Lake Prespa
Prespa is the name of two freshwater
lakes in
southeast Europe, shared by
Greece,
Albania, and the
Republic of Macedonia. Of the total surface area, 190 km² belongs to the Republic of Macedonia, 84.8 km² to Greece and 38.8 km² to Albania. They are the highest
tectonical lakes in the
Balkans, standing at an
altitude of 853 m (2,798 ft).
The Great Prespa Lake (
Albanian:
Liqeni i Prespës,
Greek:
Limni Megali Prespa,
Macedonian:
Преспанско Езеро, Prespansko Ezero) is divided between Albania, Greece and the Republic of Macedonia. The Small Prespa Lake (Greek:
Limni Mikrá Prespa) is shared only between Greece (138 km² drainage area; 43.5 km² surface area) and Albania (51 km² drainage area; 3.9 km² surface area).
In the
10th century, the
Bulgarian tsar
Samuil built the fortress and church of
St. Achillios on an island called Agios Achillios in the Small Prespa Lake, on the Greek side of the border. The biggest island in the Great Prespa Lake, on the Republic of Macedonia's side, is called
Golem Grad ("Large Town"). It is substantially bigger than the other island
Mal Grad (Small Town, in Albania) and is the site of a ruined
14th century monastery dedicated to
St. Peter. Today, both islands are uninhabited.
Because Great Prespa Lake sits about 150m above
Lake Ohrid, which lies only about 10 km (6 miles) to the west, its waters run through underground channels in the
karst and emerge from
springs which feed streams running into Lake Ohrid.
For many years, the Greek part of the Prespa Lakes region was an underpopulated, military sensitive area which required special permission for outsiders to visit. It saw fierce fighting during the
Greek Civil War and much of the local population subsequently emigrated to escape endemic poverty and political strife. The region remained little developed until the
1970s, when it began to be promoted as a tourist destination. With an abundance of rare fauna and flora, the area was declared a Transnational Park in
2000.
The largest town in the Prespa Lakes region is
Resen in the Republic of Macedonia.
* "Prespa, Lake".
Encyclopædia Britannica, 2005.
* "Prespa, Lake".
The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2004.
