Pogradec-Paleo-Christian Basilica and Lin Mosaics

After walking for almost 20 minutes by car, we will see an amazing view of Lake Ohrid and the Lin Peninsula on which the village of the same name rises. The village is located by the lake and has a very beautiful view which becomes an object of inspiration for many painters. During the trip to Lin village tourists will have the opportunity to stop to visit the beautiful village, to spend some time there to get acquainted with the history and traditions of the area or we can also enjoy the traditional local cuisine. Then we will climb a small walking path where the Early Christian Basilica and the Mosaics of Lin are located which is also the main destination of this path, where tourists will get acquainted with one of the earliest basilicas of Illyria and its beautiful mosaics. which are special with pronounced features only of this area.
The Paleo-Christian basilica of Lin, along with the mosaics found in it, is located on top of the hill of St. Thanas, on the Lin peninsula. It was first discovered in 1967 during a research expedition by employees of the local Pogradec museum, who also undertook an excavation campaign to uncover it. A more detailed research undertaken in 1968 by the Institute of Monuments in Tirana concluded that this basilica was one of the most unique ever discovered in Albania.
It consisted of 7 rooms in total, the floors of which were all decorated with mosaics. The basilica was built in the 15th century. VI m.Kr. The mosaics of the Paleo-Christian basilica of Linn consist of motifs that include not only elements commonly used in other basilicas such as: "euharistia" (birds that pick grapes), braided motifs, scenes from the aquatic, plant and animal world, zvastika ( broken cross) and flowers but also motifs that are very rarely found such as bees. The most commonly used colors for decoration are white, black, red, brown, green, yellow and orange. For the construction of the mosaics, small stones in the shape of cubes (tesera) with dimensions of 1x1 cm were used, which have the most limestone composition, but there are also marble cubes, brick cubes or glass dough cubes.
This trail starts from the city center of Pogradec where you will travel by car for 20 minutes to the village of Lin. The distance between Pogradec and the village of Lin is 20 km. The distance from Lin village to the Basilica and the Mosaics is a few minutes (walking path).

The road to Lin village is paved and can be done by any kind of car.