Mary Schwalm

Located at the heart of the Balkan Peninsula, in the Republic of Macedonia is the city of Ohrid, being a popular tourist tourist destination for Eastern Europeans in the summer. Ohrid is fairly unknown to the rest of the world, but its certainly well known among Eastern Europeans for its natural wonder Lake Ohrid, the oldest and deepest lake in Europe. Apart from the beauty of the ancient lake, the city of Ohrid has much more to offer as it’s only one of 28 cities that are apart from UNESCO World Heritage for it ancient culture significations as well as Natural sites.

The Bay of Bones Museum

If you ever plan on traveling to the city of Ohrid, you may want to start your tour by visiting the prehistoric city/museum known as the Bay of Bones. The Bay of Bones museum is an archeological complex which dates back 1,200 to 700 years BC, located on the south side of the Ohrid coast, featuring 24 replicas of prehistoric wooden houses resting 5 meters above the water on a wooden platform. The museum not only gives tourists a glance back at the lifestyle and culture of the native people living in this prehistoric city, it offers a breathtaking scenery of the crystal clear waters along with the forest of the National Park of Galicica, which we will discuss later.

The Samoil Fortress

Rising tall at the highest point of the city is the Samoil Fortress, the largest preserved fortification, which dates back to the 3^rd century BC. The Samoil Fortress is the symbol of the city, with towers rising 100 meters above the lake, with its walls reaching 3 kilometers in length and 16 meters in height, it can be seen from anywhere in the city. Throughout the course in history the fortress has been destroyed and rebuild many times, but its present form dates back to Tsar Samoil where Ohrid was the medieval metropolis until the late 14^th century when the Ottoman’s seized it.

Plaosnik Monastery

If you ask the locals on where you should start your tour of the city, a majority of them will recommend Plaosnik. The Plasonik hill is highlighted by two churches, St. Clement which was built in the arrival of St. Clement himself. Many sources indicate that the church was designed and constructed by Clement himself along with his tomb in which he lays buried today. Apart from St. Clement another, bigger church was built in the 9^th century on the Plaosnik grounds. St. Panteleimon was built and served as the basis for the Glagolitic alphabet teaching to Orthodox Christians. The tour of Plaosnik doesn’t stop there however, as there are many more things to see such as temples, mosaics and ornaments from the late Greek era and the Roman theater along with basilicas and temples from that period.

Robevci Family House

Going down from Plaosnik, tourists can see the old part of the city and its stunning architecture from the 19^th century. A remarkable example of the unique traditional Macedonian architecture from the 19^th century, are the two Robevci family houses which serves as a historic museum where people can enter and see precious archeological objects from both the medieval and ancient period.

Galicica National Park

The National Park of Galicica, located on the mountain of Galicica, between the two lakes of Ohrid and Prespa. The rugged landscape covering the mountain range is immense with flora and fauna, with a wide and diverse variety of species inhabiting the land. Galicaca has a number of hiking trails which covers the whole terrain, where visitors can explore the natural beauty of the mountain with its breathtaking scenery rising above the two lakes. The massif terrain of Galicica is ideal for hikers, with its highest peak Magaro reaching 2.254 meters, however visitors should be aware from the local wildlife lurking in the mountain valleys and caves as bears, lynx and wolves are no strangers in this terrain.