Ohrid

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.