Ohrid, town in southwestern Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), located on the northeastern side of Lake Ohrid near the border with Albania. Ohrid is the leading tourism center of the country. The town has an airport with international flights and is well connected by road. The old town, built on a cliff overlooking the lake, is separated from the modern section in the valley below by a well-preserved medieval town wall. Ohrid's numerous historical monuments include an early Christian basilica with 5th-century mosaics, the ruins of a 10th-century citadel, and the 11th-century Saint Sofia Church. Part of a Roman amphitheater has been uncovered in the town, and there is an archaeological museum.
Ohrid is situated on or near the site of a Greek colony dating from the 3rd century BC. It was conquered by Rome in the 2nd century AD and developed as an important trade center on a historic road connecting the Adriatic and Aegean seas. It also served as the seat of bishops. From the 9th century to the early 11th century it was the political and cultural center of the first Bulgarian empire. It was then held by a weakening Byzantine Empire until 1334, briefly taken by a Serbian kingdom, and conquered by the emergent Ottoman Turks in 1394. Serbian troops captured the town during World War I (1914-1918), after which it was joined to the former Yugoslavia. It became part of FYROM when the republic of Macedonia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Population (1994 estimate) 60,841.
