Skopje

(Macedonian: Скопје)

Skopje is the capital of the Republic of Macedonia.

As largest city in the country, it is a political, economic, and cultural centre of Macedonia. It lies on the upper course of the Vardar River and is located on a major north-south Balkan route between Belgrade and Athens.

The first impression of a visitor to Skopje is invariably the same: it is a new and modern city. It is a trading centre for the cotton, tobacco, grains, and livestock produced in the surrounding region. The city also has manufacturing facilities for iron and steel, electrical machinery, chemicals, textiles, carpets, and foods.

Skopje is a beautiful city with population of almost six hundred thousands habitants, covering an area of 1.818 sq. km.

The city and particularly its central part has been hit and partly destroyed by an earthquake in 1963, July 26th.

The city was rebuilt mainly out of concrete slab, clamping it to the Vardar river floodplain almost as a modular unit, in case the earth attempts to shake it loose again. Among the many international architects that participated in its reconstruction was the Japanese urban planner Kenzo Tange, who gave the center a “city wall” of high-rise buildings, while the banks of the Vardar were laid out as pleasant tree-lined promenades. The ancient trading quarter (charshija) has been completely renovated in the notable features of its original architecture. Today, the city is still spreading in all directions and has a number of new developments.

• Number of inhabitants: 587.300 in 2003
• Area: 1.818 sq. km.
• Geographic position: 42°0’N, 21°26’E
• Climate: continental
• Average temperature:

Periodically, summer temperature highs (July, August) may reach tops of over 40°C.

• Time zone: Central European Time (GMT +1)
• Postal Code: 1000
• Local area code: 02

If you are looking for a place to refresh after a walk around the city, or after a sightseeing tour, then a restaurant in the city is a right spot for you. The choice is up to you, since the city offers something for everyone.

Starting from a range of restaurants preparing and offering specialties of international cuisines, like Chinese, Mexican, Italian up to restaurants offering fish and of course unavoidable restaurants offering local specialties from Skopje and Macedonia as well.

Some of the restaurants with traditional offer are on the town outskirts, in the so called green area, so the visit to such a restaurant is at the same time a good daytrip suggestion. The city centre, however, abounds in small, mostly Italian restaurants – pizzerias . Some of those places have nice terraces, so you can enjoy your meal and the view to the city as well.

If you don’t like to spend too much time munching your meals and sitting in restaurants, in that case you have plenty of fast food restaurants, sandwich bars where you can have a quick meal or some pastry, and then go on to learn more about the town.

The site of modern Skopje has been inhabited since at least 3500 BC; remains of Neolithic settlements have been found within the old Kale fortress that overlooks the modern city centre. The settlement appears to have been founded around the 3rd century BC.

Skupi, that came under Roman rule after the general Quintus Matellus defeated Andriscus of Macedon in 148 BC, being at first part of the Roman province of Macedonia, established in 146 BC. Skupi was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake. Justinian came to the aid of its inhabitants by founding a new settlement called Justiniana Prima north from the site of Skupi. However, Justiniana and the remnants of Skupi were destroyed by invading Slavs at the end of the 7th century. The Slavs renamed the site as Skopje but were eventually pushed out by the Byzantines.

In 1392, three years after the Serbian defeat in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, Skopje was captured by the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire. For the next five hundred years it was known by the name Üsküb or Üsküp. Ottoman Üsküb was the capital of the Vilayet of Kosovo (district of Kosovo), which occupied a much greater area than the modern region of Kosovo.

The city’s character changed markedly during this period. The Ottomans imported Islam and built many mosques and other typically Ottoman buildings, such as hammans (baths) and travellers’ inns, some of which still exist today. Many Sephardi Jews expelled from Spain also settled in the city, adding to its ethnic variety. The medieval city was badly damaged by an earthquake in 1555, but it soon recovered and prospered.

By 1905, Skopje had a population of approximately 32,000, which was comprised of a mixture of ethnic and religious groups. In 1910, the Roman Catholic nun, Agnes Gondza Bojadjiu, later to become famous as Mother Teresa, was born in Skopje.

On July the 26th,1963, Skopje was struck by another major earthquake, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, which killed over 1,000 people and made another 120,000 homeless. Eighty percent of the city was destroyed by the earthquake, and numerous cultural monuments were seriously damaged. The losses from the quake amounted to a massive 150% of Macedonia’s GNP at the time and 15% of Yugoslavia’s GNP. A major international relief effort saw the city rebuilt quickly, though much of its old Ottoman aspect was lost in the process. The ruins of the old Skopje train station which was destroyed in the earthquake remain today as a memorial to the victims along with an adjacent museum.

Skopje grew rapidly during united Yugoslavia and became a major industrial centre for the south-central Balkans region. In 1991 the Yugoslav federation broke up and Skopje became the capital of the independent Republic of Macedonia. Greece objected to the use of the name Macedonia by the new state, and imposed an economic blockade on the country, which severely damaged the economy of the Republic of Macedonia by closing its access to the sea through Thessalonica. The blockade was lifted in 1995 following an agreement between the two governments on the name issue which still hasn’t been resolved.

If you arrive to Skopje and wish for some sports activities, the choice is small, but interesting. You can play tennis on the tennis courts in the city park (ABC courts), or on the tennis courts near the river of Vardar in the Aerodrom settlement, or have a swim in some of the swimming pools, if you’re lucky to find them open.

If you prefer cycling, you may ride your cycle along the river of Vardar, from south to north-west of town, a good part of the trace is nice and modern. Almost all city boulevards and some main streets were built with bicycle lines, but you will hardly find them free for riding, because of the cars that are usually parked there.

Above all that, if you wish to have some fresh air, and a walk of a quicker pace, then we suggest you to visit Vodno, a hill in the southern part of Skopje, where you can enjoy easy trekking and fresh air. When you are there, don’t miss visiting the church of Saint Panteleimon in Nerezi, a superb example of the Comnenian art on the all-Byzantine level. You may also take a walk to the Millennium Crost on the top of Vodno.

Are you a “party animal”? You like dancing? You like good concerts? Then you are on the right spot! Skopje has many places where you can go out in the evening, and end up dancing the night away. However, Skopje offers quiet places as well, where you can enjoy a sip of coffee, read newspapers and pleasantly chat with friends.

Thus the city centre abounds with cafeterias which offer fine coffee and a view to busy streets, and there are fancy cocktail bars as well, which can be a good starting point for a night out. Macedonia street (former Marshal Tito) and Vardar quay are a real treasure for all fun seekers, where in numerous cafeterias and bars you can find party atmosphere and music according to your preferences.

Set out to explore all those places that organise concerts, to get the club feeling, or the places where you will be attending literary evenings, which is an interesting way to spend the evening.

Skopje night clubs offer good choice of music and party, so you can dance to rock, pop, r’n’b, and even to punk or ska music and rhythm, you may often find blues lovers on the city square, too. The choice range is wide, the choice is yours…

Summer time is a great time for party in city park, where you can dance the night away in some of the bars and clubs.

• By car: Amsterdam 2152 km, Berlin 1676 km, Bratislava 996 km, Brussels 2103 km, Budapest 798 km, Ljubljana 961 km, Milan 1459 km, Paris 1900 km, Prague 1325 km, Vienna 1039 km, Sofia 222 km, Belgrade 431 km, Zagreb 821 km, Thessalonica 234, Athens 714 km, Tirana 299 km
• By plane: www.airports.com.mk
• By bus: www.sas.com.mk
• By train:

If your starting point is on the main city square called Square Macedonia, you may make your choice to take a walk on each side of the Earth and you will not make any mistake in that. Taking a look across the Stone Bridge you’ll see the tops of several mosques, the first sign that you’ll find the Old City there (old market called Bit Pazar or charshija), with dozens of small shops full of all kinds of goods, starting from handicraft made, up to shops where you may buy real and quality gold jewellery in favourable price. The Ethnological and the Museum of Modern art are placed also in this part of the town, and old amams, some of which are galleries of various arts.

On your left and right side you’ll find modern buildings of the 20th century, mostly built after the earthquake, but the goods you would like to buy or at least see are the same as on the other side of the river, the ultra modern Shopping Centre, and a chain of pubs and restaurants along the river.

Turning your eyes to south will stop your view on the ruined railway station and it’s clock that stopped running at exactly 5.17, the only monument reminding you of the earthquake strike in 1963, which is the Museum of the City of Skopje now. On your way there, you’ll meet the monument of Mother Theresa, one of the dearest Skopje citizens of all times. Uphill there you’ll see the Millennium Cross, one of the city landmarks.