Ohrid (redirected from Ochrid)

Ohrid (ō`khrēd), Ochrida, or Okhrida (both: ŏ`krĭdə), town (1981 est. pop, 64,200), in Macedonia, on a rock above Lake Ohrid, on the Albanian border. Macedonia's chief resort, it is a tourist and commercial center, as well as a railroad terminus. Fishing and farming are the chief occupations. Ohrid stands on or near the site of the Greek colony of Lychnidos, founded in the 3d cent. B.C. It was captured by the Romans in A.D. 168 and became a major trade center and an early episcopal see. In the 9th cent. Ohrid was incorporated into the first Bulgarian empire, and in the 10th cent. it became the seat of the Bulgarian patriarchate and flourished as the political and cultural center of Bulgaria. Traditionally a Slavic cultural center, Ohrid served as a conduit of Christianity into other Slav-inhabited areas. After Ohrid's reconquest in 1018 by the Byzantine Empire, the patriarchate was abolished; but the town remained a metropolitan see. Ohrid was captured by the Serbs in 1334 and fell to the Turks in 1394. It was briefly reconquered by the Albanian hero Scanderbeg in the 15th cent. During World War I, Ohrid was taken by Serbian troops; after the war, it was joined to Yugoslavia. Bulgarian forces held the town during World War II, but it was then restored to Yugoslavia and incorporated into the constituent republic of Macedonia. Ohrid's numerous ancient churches and other historical relics include the cathedrals of St. Sophia (9th cent.) and St. Clement (1299), both with medieval frescoes; two 14th-century churches; and the walls and towers of the former Turkish citadel. The town is also noted for its museums, galleries, fishing institute, and other educational facilities.

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Ohrid 

(or Okhrida), a city in Yugoslavia, situated on Lake Ohrid in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. Population, 26,-000 (1971). There is a railroad station and an airport in the city.

A mountain health resort and a popular international tourist center, Ohrid has a school of artistic wood carving and museums of history and art. It also has a hydrobiological research institute.

Known since the third century B.C., Ohrid, with its narrow streets and picturesque old buildings, has largely preserved its medieval appearance. Atop Mount Ohrid is the castle of the Bulgarian tsar Samuil. Built as a Byzantine fortress in the fifth century, it was rebuilt in the early 11th century. Other historical monuments in or near the city include the ninth-century Monastery of St. Clement, dedicated to St. Panteleimon, on Mount Ohrid (its church was converted into a mosque) and the ninth-century Church of St. Sofia (rebuilt c. 1037–50), with frescoes dating from the 11th to 14th centuries. Among the numerous cruciform, domed churches are the Church of St. Clement (originally the Perivleptos Virgin), built in 1295, with additions from the 14th and 19th centuries and late-13th-century frescoes by the masters Mihailo and Eutichius; the Church of St. Nicholas of Bolnica, with 14th-century frescoes; the Church of St. John the Divine; the Church of Our Lady of Bolnica, with frescoes from the 14th to 17th centuries; and the “small” Church of St. Clement, with 14th-century frescoes (the last four churches were built in the 14th century). New buildings were built after 1945, including resort buildings and apartment houses. The Palas Hotel, designed by E. Mihevc, was built in the late 1950’s.

REFERENCE

Pavlović, M., and C. Grozdanov. Ohrid. Belgrade, 1961.