, remains an inspiring place for spiritual contemplation.The church which was consecrated at the end of the 13th century was built on a rectangular stone base. Its exterior is decorated with ceramic decorative sculptures and stone carvings.Though the fresco painters are unknown, the fragments that have been preserved are of exceptional quality; the Communion of the Apostles and the portraits of St. Clement, St. Erasmus and Constantine Kavasilas especially stand out.

    Being as it is - an extraordinarily unique construction - St. Kaneo is indeed one of the most beautiful churches in Macedonia as well as in the whole Balkan region.

  • Plaosnik

    Adresse:
    Kuzman Kapidan, Ohrid 6000, North Macedonia .

    Saluting the lake from Ohrid's hilltop, Plaosnik is home to the multidomed medieval Church of Saints Clement and Panteleimon, the foundations of a 5th-century basilica and a garden of intricate early Christian flora-and-fauna mosaics. The central church was restored in 2002; though it lacks the ancient wall frescoes of many other Macedonian churches, it is unusual in having glass floor segments revealing the original foundations and framed relics from the medieval church, which dated to the 9th century.

    Surrounding the church, a series of columns and covered mosaics are discoveries from an even earlier religious complex. The most impressive basilica ruins, complete with elaborate mosaic floors, lie beneath a covered walkway opposite the Church of Saints Clement and Panteleimon and set back from the hill edge (to the right of the site entrance). There's a small cafe with a sweet sea-view patio on-site.

    Plaosnik's once-woody environs are now a construction site for a ginormous School of Theology.

  • Ancient Theater

    Adresse:
    Ilindenska, Ohrid 6000, North Macedonia .

    The theatre, situated close to the Upper Gate, located in the ancient part of Ohrid, Varosh, in the area of High Kale and Upper Saraj on Ilindenska street, was built by the end of the third or at the beginning of the second century BC and had about 4.000 seats. The open Ohrid theater has a perfect location: the two hills that surround it keep it protected from winds that could interfere with acoustics during performances. Some of the former distinguished citizens have leased their own seats in the theatre, and their names still stand engraved in the stone blocks. After the Roman conquest, the theatre was readopted into an arena for gladiator fights and fights with wild beasts. However, since the theater was also a site of executions of Christians by the Romans, it rapidly turned to a highly disliked site by the locals. In fact, as a result of this dislike, the theater was abandoned and buried by the locals after the demise of the Roman Empire. Most probably, the theatre was destroyed by the end of the 4th century, or at the beginning of the 5th century AD, when Christianity arrived in Ohrid. The material from its seats was used for construction of sacral and profane buildings. Fortunately, this allowed for most of the structure to be well preserved, only to be uncovered accidentally in the 1980's. After its complex uncovering and reconstruction, various performances are taking place again, after twenty centuries, on the open, reconstructed scene of the antique theatre. The theatre is a place were many cultural manifestation are held, including the Ohrid Summer Festival, that is held here every year.

     

  • Early Christian Basilica

    Adresse:
    Ilindenska, Ohrid, North Macedonia .

    The site "Manchevci" was partially explored during 2007 when two objects were removed. After the archaeological excavations at this archaeological site in the old urban core of Ohrid, an Early Christian basilica was discovered , more precisely parts of northern and central nave when about 200 m2 were explored. The site is located near the Cathedral of St. Sophia, on the direction to the ancient theater, in a densely populated part of the old city and probably extends under the surrounding houses.

    The basilica, which is one of the nine basilicas in the city and originates from the 4th-5th century BC, has a pretty preserved floor mosaic with a decorative arrangement that was characteristic for the 4th and 5th century. Particularly significant stands the mosaics field with a donor's inscription that mentions Thomas and John, who probably built the facility. There were also discovered fragments of frescoes in the lower sections of the walls. During the archaeological excavations very significant elements and fragments of the marble architectonic and decorative sculpture were revealed.

  • Samuel's Fortress

    Adresse:
    Samoil's Fortress, Ohrid 6000, North Macedonia .

    In Byzantine times, Ohrid was a large, important city and cultural center. For a short time in the early 11th century, it was also the capital of a Slavic empire ruled by Car Samuil. His fortress, situated on the hill in the center of modern  Ohrid, crowns the city. Samuel’s fortress consumes the city’s skyline, and was once one of the most impregnable strongholds in the Balkans, with walls 3 km (1.8 m) long and 16 m (52 ft) high. Today, 18 towers and four gates still remain from the original structure. With its strategic location overlooking the town and the lake, it provides an ideal place for taking in the whole panorama of Ohrid and its surroundings.

  • Holy Mary Perybleptos

    Adresse:
    Clement's University, Ohrid 6000 .

    The Church Holy Mary Perybleptos in the old part of Ohrid city near the Upper Gate was built before 1295 and is the oldest and most beautiful church in this city. The church was built by Progon Zgur who was son-in-law of the Byzantine Emperor Andronicus II Palaiologus.

    The base of the church Holy Mary Perybleptos is in form of an inscribed cross, and above the central part, there is a dome whose tomb is held on four pillars. On the east side the church ends with an altar apse.

    This church is among the most important medieval monuments in Macedonia, due to its frescoes created by two famous medieval painters: Mihailo and Evtihij.

  • National Ohrid Museum - Robevci House

    Adresse:
    Old Town, Ohrid .

    The National Museum is located in the house of Robev family. It stores exponents of history, archaeology, ethnology, from the antique or even the ancient period. The most important is the collection of icons, some of them from the 11th century. The National Museum of Ohrid was first established in 1516 in Saint Clement's Church of Bogorodica Perivleptos, as a museum to the Archbishopric of Ohrid, making it one of the oldest museums in the world. Now the collection is divided into the archaeological part in the Robev Residence (on the picture) and the ethnographic part in the Urania Residence.

     

  • Bay of Bones Museum

    Adresse:
    Bay of Bones Museum,Р501, North Macedonia .

    Ohrid was enriched with another cultural and historical landmark as well as with a tourist attraction - Museum on Water - an exceptional archaeological complex, which is one of a kind in the region. On the southern coast of Gradiste Peninsula in the Bay of Bones, a pile-dwelling settlement has been erected, which in the past was spreading at a total surface of 8.500 m2. Bay of the Bones is an authentic reconstruction of a part of the pile-dwelling settlement, dating back between 1200 and 700 BC.A Roman military fortification (Gradiste) has been reconstructed on the hill above the Bay of Bones simultaneously with constructing the pile-dwelling settlement and the Water Museum. The walls of the fortification that once had protected the Roman Empire from its enemies, are once again lifted up on the hill near Gradiste.
    The Roman fortress is connected with the settlement in order tourists and visitors to be given an extraordinary opportunity to experience time travel, from prehistoric to ancient times and vice versa.

  • Monastery of Saint Naum

    Adresse:
    Monastery .

    Set amidst lush verdure where the River Crn Drim tumbles into the lake, the monastery of St. Naum is a refuge of tranquility at the very southwestern corner of the Macedonian Republic. Situated 29 km (18 m) from the town of Ohrid and only 1 kilometer (0.6 m) from the Albanian border, the monastery brings the Macedonian experience to a dramatic culmination.

    As with most Byzantine churches, St. Naum was chosen primarily for its location – on a high, rocky outcropping over the lake, above deep forests and life-giving springs of the river Crn Drim. The monastic complex and church of St. Naum were built originally at the turn of the tenth century by the monk that beared the same name; Macedonians believe you can still hear the saint’s heartbeat by pressing an ear to his stone coffin inside the church.

    The monastery has been renewed and enlarged several times over the centuries. While most of its iconostases and frescoes date from the 16th and 17th century, earlier etchings in the Byzantine Greek vernacular also remain. But numerous orthographical mistakes indicate that they were written by Slavic-speaking local monks. Other inscriptions in the church make up some of the oldest epigraphic evidence of Slavic literacy.

    The icons of St. Naum are some of the best religious painting achievements in the Balkans. They date from the first half of the 18th century. The wood-carved iconostasis itself was made in 1711 by an unknown artisan.

    A peculiar element of St. Naum is located not on the inside of the church but on the outside: the preponderance of multi-colored peacocks strutting around and luxuriating in the grass.

  • National Park Galicica

    Adresse:
    National Park Galicica .

    The National Park Galicica is situated on Mount Galicica, that is a part of the mountain range of Sara-Pind. Due to its exceptional natural beauty and extremely opulent and endemic flora and fauna, in 1958 the Macedonian section of the mountain was proclaimed a National Park. The Park covers an area of 227 km2 between the Lakes of Ohrid and Prespa, and it stretches in a meridian direction. The main geological surface on the major part of Mount Galicica are Paleozoic metamorphic silicates covered with 500-550 m horizons of massive limestone that have spongy structure and are highly porous. The massif has developed relief with large and deep valleys and a vast mountain crest that in the southern part of Galicica reaches the altitude of more than 2,000 m.

    Such relief, as well as the vicinity of the two Lakes enable continuous, extremely long and beautiful scenic views for visitors. Galicica enjoys moderate Continental climate influenced by a large quantity of water from both Lakes and the hot Sub-Mediterranean influences that break through the relatively low mountain saddles in Albania. In addition to the extraordinary natural beauty and aesthetic values, Galicica is also a unique environment with well-preserved natural flora in several ecosystems. The flora in the National Park Galicica covers more than 800 species, among which there are numerous relict and endemic forms whose farthest limit of distribution is Mount Galicica itself.

    The presence of eleven local endemic forms discovered so way is quite remarkable. These forms exist only on the slopes of the Mount Galicica, and are clear evidence of the specific floral structure of the mountain. It should be underlined that there is an on-going intensive research of the flora in the Park. There are indications of an even greater number of endemic forms. The fauna on Galicica is also prolific and diverse. There are no precise data about the number of invertebrate species. Vertebrates are present with 170 species: 10 amphibians, 18 reptiles, 124 birds, and 18 mammals.