Church of Saint Sophia
Former cathedral of the Ohrid Archbishopric, with one of the largest 11th-century Byzantine fresco cycles.
The Church of Saint Sophia stands in the lower part of Ohrid's old town, a short walk from the lake shore. The present building was raised in the eleventh century, probably under Archbishop Leo, on the site of an earlier basilica, and it served as the cathedral of the Archbishopric of Ohrid. Under Ottoman rule it was converted into a mosque and its paintings were covered; conservation work from the 1950s onward stripped away the later additions and uncovered the medieval fabric.
Inside is one of the largest and earliest surviving cycles of Byzantine wall painting in the region, with eleventh-century frescoes in the sanctuary, including the Communion of the Apostles and a gallery of patriarchs, and further work of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries elsewhere. In 1313 Archbishop Gregory added the two-storey exonarthex with its open arcades and towers, which now forms the striking west front. The building is part of the UNESCO listing of the Ohrid region.
Highlights
- Eleventh-century frescoes of the Communion of the Apostles
- Arcaded exonarthex added by Archbishop Gregory in 1313
- Cathedral of the medieval Archbishopric of Ohrid
- Main concert setting of the Ohrid Summer Festival
![Afrique occidentale française : Cathédrale à St Louis / [photogr. Eugène] Gallois ; [photogr. reprod. par Radiguet et Massiot pour la conférence donnée par] Gallois](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/Afrique_occidentale_fran%C3%A7aise_-_Cath%C3%A9drale_%C3%A0_St_Louis_-_%28photogr._Eug%C3%A8ne%29_Gallois_%3B_%28photogr._reprod._par_Radiguet_et_Massiot_pour_la_conf%C3%A9rence_donn%C3%A9e_par%29_Gallois_-_btv1b532798828.jpg/500px-thumbnail.jpg)
![[Golestan, Le Salon et Fete de l'equinode, Teheran, Iran (le Pavillion du Trone)]](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/-Golestan%2C_Le_Salon_et_Fete_de_l%27equinode%2C_Teheran%2C_Iran_%28le_Pavillion_du_Trone%29-_MET_DP202918.jpg/500px--Golestan%2C_Le_Salon_et_Fete_de_l%27equinode%2C_Teheran%2C_Iran_%28le_Pavillion_du_Trone%29-_MET_DP202918.jpg)
![Théâtre de la guerre dans l'Inde sur la coste de Coromandel / par M.B.C.T. [Monsieur Bourcet Capitaine ?] ; gravé par Croisey](https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Fort_de_Calicuta_-_btv1b59706294.jpg/500px-Fort_de_Calicuta_-_btv1b59706294.jpg)
