Velestovo – a village in the Municipality of Ohrid, in the vicinity of the city of Ohrid. It is located in the bosom of Galichitsa mountain.
This village is located in Ohrid, in the central part of the territory of Ohrid Municipality, southeast of the city of Ohrid, at a distance of 7 kilometers and belongs to its rural zone. The village is mountainous, at an altitude of 1,080 meters, whose atar rises to the crest of Mount Galichica, where it touches the area of the Municipality of Resen.
The village is spread out on the slopes of Galichica, at an altitude of about 1,000 meters. The locals were supplied with drinking water from village taps, and today there is a water supply system. The village has two parts, divided into Upper or Staro Velestovo at an altitude of about 1,000 meters and Lower or New Velestovo, in the Racha valley. Novo Velestovo was founded after the Second World War by settlers from Staro Velestovo. In the past, the village vineyards were located in the Racha area. The distance between the two parts is 2 kilometers. Velestovo borders the village of Konjsko to the south, Ramne to the north, the villages of Petrino and Evla in the east, and the city of Ohrid and Lake Ohrid to the west.
Today, Racha (Novo Velestovo) is an Ohrid settlement, completely separated from the village. From Ohrid, the village of Velestovo is connected by an asphalted road. Velestovo belongs to the old villages of Ohrid. It probably dates back to the Middle Ages. The name of the village is Slavic and the village of the same name is located in Montenegro. There are many antiquities in the village. In the area of Dolna Racha, lower than today’s village, there are 2-3 springs and there is a legend that the old village was located there. There are only graves. Tradition claims that the village moved higher because of the Turks. It is the locality Seliste, above today’s village. And in this locality, the village did not remain long, because “there was a llama, which ate the people”. In this locality there was the church “St. Mother of God”.
Archaeological sites:
Virgin Mary – medieval church and necropolis;
Velestovo — coin depot;
Kromidishta — medieval church and necropolis;
Racha — a settlement from late antiquity and a medieval necropolis;
Seliste — medieval church and necropolis; and
Stara Racha — medieval church.
Churches:
Church “Assumption of the Blessed Virgin” — the main village church, from the 14th century;
Church “Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary” — the newest village church; and
Church “St. Trinity” — the main monastery church, built in 1986.
Monasteries:
Velestovski Monastery — a newer monastery in front of the village
Chapels:
Chapel “St. Petka”
Memorials:
Village tap from 1891. with WW2 memorial
Source: Wikipedia
Tour
(under construct.)
Mountain trails nearby:
Bike trails nearby:
