41°06N 20°49E, pop (2000e) 69 000. Town in the SW of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; on the shores of L Ohrid; airfield; tourism, fishing, agriculture; old town, a world heritage site; Cathedral of St Sophia, St Clement's Church (13th-c), castle; old town festival (May, Aug), Balkan folk festival (Jul), summer festival (JulAug).
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Ohrid Охрид |
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Ohrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in Republic of Macedonia. There are several explanations for the origin of the name Ohrid. According to one of them, the name Ohrid is entirely Slavic and it is derived from the expression "na hrid" which means "on a hill". Indeed the town of Ohrid is built on a hill.
In 1980, Ohrid and Lake Ohrid were accepted as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Name
In the Macedonian and the other South Slavic languages the name of the city is Охрид and in Albanian the city is known as Ohër or Ohri.
History
The contemporary city of Ohrid is a descendant of the antique town of Lychnidos. The Lake of Ohrid, the ancient Lacus Lychnitis, whose blue and exceedingly transparent waters in remote antiquity gave to the lake its Greek name; From 990 to 1018 Ohrid was the seat of the Ohrid Patriarchate.
As an episcopal city, Ohrid was an important cultural center.
Ohrid is credited as being the birthplace of the Glagolic alphabet. The situation improved in the 18th century when Ohrid developed into an important trade center on a major trade route. Towards the end of the 18th century and in the early part of the 19th century, Ohrid region, like other parts of European Turkey, was a hotbed of unrest. By the end of 19th century Ohrid had 2409 houses with 11900 inhabitants out of which 45% were Muslim while the rest was mainly Orthodox Christian. Before 1912, Ohrid (Ohri) was a township center bounded to Bitola (Monastir) sanjak in Bitola (Monastir) province. Henceforth Byzantine metropolitans presided in Ohrid; Bulgaria fell unavoidably within the range of the Photian schism, and so, from the end of the ninth century, the diocese of Ohrid was lost to Western and papal influences.
The overthrow of the independent Samoil's empire in the early part of the eleventh century by Byzantine Emperor Basil the Macedonian brought Ohrid into closer touch with Constantinople. In 1053 the Metropolitan Leo of Ohrid signed with Michael Caerularius the latter's circular letter to John of Trani (Apulia in Italy) against the Latin Church. In reality Ohrid was during this period seldom in communion with either Constantinople or Rome. Towards the latter see, however, its sentiments were less than friendly, for in the fourteenth century we find the metropolitan Anthimus of Ohrid writing against the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son. Yet Latin missionaries appear in Ohrid in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, mostly Franciscan monks, to whom the preservation of the Roman obedience in these regions is largely owing.
The Latin bishops of Ohrid in the seventeenth century are probably, like those of our of own time, titular bishops. The ecclesiastical independence of Ohrid seeming in modern times to leave an opening for Roman Catholic influence in Bulgaria, Arsenius, the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, had it finally abolished in 1767 by an order of the Ottoman Sultan Mustapha III. At the height of its authority, Ohrid could count as subject to its authority ten metropolitan and six episcopal dioceses. However during the medieval times, Ohrid was called Slavic Jerusalem.
Church of St. Sophia Church of St. Panteleimon - (Plaoshnik) Church of St. John of Kaneo Church of St. Clement Church of St. George Church of St. Zaum Church of St. Naum Church of St. Petka Church of St. Stephan Vestiges of basilicas from the early-Christian time, e.g. Basilica of St. Erasmus (4th century) Tsar Samuil's fortress (10th/11th century) Museum of Slavic writing culture (18th century) Antique TheatreNote: Besides being a holy center of the region, it is also the source of knowledge and pan-Slavic literacy.
There is a nearby airport, Ohrid Airport that is open all year round. Albania Kragujevac, Serbia
Places in the Ohrid district
Konjsko Elšani Ljubanista Pestani Sveti Naum Trpejca Velestovo Dolno LakocerejGallery
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A view of Samuil's Fortress from the Lake |
The church of St. John at Kaneo high above the lake |
Lake edge |
Castle of Tsar Samuil above Ohrid |
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Castle of Tsar Samuil above Ohrid |
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Sources and External links
This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia. Ohrid travel guide from Wikitravel Ohrid including information in English Ohrid - MIMI including information in English Municipality of Ohrid Ohrid Summer Festival Macedonia Tourism Portal Ohrid Photo Gallery
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