Pogradec Castle

The castle of Pogradec is located in the western part of the city of Pogradec. This 1400-year-old castle has been a cultural monument since 1973 and has a height of 205 m above the level of Lake Ohrid. The earliest traces of habitation belong to the 5th century BC when the city existed as an unfortified settlement. In the 4th century BC, it was equipped with defensive walls and began to serve as a small civic center, whose inhabitants were mainly engaged in agriculture, fishing and various crafts. From the archaeological excavations, traces of an ash layer belonging to the II century BC, which may have been caused in the battles during the Illyrian-Roman-Macedonian wars, have been identified. After the wars, the inhabitants rebuilt the settlement, but did not surround it with walls again because during this period, which coincides with the Roman period, the territories occupied by Rome, which also included the region of Pogradec, experienced a three-century era of peace during which it was not necessary fortification of the settlement. The beginning of the barbarian invasions in the c. IV brought the need to rebuild the surrounding walls which were built on the traces of the ancient wall. This new fortification served the inhabitants until the 9th century when the settlement was destroyed by the Slavic invaders and finally abandoned by the inhabitants, who went to live at its foot. The view offered by the highest part of the castle is extraordinary. Below the lake merges sweetly with the city, while behind the green is the other side of the coin. Apparently, here nature and history intertwine.