Ohrid

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Ohrid

Ohrid

Ohrid is a city in North Macedonia, famous for once having 365 churches, one for every day of the year, and is known as the "Jerusalem of the Balkans". The city is filled with picturesque houses and monuments, and is dominated by tourism. In 1979, Ohrid and in 1980 Lake Ohrid were designated as Cultural and Natural World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Lake Ohrid is a spectacular natural phenomenon, a haven for many endemic freshwater animal and plant species from the Tertiary period. The lake is a deep and ancient lake with tectonic origins, which has been in continuous existence for about two to three million years. The lake's oligotrophic waters support more than 200 species of plants and animals unique to the lake, among them algae, turbellarian flatworms, snails, crabs and 17 endemic fish species, including two trout species, and abundant birdlife. The city of Ohrid on the shores of the lake is among the oldest human settlements in Europe. It was built mostly between the 7th and 19th centuries, and is home to the oldest Slavic monastery of Saint Panteleimon, as well as more than 800 Byzantine-style icons from the 11th century to the end of the 14th century. The architecture of Ohrid represents the most perfectly preserved and complete ensemble of ancient urban architecture in this area of Europe. The Slavic culture spread from Ohrid into other parts of Europe. Three sites in the shallow waters near the lake's shores bear witness to prehistoric pile dwellings, and on the small Lin Peninsula are the remains of an Early Christian church dating back to the mid-6th century.