From all sides, except the southern, that is facing the lake, the city is being protected by high walls and defensive towers in the length of about three kilometers, spreading all up to the Ohrid port. The height of the walls varies from 3 to 16 meters. Through the ages, the fortress has been destroyed many times, rebuilt and upgraded.
Because of that, today the fortress is called Tzar Samoil fortress. The first part of the Samoil fortress is the Citadel, the Citadel is divided with a wall in two parts, the first part was for the emperor and in the second part of the Citadel, the soldiers were accommodated. The second part of the Samoil fortress is a protective wall around the suburban area, where courtiers lived with their families. The town has three main gates: The Upper gate, The Front Gate, and the Lower gate. Nowadays only the Upper gate is fully preserved.