Struga - Town of poetry

There is a saying that for a prosperous and long lived city, a near by water source is the most important prerequisite. Most of the cities in antiqity were located either along a river flow, or on the coast of a lake or a sea. Many of the modern cities today, still carry the same signature.

Struga has both, which makes her a member of a small and privileged group of places in the world, blessed with such a gift. Located on the coast of the magnificient and eternal Lake Ohrid and along the banks of the Black Drim river, which flows right out of the lake splitting the city in two halves, makes Struga a truly unique city in the whole of Balkans. A real pearl of the Balkan peninsula.

Through the site we would like to present this remarkable city to the world community. Struga has been found by many to be truly an adorable place, one that people fall in love with at the first sight. A city of poetry, culture, history and a long tradition. We hope that the site will provide and maintain a link to the ancient city of Struga for everyone in the world who feels related in any way to this jewel of southwestern Macedonia.

Let your experience of Struga begin and please let us know about it. Feel also free to write to us, if you think the site can be improved in any way or you simply have comments or questions. We would love to hear from you. After all, this site belongs to all of us, Struga lovers. Your feedback and cooperation is appreciated.

Struga

Struga, a small town 15 km (9 m) from Ohrid, straddles the northern tip of the lake and is a captivating destination in its own right. Situated near the famous Roman Via Egnatia, Struga was known in antiquity by the name of Ehalon, meaning ‘eel.’


One of the most remarkable tales from Ohrid lore is about this slippery creature. Following its mystifying internal intuition, the Ohrid Eel travels thousands of kilometers from its birthplace in the Sargasso Sea, through the Mediterranean, and up through the Crn Drim River that empties into Lake Ohrid. After lurking about for years in the murky depths of the lake, the eel suddenly gets the desire to consummate its life’s mission- by returning to the distant Caribbean, where it mates and dies.

If there is something poetic about the sad fate of the eccentric Ohrid eel, then Struga is the right place for contemplating it. Long venerated by Macedonians as a place of literary inspiration, Struga is the site each year of an International Festival of Poetry dedicated to the memory of the 19th century poet Konstantin Miladinov. He captured the area’s beauty and place in the Macedonian heart in his poem, “Longing for the South:”

...There the rose-fingered dawn brightens my soul
there the sunset keeps wooded hills aglow
there nature's splendor plentiful gifts yields
a mighty harvest gathers in its fields
and the clear lake's whiteness widens the view
darkened by the wind, it turns hues of blue
look upon these mountains, these divine plains
behold their beauty which forever remains...

(English translation by Michael Sporer)

Struga today is a popular summer getaway, interspersed with alleyways and shops where products are still crafted by hand. The town has many churches, the oldest dating from the 12th century, and wood-frame houses characteristic of 18th and 19th century Macedonian architecture.

Macedonia’s scuba diving association is also based in Struga, where the River Crn Drin rushes out of Lake Ohrid and northwards to Debar. Between the two towns can be found numerous traditional villages set amongst lush wooded hills.