Harbour on Lake Ohrid
The town harbour below the old town, where boats leave for St. Naum and the Bay of Bones, with monuments to Clement, Naum, Cyril and Methodius.
These are the stories you can open in the 3D view, each at its own numbered point on the model.
This is the town harbour, at the foot of the old town. A paved stone mole leaves the shore here and turns west, sheltering a small basin of boats. Tour boats leave from here for the monastery of St. Naum and for the Bay of Bones, and the Ohrid–Kališta ferry stops at the mole. To the north, the bazaar street climbs to the Činar.
The bigger boats take visitors south along the shore: about 13 kilometres in a straight line to the Bay of Bones, with its reconstructed houses on piles, and about 22 kilometres to the monastery of St. Naum, where the springs feed the lake. Smaller wooden boats wait in the basin for shorter trips. Times and prices change with the season, so check them here on the day.
The statue on the quay is St. Naum. With Clement, he was a disciple of Cyril and Methodius. In 905 Naum founded the monastery of the Holy Archangels on the southern shore of the lake, and he was buried there in 910. The monastery now carries his name, and the boats from this harbour still take visitors there.
Two figures stand together here: Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the teachers of Clement and Naum. Clement came to this region in 886 and founded the school known today as the Ohrid Literary School. It wrote in Glagolitic and, from the late 9th century, in Cyrillic. A third monument, to St. Clement himself, stands a little further north in the park.
Near the root of the mole stands a statue named the Catcher of the Holy Cross. It recalls an Epiphany custom of the Orthodox Church: after the blessing of the waters, a priest throws a cross into the water and swimmers race to bring it back. The one who reaches it first is said to have good fortune in the year ahead.
From the end of the mole the whole old town is in view. It covers a hill about 100 metres above the lake, with Tsar Samuel's Fortress on the top. Below it, among the white houses, stands St. Sophia, the cathedral of the medieval archbishopric. Closer to the water, about 150 metres west of the harbour, are the Lower Gate and the two small Bolnički churches.
Lake Ohrid lies at about 695 metres above sea level. It is up to 288 metres deep, about 30 kilometres long and 15 wide, and so clear that you can see up to 22 metres down. Its endemic fish include the Ohrid trout. The lake became a UNESCO natural World Heritage site in 1979; the town's cultural heritage was added in 1980.
The long mountain to the south-east is Galičica. It rises between Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa, and its highest peak, Magaro, reaches 2,254 metres. Its bare limestone slopes, pale grey-green above the forest, follow the eastern shore towards St. Naum. Galičica has been a national park since 1958.
Typical prices are our estimates for orientation, not menu prices. Check opening hours on the spot.
Walk around the model, switch between day and night, and hear each story read aloud in English, Macedonian or Turkish.
Open in 3D