Охрид е град во југозападниот дел на Република Македонија со 42.033 жители. По него Охридското Езеро го носи своето име.

Население
Според последниот попис од 2002 година, во градот Охрид живеат 42.033 жители [се бара извор], од кои:

Македонци 37.801 (90,03%)
Албанци 1.159 (2,75%)
Турци 1.156 (2,74%)
Роми 69 (0.16%)
Власи 308 (0.73%)
Срби 321 (0.76%)
Бошњаци 29 (0.07%)
останати 1.190 (2.83%) (претежно Роми кои се изјаснуваат како Египјани)

Историја
Современиот Охрид е наследник на античкиот Лихнидос (Lychnidos). Според податоците, градот прв пат се споменува 2.400 години пред новата ера. Лихнидос се наоѓал на патот Вија Игнација, наjстарата и наjзначаjната римска сообраќаjница на Балканот. Бригијците и Енхелеjците го сочинуваат наjстарото население кое може според името да се идентификува во пошироката област на Охридското Езеро. Бригиjците се исто што и Фригиjците. По Третата македонска воjна против кралот Персеј, Лихнид станува главна римска база во северните области на Македониjа. Тоа е времето кога за него наjмногу се слуша. Последната вест за Лихнид е веста за неговото разурнување. Во еден земјотрес, коj според историските извори се случил на 29 и 30 мај 526 година, настрадале повеќе десетици илjади лица во Лихнид. Потоа градот повеќе не се споменува во историските извори.

Охридската област во краjот на 6-тиот век била изложена на масовна словенска колонизациjа. Охридската област до 30-тите години на 7-миот била целосно колонизирана од словенското племе Берзити. Лихнид оттогаш добил името Охрид.

Охридскиот краj уште во втората половина на 8-миот век станал привлечно подрачjе за бугарската држава. За време на бугарскиот цар Борис I Михаил македонските територии во воено-административен поглед биле опфатени во неколку "комитати". Охрид бил во комитатот што ги опфаќал Охридско-деволските краишта. Во 886 година Климент (Охридски) по краткото задржување во бугарскиот двор бил испратен во Македониjа со важна државна мисиjа. Тоj бил испратен во областа наречена Кутмичевица како учител. Областа jа опфаќала Југозападна Македонија и Јужна Албанија, со главните градови Охрид и Девол.

Како учител и епископ Климент заедно со Наум ги поставиле основите на т.н. Охридска глаголска книжевна школа. Благодареjќи на деjноста на Климент и Наум, градот Охрид, во втората половина на 9-тиот век израснал во еден од наjразвиените и наjпознатите средновековни словенски културни центри.

Во време на царот Самуил и Самуиловото царство, Охрид станал религиозен центар и главен град на царството. Неговите тврдини и ден денес стојат високо над самиот град. Есента 1015 година византискиот император Василиј II успеал да го заземе Охрид, но тврдината останала и понатаму под власта на царот Јован Владислав, наследникот на Гаврило Радомир, син на цар Самуил.

Императорот Василиj II дозволил Охрид и понатаму да остане седиште на Охридската архиепископиjа.

Во 1202 година Охридскиот краj заедно со другите jугозападни македонски области биле вклучени во рамките на Солунското латинско кралство. Во 1334 година српскиот крал Душан презел градовите Охрид, Прилеп и Струмица. Во 1378 година, била доградена црквата Света Богородица Перивлепта ( Свети Климент) во Охрид.

Забелешка: Охрид не само што бил најважниот град во регионот, туку бил и најважниот образовен центар и извор на писменоста на сите словенски народи. Во Охрид се наоѓа најстариот универзитет во Европа (9-ти век), додека во местото Плаошник близу градот се наоѓа рестварираната црква Св. Климент чии наоди укажуваат на фактот дека пак таму имало универзитет од 13-тиот век.

Кон самиот краj на 14-тиот турскиот султан Бајазит I успеал речиси насекаде во Македониjа да jа наложи своjата власт.

Охрид има аеродром, Охридскиот аеродром кој функционира преку целата година.

Згради и музеи

Староградска архитектураТурскиот патеписец Евлија Челебија го посетил Охрид во 14-тиот век и забележал дека градот има 365 цркви, по една за секој ден од годината. Денес има многу помалку. Во средниот век пак, Охрид бил нарекуван Словенски Ерусалим.

Катедралата Света Софија (11-ти век)
Црквата Св. Јован Канео (13-ти век)
Црквата Св. Климент и Св. Пантелејмон во Плаошник
Црквата Св. Ѓорѓија
Црквата Св. Богородица Захумска
Црквата Св. Наум
Црквата Св. Петка
Црквата Св. Стефан
Многу ранохристијански базилики како на пр. Базиликата на Св. Еразмо (4-ти век)
Самуиловата тврдина (10-ти/11-ти век)
Завод за заштита на спомениците на културата и Народен музеј
Музеј на словенската писменост (18-ти век)
Антички амфитеатар

Археолошки остатоци

Една од портите на Самуиловата тврдина
Црквата Св. Климент во Плаошник
[уреди] Годишни настани
Охридско лето, театарски и музички изведби од јули до август
Балкански фестивал на народни песни и ора во јули
Балкански музички плоштад, музички фестивал во август во кој учествуваат етно-музичари од целиот балканскиот регион

Места во охридската област
Велестово
Плаошник
Елшани
Љубаништа
Пештани
Св. Наум
Трпејца
Коњско

Родени во Охрид
Константин Робев (1818 – 1900)
Димитар Робев (1822 – 1890)
Григор Прличев (1830 - 1893)
Стефан Робев (1842 – 1880)
Наум Спространов (1851 – 1887)
Климент Бојаџиев (1861 - 1933)
Антон Кецкаров (1865 - 1945)
Александар Протогеров (1867 - 1928)
Евтим Спространов (1868-1931)
Георги Баласчев (1869 - 1936)
Стефан Јакимов Дедов (1869 - 1914)
Методи Патчев (1875 - 1902)
Христо Узунов (1878 - 1905)
Коста Абраш (1879 - 1898)
Иван Снегаров (1883 - 1971)
Спас Банџов (1904 - 1942)
Димче Коцо (1910 - 1993)
Андон Дуков (1913 - 1944)
Иван Точко (1914 - 1973)
Борис Бојаџиски (1915 - 1959)
Димче Маленко (1919 - 1990)
Видое Видичевски (1931 - )
Димитар Пандев (1958 - )
Драган Спасески (1960 - )

Братски градови
Вулонгонг; Австралија
Винковци; Хрватска
Пловдив; Бугарија
Далиан; Кина
Крагујевац, Србија
Земун, Србија

Охридското Езеро е најголемо и најзначајно природно езеро во Македонија и веројатно од биолошки аспект најзначајниот стагнантен акватичен екосистем во Европа. Се карактеризира со богата историја, културa, археолошки наоѓалишта и природна убавина. Благодарение на ваквите особености, во 1980 година Охридското Езеро и градот Охрид се прогласени за Светско културно наследство, под заштита на УНЕСКО.

Географија
Езерото покрива површина од 358,2 km² и се протега во должина од 30,8 km, а најголемата широчина изнесува 14,8 km. Должината на брегот изнесува 87,5km. Неговата длабочина достигнува до 289 m. Вкупниот волумен на езерото изнесува 58,6 km3. Езерото е сместено во длабока и затворена котлина, на исток ограничена со планината Галичица (1945 m), а на запад со Јабланица (2257 m). Се наоѓа на надморска височина од 695 метри. Во сливот на Охридското Езеро припаѓаат 40 реки, од кои 23 на албанска и 17 на македонска територија.

Потекло и жив свет
Потеклото на Охридското Езеро, гледано во целост како езерски систем со Преспанското Езеро е тектонско. Двете езера претставуваат остатоци од базенот на поранешното Десаретско Езеро од кое настануваат по пат на геотектонска депресија за време на Плиоценот (пред 5,3-1,8 милиони години). Неговата геолошка старост се проценува на околу 2-3 милиони години, поради што се вбројува во групата на стари, долго-постоечки езера заедно со Бајкалското, Тангањика, Ховсгол, Тити Кака. Ваквите езерски екосистеми се сметаат за центри на диверзитет и резервоари на еволуција во кои пред се поради стабилноста на амбиенталната средина, изолираноста на екосистемот и долгото постоење доаѓа до процеси на рапидна еволуција на одредени групи на организми. За Охридското Езеро карактеристични се поголем број реликтни и ендемични организми. Групи најбогати со ендемични организми и воедно најистражувани групи на организми се Дијатомеите (силикатни алги, Bacillariophyta), Харите (група од зелените алги, Charophyta), потоа Планариите (сплескани црви, Turbellaria), мекотелите (Molusca), особено полжавите (Gastropoda) и раковите (Crustacea). Покрај овие групи, познати охридски ендемити се секако охридската пастрмка-Летница Salmo letnica и Белвицата - Acantholingua ohridana.

Археологија и историја на езерото
Бреговите на Охридското Езеро биле населени од предисториско време. Најстарите археолошки населби датираат од неолитскиот период, околу 6000 години п.н.е. Само на македонската страна од сливот се откриени повеќе од 170 археолошки места.

 

OHRID

Ohrid (Macedonian: Охрид) is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 55,700 inhabitants. It is the seat of Ohrid municipality. The town is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year, and is referred to as the Macedonian Jerusalem[1]. The city is rich in picturesque houses and monuments, and tourism is predominant. It is located east of Elbasan and Tirana in Albania, southwest of Skopje, and west-northwest of Resen and Bitola.

In 1980, Ohrid and Lake Ohrid were accepted as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Name
In Macedonian and the other South Slavic languages the name of the city is Охрид. In Albanian the city is known as Ohër or Ohri. See also other names. Historical names include Dyassarites [1], the latin Lychnidus or the Greek names Lychnidos (Λύχνιδος), Ochrida (Ωχρίδα) and Achrida (Αχρίδα), the latter two of which are still in modern usage.

History

Statue of Sts. Cyril and MethodiusThe contemporary city of Ohrid is a descendant of the antique town of Lychnidos. This was confirmed by several Byzantine sources in which it was written "the town is situated on a high hill near the large lake of Lychnidos, by which also the town was named Lychnis, previously known as Dyassarites1 (from Illyrian "oesserites", people living on the lake shore). The Lake of Ohrid, the ancient Lacus Lychnitis, whose blue and exceedingly transparent waters in remote antiquity gave to the lake its Greek name; it was still called so occasionally in the Middle Ages. It was located along the Via Egnatia, which connected the Adriatic port Dyrrachion (present-day Durrës) with Byzantium, it was a town in the empire of king Phillip II of Macedon who probably had a fortress on the hill even before the fortress of Samuil of Bulgaria was erected.2. Archaeological excavations (e.g., the Polyconhous Basilica from 5th century) prove early adaptation of Christianity in the area. Bishops from Lychnidos participated in multiple ecumenical councils.

The Bulgarians conquered the city in 867. The name Ohrid first appeared in 879. Between 990 and 1015, Ohrid was the capital and stronghold of the Bulgarian Empire. From 990 to 1018 Ohrid was also the seat of the Ohrid Patriarchate. After the Byzantine conquest of the city in 1018, the Bulgarian Patriarchate was downgraded to an Archbishopric and placed under the authority of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

Floor mosaic in the Polyconhous BasilicaThe higher clergy after 1018 was almost invariably Greek, including during the period of Ottoman domination, until the abolition of the archbishopric in 1767. At the beginning of the 16th century the archbishopric reached its peak subordinating the Sofia, Vidin, Vlach and Moldavian eparchies, part of the former Peć Patriarchate (including Peć itself), and even the Orthodox districts of Italy (Apulia, Calabria and Sicily), Venice and Dalmatia.

As an episcopal city, Ohrid was an important cultural center. Almost all surviving churches were built by the Byzantines and by the Bulgarians, the rest of them date back to the short time of Serbian rule during the late Middle Ages.

Ohrid is credited as being the birthplace of the Cyrillic alphabet, which was most probably created by St. Clement of Ohrid that further reformed the Glagolic alphabet created in turn by the brothers St. Cyril and Methodius.

Bohemond and his Norman army took the city in 1083. In the 13th and 14th century the city changed hands between Despotate of Epirus, Bulgaria, Byzantine Empire and Serbia. At the end of the 14th century it was conquered by the Ottomans and remained under them until 1912. The Christian population declined during the first centuries of Ottoman rule. In 1664 there were only 142 Christian houses. The situation improved in the 18th century when Ohrid emerged as an important trade center on a major trade route. At the end of this century it had around 5 thousands inhabitants. Towards the end of the 18th century and in the early part of the 19th century, Ohrid region, like other parts of European Turkey, was a hotbed of unrest. Semi-independent feudal lords such as Mahmud Pasha Bushatlija and Djeladin Beg controlled Ohrid and openly defied the central government by not submitting taxes and by using tax money to bolster their own private armies. By the end of 19th century Ohrid had 2409 houses with 11900 inhabitants out of which 45% were Muslim while the rest was mainly Orthodox Christian. Before 1912, Ohrid (Ohri) was a township center bounded to Monastir sanjak in Monastir province (present-day Bitola).

Ecclesiastical history
Its first known bishop was Zosimus (c. 344). In the sixth century it was destroyed by an earthquake (Procopius, Historia Arcana, xv), but was rebuilt by Emperor Justinian (527-565), who was born in the vicinity, and is said to have been called by him Justiniana Prima, i.e. the most important of the several new cities that bore his name. Duchesne (Les églises séparées, Paris, 1856, 240), however, says that this honour belongs to ancient Scupi (Skopje), another frontier town of Illyria. The new city was made the capital of the prefecture, or department, of Illyria, and for the sake of political convenience it was made also the ecclesiastical capital of the Illyrian or southern Danubian parts of the empire (southern Hungary, Bosnia, Serbia, Transylvania, Moldavia, Wallachia). Justinian was unable to obtain immediately for this step a satisfactory approbation from Pope Agapetus or Pope Silverius. The Emperor's act, besides being a usurpation of ecclesiastical authority, was a detriment to the ancient rights of Thessalonica as representative of the Apostolic See in the Illyrian regions. Nevertheless, the new diocese claimed, and obtained in fact, the privilege of autocephalia, or ecclesiastical independence, and through its long and chequered history retained, or struggled to retain, this character. Pope Vigilius, under pressure from Emperor Justinian, recognized the exercise of patriarchal rights by the Metropolitan of Justiniana Prima within the broad limits of its civil territory, but Gregory the Great treated him as no less subject than other Illyrian bishops to the Apostolic See (Duchesne, op. cit., 233-237).

The inroads of the Avars and Slavs in the seventh century brought about the ruin of this ancient centre of religion and civilization, and for two centuries its metropolitan character was in abeyance.

But after the conversion of the new Bulgarian masters of Illyria (864) the see rose again to great prominence, this time under the name of Achrida (Achris). Though Byzantine missionaries were the first to preach the Christian faith in this region, the first archbishop was sent by Rome. It was thence also that the Bulgarians drew their first official instruction and counsel in matters of Christian faith and discipline, a monument of which may be seen in the Responsa ad Consulta Bulgarorum of Nicholas I (858-867), one of the most influential of medieval canonical documents[2]. However, the Bulgarian King (Knyaz) Boris was soon won over by Byzantine influence. In the Eighth General Council held at Constantinople (869), Bulgaria was incorporated with the Byzantine patriarchate of Constantinople, and in 870 the Latin missionaries were expelled. Henceforth Byzantine metropolitans presided in Ohrid; it was made the capital of Bulgaria during the rule of Samuil and profited by the tenth-century conquests of its warlike rulers so that it became the Metropolitan of several Byzantine dioceses in the newly conquered territories in the wider Macedonia (region) region, Thessaly, and Thrace. Bulgaria fell unavoidably within the range of the Photian schism, and so, from the end of the ninth century, the diocese of Ohrid was lost to Western and papal influences.

The house of the wealthy Robevi familyThe overthrow of the Bulgarian empire in 1018 by Byzantine Emperor Basil II brought Ohrid into closer touch with Constantinople. It became a seat of the Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid. At a later date some of the great Byzantine families (e.g. the Ducas and the Comneni) claimed descent from the Emperors, or Cars, of Bulgaria. In 1053 the Metropolitan Leo of Ohrid signed with Michael Caerularius the latter's circular letter to John of Trani (Apulia in Italy) against the Latin Church. Theophylactus of Ohrid (1078) was one of the most famous of the medieval Byzantine exegetes; in his correspondence (Ep., 27) he maintains the traditional independence of the Diocese of Ohrid. The Bishop of Constantinople, he says, has no right of ordination in Bulgaria, whose bishop is independent. In reality Ohrid was during this period seldom in communion with either Constantinople or Rome. Towards the latter see, however, its sentiments were less than friendly, for in the fourteenth century we find the metropolitan Anthimus of Ohrid writing against the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son. Yet Latin missionaries appear in Ohrid in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, mostly Franciscan monks, to whom the preservation of the Roman obedience in these regions is largely owing. In the thirteenth century, the noted judge Demetrios was archbishop of Ohrid.

The Latin bishops of Ohrid in the seventeenth century are probably, like those of our of own time, titular bishops. The ecclesiastical independence of Ohrid seeming in modern times to leave an opening for Roman Catholic influence in Bulgaria, Arsenius, the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople, had it finally abolished in 1767 by an order of the Ottoman Sultan Mustapha III. At the height of its authority, Ohrid could count as subject to its authority ten metropolitan and six episcopal dioceses.

Buildings and museums
There is a legend supported by observations by Ottoman traveller from 15th century, Evlia Celebia that there were 365 chapels within the town boundaries, one for every day of the year. Today this number is significantly smaller. However during the medieval times, Ohrid was called Slavic Jerusalem.

Church of St. Sophia
Church of St. Panteleimon (Plaoshnik)
Church of St. John at Kaneo
Church of St. Clement
Church of St. George
Church of St. Zaum
Church of St. Naum
Church of St. Petka
Church of St. Stephan
Vestiges of basilicas from the early-Christian time, e.g. Basilica of St. Erasmus (4th century)
Tsar Samuil's fortress (10th/11th century)
Museum of Slavic writing culture (18th century)
Antique Theatre
Note: Besides being a holy center of the region, it is also the source of knowledge and pan-Slavic literacy. The restored church at Plaoshnik, previously destroyed by the Ottoman army, was actually one of the oldest Universities in the western world, dating before the 10-th century.

There is a nearby airport, Ohrid Airport (now known as Apostle Paul Airport) that is open all year round.

Sister cities
Piran; Slovenia
Podolsk; Russia
Wollongong; Australia
Budva; Montenegro
Katwijk; Netherlands
Vinkovci; Croatia
Plovdiv; Bulgaria
Dalian; China
Windsor; Canada
Pogradec; Albania
Kragujevac, Serbia
Zemun, Serbia
Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

Lake Ohrid (Macedonian: Охридско Езеро, transliterated: Ohridsko Ezero; Albanian: Liqeni i Ohrit) straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern region of the Republic of Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is probably the oldest lake in Europe, preserving a unique aquatic ecosystem with more than 200 endemic species that is of worldwide importance. The importance of the lake was further emphasized when it was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1979. However, human activity on the lake shores and in its catchment area is resulting in the ecosystem coming under stress.

Geography

MapLake Ohrid is the deepest lake of the Balkans, with a maximum depth of 288 m (940 ft) and a mean depth of 155 m (508 ft). It covers an area of 358 km² (138 sq mi), containing an estimated 55.4 km³ of water. It is 30.4 km long by 14.8 km wide at its maximum extent with a shoreline length of 87.53 km, shared between the Republic of Macedonia (56.02 km) and Albania (31.51 km).

Origin
Lake Ohrid and the Prespa Lakes belong to a group of Dessaret basins that originated from a geotectonic depression during the Pliocene epoch up to five million years ago on the western side of the Dinaric Alps. Worldwide, there are only a few lakes with similarly remote origins with Lake Baikal and Lake Tanganyika being the most famous. Most other, short-lived lakes have a life span of less than 100,000 years before they are eventually filled up with sediments. It is believed that in the case of Lake Ohrid this process was delayed by its large depth and small sediment input from filtered spring inflows. Moreover the Ohrid-Korca graben to the south of the lake is still tectonically active and might compensate sedimentation by subduction. Contrary to Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa is likely to have turned dry several times in its history, as a result of its karstic underground.[1]

Hydrology

Satellite imageThe lake drains an area of around 2600 km² and is fed primarily by underground springs on the eastern shore (about 50% of total inflow), with roughly 25% shares from rivers and direct precipitation. Over 20% of the lake's water comes from nearby Lake Prespa, about 10 km (6 miles) to the southeast and at 150 m higher altitude than Lake Ohrid. The water leaves Lake Prespa trickling through underground watercourses in the karstic landscape, where it is joined by mountain range precipitation and eventually emerges in numerous springs along the eastern shore and below the water surface of Lake Ohrid. The water leaves Lake Ohrid by evaporation (~40%) and through its only outlet, the Black Drin River, which flows in a northerly direction into Albania and thus to the Adriatic Sea. The relatively dry, Mediterranean climate and the small drainage basin of 2600 km² (catchment/lake surface ratio of ~7) of Lake Ohrid results in a long hydraulic residence time scale of ~70 yr. [2][3][4]

Physical and Geochemical Lake Properties
The water at the surface of Lake Ohrid moves predominantly in an anti-clockwise direction along the shore, as a result of wind forcing and earth rotation, similar to the Ekman-phenomenon known from oceans. In terms of vertical water exchange, convective mixing during winter cooling is the dominant process. However in an average winter only the top 150-200 meters of the lake are mixed, whereas the water below is stably stratified by salinity. The stability due to this salinity gradient allows complete convective mixing events only roughly once every 7 years.[3][5]

Both in terms of nutrient concentration (4.5 μg L-1 of phosphorus), as well as biological parameters Lake Ohrid qualifies as oligotrophic. Thanks to this oligotrophy and the filtered spring inflows, the water is exceptionally clear with transparencies to a depth of as much as 22 meters (66 feet). Despite the lack in annual deep water exchange from complete overturn or plunging rivers, dissolved oxygen never drops below ~6 mg L-1.[6][7]

Fauna

Lake OhridWhile Lake Ohrid is special as such, by far the most spectacular quality is its impressive endemism. Similar to Lake Baikal or Lake Tanganyika, Lake Ohrid harbors endemic species covering the whole food-chain, from phytoplankton and sestile algae (20 species; e.g., Cyclotella fottii), over plant species (2 species; e.g., Chara ohridana), zooplankton (5 species; e.g., Cyclops ochridanus), cyprinid fish (8 species; e.g., Pachychilon pictus), to predatory fish (2 trout species; Ohrid trout Salmo letnica and "Belvica" Acantholingua ohridana) and finally its diverse endemic bottom fauna (176 species; e.g. Ochridagammarus solidus), with particularly large endemism among crustaceans, molluscs, sponges and planarians. Whereas the endemic species list cited above is based on morphological and ecological characteristics, some recent applications of molecular genetic techniques underline the difference of the fauna from common European taxa, as well as the old age of the lake.[1][8][9]

Quite remarkably, exotic species do not seem to be a major issue in Lake Ohrid, although they have been recorded in small populations for several decades or exist in nearby rivers or lakes. The reason lies very probably in the ideal adaptation of the endemic species to the specific conditions in the lake, such as low nutrient availability, good living conditions in greater depth thanks to high water transparency and oxygen content, as well as subaquatic spring inflows supplying cool and oxygen-rich water.[1]

Despite the exceptionally high level of endemism in Lake Ohrid (for example, ten of the seventeen identified fish species and as much as 80% of its molluscan fauna is endemic), a significant number of non-endemic species is found in Lake Ohrid. This includes species, which are mobile (e.g., via water birds) or migratory, such as the European eel.[10]

The lakeshore reed beds and wetlands provide critical habitat for hundreds of thousands of wintering water birds, including rare and threatened species such as the Dalmatian Pelican, Ferruginous Duck, Swan, Spotted Eagle, and Eastern Imperial Eagle.

Socio-Economy
There are three cities on the lake's shores: Ohrid and Struga on the Macedonian side; Pogradec in Albania. There are also several fishing villages, although tourism is now a more significant part of their income. The catchment area of the lake has a population of around 170,000 people, with 131,000 people living directly at the lake shore (43,000 in Albania and 88,000 in the Republic of Macedonia). The population in the catchment has increased greatly by 100,000 people in the last half century, putting the lake's fragile ecosystem under pressure. The historic monuments, as well as the pristine lake environment make the area around Lake Ohrid a prime site for tourism. In the 1980s more than 200'000 national and international tourists went on a literal pilgrimage to the Macedonian lake side every year. During the Yugoslav crisis and particularly after the interethnic conflicts within the Republic of Macedonia in 2001 international tourism collapsed but has been slowly recovering during the past years. Even though many of the above visitors are staying for a weekend only, tourism makes an important share of local economy (~1 visitor/inhabitant).[2][6]

Human Pressure

The lake coast at St. Naum Monastery, with Galichitsa Mountain in the background.Shore habitats are under particular pressure from human activities. Particular threats are the building of tourist facilities directly at the shore, destroying of reed belts to gain cultural land and intense pollution close to the mouth of tributaries. Although the effects of these human impacts have not been evaluated in detail they are of great concern, as the shallow water sites are particularly rich in endemic bottom fauna and form important spawning grounds for several endemic fish species. Moreover reed belts have great importance for water birds.[7]

Commercial fish yield, i.e. the two endemic trout species, has dropped significantly over the past decades, both in the Republic of Macedonia and in Albania. The most probable reason is overfishing and possibly destruction of spawning grounds. Although there are regulations regarding fishing practice (e.g., minimal mesh size) and only a limited number of licensed fishermen, these rules are not followed consequently, as a result of the high market value of the endemic trout. As a reaction to the situation, fishing has been banned for the past two years, to help the fish population recover and to allow scientists collect further data. While most of the endemic fish species are non-migratory, the European eel spawns in the distant Sargasso Sea while its offspring return to the lake. Unfortunately, like in many European lakes, it is very unlikely today that eels can reach Lake Ohrid naturally and return to the Sargasso Sea, as a result of several hydropower dams on the Black Drin and the Drin River, both in the Republic of Macedonia and Albania. As a result, eel found in Lake Ohrid are stocked populations.[7][11]

Given the population growth over the past 50 years, a particular concern is the potential eutrophication of currently oligotrophic Lake Ohrid from increased pollution. Indeed, sediment cores show a ~3.5 fold increase in phosphorus concentration over the past century. On the one hand, shifts from endemic to common European species, which are better adapted to higher nutrient conditions, have already been observed close to polluted inflows. On the other hand, higher nutrient levels have reduced the water transparency, as well as the oxygen availability in the deep water and at the lake bottom, two properties which are requisite for the endemic flora and fauna. Still, the lake is in a comparably good state at the moment. However it may take more than a decade to see the effects of today's pollution level in the lake, because of its long water residence time. Moreover it was shown that the negative effects from eutrophication would be significantly amplified by global warming. Although there is time to react, computer simulations indicate that at least a 50% reduction in phosphorus input must be reached to keep the deep water oxygenated for the next 50 years at predicted atmospheric warming. This aim could be reached by controlling household wastewater, which is by far the biggest phosphorus source at the moment. First steps in that direction have been taken by extending and improving the existing sewage system in the Republic of Macedonia in the framework of a GEF (Global Environment Facility) program. The most important next task would be a solution for three remaining, severely polluted tributaries, one in Macedonia and two in Albania.