The shores of Lake Ohrid have been inhabited since the Neolithic period (6000 BC). The first historical settlers were the Illyrian Encheleans (8th and 7th centuries BC), who left many traces around Pogradec. So on the hill above the city, which they built in the 5th century BC. It was first fortified in the 6th century BC and existed until the Slavs invaded in the 6th century. Several Illyrian royal tombs were found near the village of Selca e Poshtme, dating between the 4th and 1st centuries BC. Date. They belonged to the ancient city of Pelion, which was destroyed by the Slavs in 547/548 AD.
During the 18th century, the town of Pogradec became an administrative center of the region under Ottoman rule. Because of the many wars - including the two Balkan Wars, the First World War and the Second World War - the city's old buildings were largely destroyed. Nevertheless, some of the region's characteristic buildings were able to survive and were declared cultural monuments.
The name Pogradec is of Slavic origin and is formed from the two words pod (under) and gradec (small town) and thus refers to the location of the new town, which lies below the “small (old / Illyrian) town”.
We had been to the Pindos Mountains in Greece again, initially spending two nights in Bourazani, then crossing the Sarantaporos River into Albania via the small Konitza-Leskovik border crossing described above and driving on SH 65 towards Korça.
Once again, together with acquaintances, we drove from Camping Rino in Struga to Pogradec, this time we choose the small border crossing at Sveti Naum, as the ride along the Ohrid lake is of great beauty and we wanted to take the high mountain road up into the National Park Galicica again.
The shores of Ohrid Lake have been inhabited since the Neolithic Age (6000 BC), which is impressively documented on the Macedonian side with the perceived pile dwelling settlement at the lake just about 15 kilometers from Pogradec.
Once again we set off from Camping Rino in Struga in the direction of Pogradec on the Albanian side of Ohrid Lake, this time to visit the so-called King's tombs Selcë e Poshtëme (the correct Albanian spelling) carved into the rock below the Acropolis.
After our stopover in the Pindos mountains with the renewed hike to the upper vantage points in the Vikos gorge, we had first guided our camper to the stop in Bourazani.