Struga

Struga is located at the northern point of Lake Ohrid. It has a long sandy beach, which is rapidly commercialized with several beach bars. Struga is booming as a tourist location, not far from the famous town Ohrid. Characteristic of Struga is the long boulevard along the river Crni Drim (Black Drim), with restaurants and bars along the riverside. In the summer you will see many kids jumping from the bridges into the crystal clear water of the river Crni Drim.

The river Crni Drim receives its water from Lake Ohrid. The water of Lake Ohrid itself comes from the higher located Lake Prespa on the other side of Galicica National Park. You can visit the springs that feed Lake Ohrid at the Monastery of St Naum in the south of the lake. Make sure you visit the beginning of the river Crni Drim, where lake and river meet.

Natural History Museum

The Natural History Museum in Struga has over 10,000 examples of flora and stuffed fauna from the Ohrid and Prespa region. From the outside it looks pretty bad, but inside it is a really interesting museum which gives a good overview of the local fauna. The museum is located on the west site of the river Crni Drim, downstream of the center of Struga. The museum was founded in 1928 by the Russian doctor Nikola Nezlobinski. In 1961 the archeological department of the museum was formed, and in 1974 the Vangel Kodzoman Art Gallery was opened, which is also part of the museum. We visited the Memorial House of the Miladinov Brothers, the Vangel Kodzoman Gallery and this museum all with the same ticket (50 denars, less than 1 euro). The museum is open every day from 09.00-17.00 h, but you should call to see if it is open if you want to be sure. Address: Boro Kalajdzioski. Directions: N41.18036 E20.67750 Phone: +38970786644 or +38970782487

Miladinov Brothers House

The Miladinov brothers Dimitar (1810-1862) and Konstantin (1830-1862) were born in Struga. The memorial house is the house where they were born and raised. The brothers are famous for putting together an important collection of Folk Songs. Dimitar was a teacher, Konstantin went to Moscow in Russia. Konstantin is famous for his well-known poem “T’ga za Jug”, or “Longing for the South”, which he wrote while missing his homeland during his stay in Russia. Every year the Struga Poetry Festival is started with the reading of this poem (see below). A famous Macedonian red wine is called “T’ga za Jug” as well! Due to problems with the Greek church, Dimitar was imprisoned in an Ottoman prison in Istanbul. When Konstantin wanted to go there to help his brother, he was denounced a dangerous Russian spy and also imprisoned. The two bothers died of typhus in that prison.
The information in the Memorial House is in Macedonian only. We had an elaborate private tour of the exposition, translated by my girlfriend. If you don’t read Macedonian, it still is an interesting building to visit. In addition, there are mosaics on display that were found at an Early Christian Basilica in the nearby village Oktisi. Address: Brothers Miladinov, Struga. Directions: N41.17814 E20.67740

Mosaics from Basilica in Oktisi

Isn’t it great when you are surprised during your travels? In 2009 we visited the ruins of an Early Christian Basilica in Oktisi, not far from Struga. The Bradt Guide Macedonia mentioned that there were some excellent examples of late Roman mosaics at this site. Unfortunately, there were no mosaics at all, and we heard that they had been removed to be displayed in some museum. Of course we were slightly disappointed but never gave the mosaics another thought. Until we visited the Memorial House of the Miladinov Brothers in 2012, where these mosaics turned out to be part of the exhibition! The mosaic was discovered in mid 20th century and was dated to the late 4th century. Its conservation and restoration started in 1990 under the supervision of the archaeologist Dr. Vera Bitrakova-Grozdanova. She also wrote a booklet (2010) about the mosaics that you can get in the museum.

Vangel Kodzoman Art Gallery

This small but impressive gallery is part of the Dr Nikola Nezlobinski Museum in Struga. The Gallery of Vangel Kodzoman was opened in 1974. The paintings of Vangel Kodzoman (1904-1994) are very colorful and show scenes from the past of Struga and surroundings.
The gallery is located directly opposite to the Memorial House of the Miladinov Brothers and next to the old city house. If you don’t know it is there, you will miss it, since the gallery is upstairs in a building without a window or much advertisement.

Old City House

This example of an old house can be found directly opposite to the Memorial House of the Miladinov Brothers and next to the Vangel Kodzoman Art Gallery. It has limited opening hours, from 09.00-11.00, and unfortunately it was closed when we were there.
In front of the house there is the statue of national hero Kuzman Josifovski-Pitu (1915-1944). Address: Brothers Miladinov. Directions: N41.17818 E20.67739 Phone: +389 (0)71349668 or (0)71349675

Churches and mosques

The Church of St George was built in 1835 on the foundations of an older sacral object. The iconostasis from 1850 is quite unique, with the lower part being made out of stone. The upper part is from wood, with detailed woodcarving. There is also a big icon from St George painted in 1267, that allegedly was found in or near lake Ohrid. During a restoration in 1993, many icons from the 15th-18th century were found in the attic. Address: Marshal Tito. Directions: N41.17719 E20.67468.

See here for more churches and mosques in Struga

Girl going for water

This statue is called “A girl going for water“, and symbolizes the traditional going for water from public fountains by young girls and brides. The statue is from the middle of the 1980s. Maybe it should be renamed to “A girl going to a cafe” because in the summer the statue is completely hidden by the parasols of a cafe. It is located next to the bridge over the Crni Drim river, at the main shopping street. Address: Marshal Tito. Directions: N41.17772 E20.67865

Struga Town Hall

The Town Hall is the building with the blue windows on the left side of the picture, in front of it you can find the Monument of the Revolution. We usually visit the town hall when we are in a new town, since they often have free maps, booklets about the town and surroundings etc. Address: Town Square / Marshal Tito Street.

Statue of Mother Teresa

This statue of Mother Tereza (1910-1997) is on the square in front of the town hall. Mother Teresa was born in Skopje, from Albanian parents. You can see the Mustafa Pasha Mosque in the background. Address: Town Square / Marshal Tito. Directions: N41.17786 E20.68049

Monument of the Revolution

The monument of the revolution was erected in 1974 on the location of an older monument. Nowadays (2012) it looks like it has not been taken care of ever since. The sign next to the monument tells a poem that translates into something like:

The revolution is like a river,
It flows without stopping
From the springs of the past
To the delta of the boundless future
And while flowing it empowers life with life
Glory and honor to the soldiers of our revolution
Through the ancestors to eternity

The monument is located on the east side of the river Crni Drim, on the square in front of the town hall.  Address: Marshal Tito. Directions: N41.177643 E20.679546

Ruins of an Amam

Somewhere between the Mustafa Pasha Mosque and the Halveti Hayati Mosque there are the barely visible ruins of an amam, an old Turkish bath house. A friendly man who owns the shop left from the amam saw us looking for it and he took us to the backyard behind his shop where we could have a closer look. But still there was not much to see from this angle, see the pictures. The reconstruction of this amam on the picture can be found in the Museum of National History. The amam is now on private ground, owned by somebody living further down the street. We tried to find this man to ask if he could open the gate for us, but we could not find him. Address: Turisticha. Directions: N41.17845 E20.68155

Covered market

Struga has a covered market where you can buy many things, from fresh vegetables to clothes. The market is next to the Church of St George. Address: Marshal Tito. Directions: N41.17668 E20.67426

Restaurant Angela

In 2012 we had a lunch is this pizza restaurant next to the river Crni Drim (Black Drim).
I ordered a pastrmajlija with egg and bacon. Pastrmajlija is a Macedonian style pizza, normally oval shaped and with a slightly different and thicker bottom than a pizza. The egg/bacon pastrmajlija of restaurant Angela came with an ordinary round pizza bottom, so I don’t think it was an official pastrmajlija, but it was very tasty nevertheless. My girlfriend had a vegetarian pizza that was not bad either. Especially the riverside location makes this restaurant an interesting location for a break. Address: Dimitar Vlahov 2. https://www.facebook.com/Picerija-Angela-Struga-256245446997/

Impression of Struga