Ohrid, with its hundreds of churches by Europe’s oldest lake

Ohrid is a UNESCO city by Lake Ohrid, the lake on the border between Albania and Macedonia. It has 365 churches, and they say they have one church for every day of the year. I did not count all the churches, so I must take their word for it. The last time I was by this lake, two years ago, was on the Albanian side in Pogradec. Lake Ohrid is one of the world’s oldest and deepest lakes.

Church of Saint John the Theologian

Here, you see one of the most famous churches in Macedonia. Pictures of Saint John at Kaneo are used in many tourist magazines and generally to promote the country. Even though the church is relatively small and located idyllically, no roads lead to the church, so you must walk either on the boardwalk along the shore or through Old City Park. The picture above shows a large part of the lake and Albania on the other side. Ohrid was my third stop on my trip through Macedonia, after Skopje and Tetovo.

The old town

The town is divided into two parts. The Old Town is on the top, with an old fortress gate. Small cobblestone roads meander between the houses to the lake, and most churches and exciting spots are found here. I stayed in the house next to this house with all the flower pots. The newer part of town is below the top and around it to the lake.

Feeling of religion

In the Balkan countries, religion seems very important. When I was in Tetovo, I could feel the difference in being in a Muslim community, and of course, it was also Ramadan when I was there. Now, in Ohrid, it seems completely different. I only noticed one mosque among all these churches. The churches were lit at night, so spotting them and several lit-op crucifixes in the hills above the city was even easier. None of this did, of course, bother me; just something I noticed.

I imagine that when a country is so divided by different people, traditions, and religions, it becomes important to keep together. Therefore, it is impressive when one knows the borders have been changed and man-made, that people have moved around, and that Macedonia stayed clear from the fighting when war broke out in the neighbouring countries. It has to be said that the UN had troops stationed in the country, just in case.

Visiting some of the churches

On my walk around town, I visited two or three churches, and as you can see above, some have fantastic frescoes, like the one in the Church of Saint Sophia. In the summer, Ohrid must be a super retreat for a country that doesn’t have a shore by the sea. I know the Orid Lake has a trout-like fish called Salmo letnica. I did not look for it this time since I tried it in Pogradec two years ago.