The fortress of King Samoil is at the top of the Ohrid hill

admin ♦ August 9, 2010 ♦ 1 Comment

The fortress of King Samoil is at the top of the Ohrid hill, built during his reign around 10th century. This used to be a military fortification and is the second wall encolosure on the hill. Around it lies the old town, which is wrapped by another wall that’s still visible at some places. The fort itself was renovated a few years ago. Today it’s safe and open for visitors, allowing them to see the sight of kings as it offers almost an areal view of the Ohrid plain, the lake and surrounding mountains. There’s a driveway and it takes only a few minutes to drive up, but it’s almost a rule of thumb to take the time and hike up the hill. It’s a semi-steep walk and it takes about 40 minutes of slow pace to climb up. Along the way you’ll get a first hand experience of the famous Ohrid architecture, you’ll see the theater dating back from 4th century AD, and you will also see fragments of the outer wall. There are plenty of gift shops along the way so you can get photographs of various locations, key chains and other souvenirs. If you don’t have a watter bottle, make sure to buy one from the local stores as it takes a while to savor the beauties of the Ohrid area that are best seen from the fort. Don’t forget to bring a camera along.

About Samoil’s fortress The Fortress of Samoil is mentioned in descriptions in the chronicles dating from 476. Today’s fortress relates to the name of Tzar Samoil, who probably extended and built the fortress when he chose it for his seat. It is the most monumental construction from this period. The fortress today has 18 towers and 4 gates. The central part of the fortress has wall 10 – 16 meters high and it has strong defensive towers, followed by ramparts in direction of the lake. The entire complex is being in reconstruction. Samoil’s fortress Custodian / Information Samoil’s fortress * Samoil’s fortress citadel/fortress * GPS Northing (N): 41.115330 * GPS Easting (E): 20.791390 * Distance from Ohrid downtown: 0.72 km / 0.45 mi

other sights in ohrid

* Mesokastro Settlement – Mesokastro is the quarter right above the old bazaar, between the bazaar and the city walls. The name originates from the Latin term “meco castrum”, which means the city outside the city walls, where the poor used to live. It is interesting that the term has survived since ancient times. The houses of Mesokastro have incorporated parts of the city walls and in some parts they are not visible. If you have time walk around, since there are couple of old houses still standing and some of the streets offer great views over the lake.

* Kaneo Settlement – Start the walk to Kaneo from St. Sophia church. You can reach it from Plaoshnik but you would miss out on the great views and the quiet streets of Ohrid. Kaneo settlement was the quarter of the poor fishermen. This the most scenic spot of Ohrid, standing below the rock on which St. Jovan Kaneo church is situated. There is a small beach overcrowded in the summer, and a couple of restaurants.Error processing request