Samuel's fortress stands on a hill above the town of Ohrid. It is divided into two sections, each with a separate entrance. The main gateway facing the town, is flanked by two high round towers. The fortress on this site is known to have withstood the attacks of Theodoric's Goths in 479. The Byzantines repaired and extended the fortifications, the walls of which are up to 16m thick. Its present appearance dates from the time of Emperor Samuel, though it was repaired on several occasions after its downfall by the Byzantines and then the Turks, right down to the 19th century, when Dzeladin Bey made use of cruel forced labour for work on the fortifications. From the hilltop fortress two walls run down to the lake shore, enclosing the urban settlement below the citadel. One descends in a westerly direction towards the settlement of Labino, while the other runs eastward. All the walls are rough stone, with the exception of the upper gateway (Gorna porta), for which stone blocks from Greco-Roman buildings were used, as can be seen from the inscriptions on them.
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