Ohrid (Охрид) - a city in the southwestern part of Macedonia and the
administrative center of the municipality of the same name, on the
northeastern shore of Lake Ohrid, which bears its name after the
city. Ohrid and Lake Ohrid are one of the main tourist destinations
in Macedonia. It can be reached through the regional road Bitola -
Resen - Ohrid. It has 42,033 inhabitants (2002) and is located 135
km south of the city of Tetovo.
Due to the large number of
churches and monasteries, the city is known as the Balkan and
European Jerusalem. Ohrid is also known as the "city of light",
which is a literal translation of its old name, Lychnidos. The Ohrid
region is included in the UNESCO World Heritage.
The name of the city is derived from the
Old Slavic words "in hridi", ie. "In the hill", as a descriptive
name for the location of the city that has existed for centuries in
the southern hollow of the rocky hill.
According to a legend,
written by the Miladinov Brothers, when the Ohrid fortress was being
built, Emperor Justinian climbed the hills on which the city lies
and, looking at the beautiful surroundings, shouted "oh hill", ie.
what a beautiful hill and since then the city has remained to be
called Ohrid.
Ancient history
Modern Ohrid is
the successor of the ancient Lychnidos. According to the data, the
city was first mentioned 2,400 years before the new era. Lychnidos
was located on the Via Egnatia, the oldest and most important Roman
road in the Balkans. The Brigids and Encheleans make up the oldest
population that can be identified by name in the wider area of
Lake Ohrid. The Phrygians are the same as the Phrygians.
After the Third Macedonian War against King Perseus, Lychnidos
became the main Roman base in the northern areas of Macedonia. That
is the time when he is most heard. The latest news about Lychnidos
is the news of his demise. An earthquake, according to historical
sources, on May 29 and 30, 526, killed tens of thousands of people
in Lychnidos. Then the city is no longer mentioned in historical
sources.
Medieval history
The Ohrid area at the end of the
VI century was exposed to mass Slavic colonization. The Ohrid area
was completely colonized by the Slavic tribe Berziti until the
1930s. Lihnid has since been renamed Ohrid.
The Ohrid region
became an attractive area for the Bulgarian state in the second half
of the 8th century. During the reign of the Bulgarian Tsar Boris I
Mikhail, the Macedonian territories in military-administrative terms
were included in several "committees". Ohrid was in the committee
that covered the Ohrid-Devol area. In 886 Clement, after a short
stay in the Bulgarian court, was sent to Macedonia on an important
state mission. He was sent to an area called Kutmicevica as a
teacher. The area covered southwestern Macedonia and southern
Albania, with the capitals Ohrid and Devol.
As a teacher and
Bishop Clement together with Nahum laid the foundations of the
so-called Ohrid Verbal Literary School. Thanks to the work of
Clement and Nahum, the city of Ohrid, in the second half of the
ninth century grew into one of the most developed and famous
medieval Slavic cultural centers.
During the reign of Emperor
Samuel, Ohrid became a religious center and capital of the empire.
Its fortresses still stand high above the city. In the autumn of
1015 the Byzantine emperor Basil II succeeded in capturing Ohrid,
but the fortress remained under the rule of Emperor John Vladislav,
the successor of Gavrilo Radomir, son of Emperor Samuel.
The
Bulgarian assassin Emperor Basil II allowed Ohrid to remain the seat
of the Ohrid Archbishopric.
In 1204, during the Fourth
Crusade, the Ohrid region, together with other southwestern
Macedonian areas, was included within the Latin Kingdom of
Thessaloniki. In 1334, the Serbian king Dusan took over the cities
of Ohrid, Prilep and Strumica. In 1378, the church of the Holy
Mother of God Peribleptos (St. Clement) in Ohrid was added.
Ohrid was not only the most important city in the region, but also
the most important educational center and source of literacy of all
Slavic peoples. Ohrid is the oldest university in Europe (IX
century), while in the place Plaoshnik near the city is the restored
church of St. Clement whose findings indicate the fact that there
was a university from the XIII century.
Ottoman period
Towards the end of the 14th century, the Turkish Sultan Bayezid I
succeeded in imposing his rule almost everywhere in Macedonia. In
1408, Ohrid fell under the rule of the Ottomans and for the next
five centuries existed as part of the then Ottoman Empire. The
Turks, after their arrival in this area, settled in the plain part
to the east and west of the city, while the more respectable and
richer Turkish beys also built their dwellings along the lake shore,
outside the fortress, in the locality of Trsia.
In 1466,
Sultan Mehmed II ordered the deportation of Ohrid Archbishop
Dorothea to Constantinople, along with many Ohrid clerics and
boyars, probably because of their anti-Ottoman activities during the
Skanderbeg uprising.
The famous Turkish travel writer Evliya Çelebi, who visited Ohrid
in 1670, noted in his travelogue about this city: “The city is well
inhabited, with a heavenly scent, just like the city of Damascus.
His houses are also on the ground floor, with seventeen
neighborhoods (ten Muslim and 7 Christian). The houses of the greats
are located by the lake. The city has 17 Muslim temples (large and
small mosques), several madrassas, seven schools, two public baths,
three shops ... The bazaar is scattered in four places with about
150 shops and craft shops.
In 1767 the Ohrid Archbishopric
was abolished.
The establishment of the first TMORO committee
in Ohrid took place in August 1894. In the spring of 1901, a
detachment was formed with the return of several migrant workers.
During the Ilinden Uprising in the Ohrid region, continuous battles
were fought throughout the month of August, 1903. During the
uprising in the Ohrid region there were 31 fights. The detachments
from the Ilinden Uprising continued their struggle during the Young
Turk Revolution in 1908.
Contemporary history
The Ohrid
district during the First Balkan War was divided by Serbia and
Bulgaria into two parts: one that came under Serbian rule and
another whose status was to be decided after the end of the war. The
Serbian army entered Ohrid on November 22, 1912. Many citizens of
Ohrid joined the war in the hope that Macedonia would be liberated.
Due to the dissatisfaction with the signing of the Bucharest
Peace Agreement and the partition of Macedonia, in September 1913 in
Western Macedonia (Debar, Ohrid, Struga) an uprising was launched,
known as the Ohrid Uprising. On September 12, the companies of Petar
Chaulev and Pavle Hristov entered Ohrid. The Serbian army and
administration were expelled from Ohrid, an assembly was convened
and an interim administration was formed, which included: Lev
Ognenov, Ivan Grupchev, Pavel Hristov, Lev Kackov, Petar Filev and
other prominent citizens. On September 19, the villages in the Ohrid
region were conquered and set on fire by Serbian troops, and VMRO
troops retreated west to Golo Brdo.
During the First World
War, Ohrid and the Ohrid region came under Bulgarian rule. During
this occupation, numerous robberies were committed and items, books
and other material wealth were taken away, which for centuries
testified to the achievements of the Ohrid Archbishopric. After the
breakthrough of the Macedonian front in September 1918, the Entente
forces defeated the Bulgarian and German armies, so they left
Macedonia.
Ohrid was under Bulgarian occupation during World
War II. The partisan units liberated the city on October 15, 1944,
but only for a short time, as they retreated under pressure from
German forces. The city was liberated on the night of November 7 and
8 after fighting between partisans and German forces.
In
1958, the Second Macedonian Church-People's Assembly was held in the
church "St. Sophia", at which a decision was made to restore the
Ohrid Archbishopric and to name it the Macedonian Orthodox Church.
At the Third Macedonian Church-People's Assembly, which was also
held in the church "St. Sophia" in 1967, a decision was made to
declare autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church.
Geography
The city of Ohrid is located in the southwestern part
of Macedonia, on the northeastern side of Lake Ohrid, in the
Ohrid-Struga Field. The city is located at the foot of Mount
Galicica, at an altitude of 695 m, while the old part of the city is
located at a higher altitude of 740 m.
Religion
From 1018
to 1767 Ohrid was the seat of the Ohrid Archbishopric. As an
independent church organization, it managed the religious life of
Christians in Macedonia and other Balkan countries, and for a
certain period under its rule had the Orthodox churches in Dalmatia
and parts of Italy. That is why Ohrid is called the "Balkan
Jerusalem". On the territory of the municipality of Ohrid there are
more than 100 Orthodox churches, of which 60 are active, 10 Islamic
religious buildings - mosques and one Catholic church. The seat of
the Diocese of Debar and Kichevo is located in Ohrid.
Buildings and museums
The Turkish travel writer Evliya Çelebi
visited Ohrid in the 14th century and noticed that the city had 365
churches, one for each day of the year.
Churches and
monasteries
Hagia Sophia Cathedral (11th century)
The Church
of St. John Kaneo (XIII century)
The Church of St. Clement and
St. Panteleimon in Plaoshnik
The Church of St. Mother of God
Peribleptos
The Church of St. Mother of God of Kamensko
The
Church of St. Mother of God Hospital
The Church of St. The Virgin
Pandonos
The Church of St. Georgia
The Church of St. Barbara
The Church of St. Dimitrij
The Church of St. Clement of Ohrid
The Church of St. Constantine and Helena
The Church of St. 40
Martyrs of Sebastia
The Church of St. Kuzman and Damjan
The
Church of St. Nikola
The Church of St. Nikola Gerakomija
The
Church of St. Nikola Bolniчкиki
The Church of St. Trinity
The
Church of St. Erasmus
The Church of the Resurrection of Lazarus
The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
The Church of the
Holy Annunciation - Racha
The Church of St. Nikola - коekostina -
cornerstone laid on December 20, 2015. It is located in the
settlement Chekoshtina, part of the eighth Ohrid parish;
Many
early Christian basilicas such as The Basilica of St. Erasmus (4th
century)
Fortresses, archeological sites, memorial houses
and museums
Samuel's Fortress (X / XI century)
Icon
Gallery-Ohrid
Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments and
National Museum - Houses of Robevci and Hristo Uzunov
Museum of
Slavic Literature (XVIII century)
Ancient amphitheater
The
memorial house of Grigor Prlichev
St. Clement's University and
the archeological sites of Plaoshnik
Archaeological remains
Temple of Isis
Temple of Isis - Temple of the Egyptian goddess Isis in the city
of Ohrid (then Lychnidos), whose remains are in the present city
center. It is located underground, in the area between the locality
of Karabegomala and the City Hall. In May 1967. During the
construction of a residential building, this archeological site was
discovered by experts from the Ohrid Institute and Museum. However,
due to the specificity of the area where there are several
residential buildings, and mostly due to lack of funds, more
extensive research was not continued. The largest archeological
excavations were carried out in the northwestern part of the site -
the extreme northern foundation of the building. A part of the
building, which consisted of two rooms, was discovered. The most
interesting thing is that two statues of the Egyptian goddess Isis
were found in this area. They are now kept in the windows of
Robevci's house and are particularly attractive exhibits. The space
under the building where this deposit was discovered is protected by
a special method.
History
It is assumed that this
building, dedicated to the goddess Isis, dates back to the time when
the Macedonian armies withdrew from Egypt in Macedonia. With their
arrival in this area, they brought with them part of the cultural
heritage, some beliefs from ancient Egypt. This is how it happened
that the cult of the goddess Isis was transferred to us. However, it
should be noted that this is an ancient building. As for Isis, she
was the goddess of fertility, of travel. Isis is an Egyptian
goddess, and there are temples dedicated to her throughout
Macedonia. Some Ohrid archaeologists say that new knowledge about
this building can be obtained only if the exploration of the space
in the central city area in Ohrid continues. They assume that parts
of the statues of Isis, which are now missing, will also be found.