Samuel's Fortress (Ohrid)

Samuel's Fortress (Macedonian: Самуилова тврдина, romanized: Samuilova tvrdina, Bulgarian: Самуилова крепост, romanized: Samuilova krepost) is a fortress in the old town of Ohrid, North Macedonia. It was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire during the rule of Tsar Samuel at the turn of the 11th century. Today, this historical monument is a major tourist attraction and was heavily restored in 2003 with the addition of entirely new battlements where none had survived.

According to recent excavations by Macedonian archaeologists, it was contended that this fortress was built on the place of an earlier fortification, dated to the 4th century BC, which was probably built by King Philip II of Macedon. During the late 900s, King Samuil of Bulgaria restored the fortress by rebuilding it into a medieval style stronghold which still stands as is today.

Text adapted from “Samuel's Fortress, Ohrid” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Samuel's Fortress (Ohrid) ranks #786 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #2 of the 6 mapped in North Macedonia. Founded c. 350 BC, it is older than 99% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 12 atlas entries founded in the 4th century BC. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,833 times in the last 60 days, more than 84% of the atlas. The nearest day-trip guide is Tirana, 85 km away. See how North Macedonia compares in the castle statistics.

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