Ohrid, with a recorded population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of 2002, is a city rich in picturesque houses and historical monuments. Tourism plays a major role in the city’s economy.

Located southwest of Skopje, and west of Resen and Bitola, Ohrid and Lake Ohrid were both designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1979 and 1980, respectively.

Ohrid is one of only 40 locations worldwide that are recognized as both Cultural and Natural World Heritage Sites.

Ohrid is a city in North Macedonia and serves as the seat of the Ohrid Municipality.

The earliest inhabitants of the wider Lake Ohrid region were the Illyrian tribes of Enchele and Dassaretii.

Recent excavations suggest that Ohrid was already a significant settlement during the time of King Philip II of Macedon.

The South Slavs began to settle in the area during the 6th century AD. By the early 7th century, the region was colonized by a Slavic tribe known as the Berziti. The city was conquered by Bulgaria around 840 AD.

The name “Ohrid” first appeared in 879. In 886, Clement of Ohrid established the Ohrid Literary School, which became one of the two major cultural centers of the First Bulgarian Empire. From 990 to 1015, Ohrid served as the capital and stronghold of the empire.

Between 990 and 1018, Ohrid was also the seat of the Bulgarian Patriarchate.

After the Byzantine reconquest of the city in 1018 by Basil II, the Bulgarian Patriarchate was downgraded to an Archbishopric of Ohrid, placed under the authority of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

In 1395, the Ottomans, led by Bayezid I, captured the city, which then became the center of the newly established Sanjak of Ohrid.

Following Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg’s liberation of Krujë to begin his rebellion, his forces, in cooperation with local Albanian leaders such as Gjergj Arianiti and Zaharia Gropa, liberated Ohrid and the castle of Svetigrad.

Before 1912, Ohrid was a township within the Monastir sanjak of the Manastir Vilayet (present-day Bitola).

The city remained under Ottoman control until November 29, 1912, when the Serbian army took over during the Balkan Wars and later made it the capital of the Ohrid district.

Since 1991, Ohrid has been part of the Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia).