Negotino

 

Negotino (Неготино) - a city in the central part of Macedonia, located in the middle Povardarie, on both sides of the river Vardar and occupies a significant area in the Tikvesh Valley. From Skopje, Negotino is 95 km away, and the nearest town is Kavadarci, which is at a distance of 10 km. The city is the administrative seat of the municipality of the same name, which includes 12 more villages. The climate and soil are ideal for growing grapes and making wine.

 

History and origin of the name Negotino

Ancient period
The name Negotino is a Slavicized name of the ancient settlement Antigonea, which in the 3rd century BC. It was formed by the Macedonian ruler Antigonus Gonat (278-242 BC), after conquering Peonia. The ancient city was a strategic headquarters, well fortified, with imposing buildings and magnificent temples, spacious and lavish palaces built of marble and carved stone. The ancient city of Antigonia existed until the beginning of the VI century, ie 518, when it was destroyed by a strong earthquake, which affected almost the entire area of ​​present-day Macedonia. Then Skupi, Stobi, Heraclea, Astibo, Idomena suffered catastrophically.

Today on the territory of the municipality of Negotino there are a huge number of archeological sites. Today's town of Negotino was formed in the late Middle Ages as a craft settlement.

Ottoman period
After the arrival of the Turks in this area (1385), Ali Pasha-Janinski reactivated the fortress, because in the immediate vicinity, on the right side of the river Vardar, stretched the road Skopje-Thessaloniki. At the crossing of the Demir Kapija gorge, his army charged customs to the merchants who passed through here.

In the first years of the XIX century Negotino was a farm, consisting of thirty houses. It was ruled by Qazim Bey and Kantur Bey. Later, according to legend, a wealthy merchant named Negotin built an inn that served as a resting place overnight for tenants and caravans. It is assumed that since then the small settlement began to be called Negotino.

In 1821, the wealthy Turk Haji Tair-aga Sinan built a clock tower, a mosque and a bezist in the city with about 15 shops. Thus began to form and grow a settlement, which due to its good location attracted a large number of merchants and craftsmen from the surrounding areas. Several Jews who immigrated from Thessaloniki in 1865 also contributed to the rapid development of Negotino. The town of Negotino was first mentioned in 1837. Then the church "St. Atanas ”and a cell school, second in Tikvesh after Vatashko. In his article entirely dedicated to Tikvesh entitled "Ljubljano-Peonia", published in the "Constantinople Gazette" on February 12, 1855, the Macedonian educator Jordan Hadzi-Konstantinov-Dzinot wrote that Negotino (Tikvesh) has a beautiful school, a small church and two mosques, a madrasa, a clock and other antiques. A market from Veles, Stip, Prilep, Dojran and Strumica gathered here every Thursday, and here administrative officials such as ayan, kadija and mufti sat. In 1879 Negotino was the administrative seat of the Turkish government in the Tikvesh region. A year later, the city already had 1,800 inhabitants, mostly Macedonians. At the beginning of the 20th century, the city had 700 houses and a bazaar with nearly 300 shops. In 1893 the Negotin school became a two-class school. Trade and crafts are developing at a faster pace. The population of the city has also grown significantly. Grapes, wine, flour, wool and silk were traded. The trade goods were transported by rafts to Thessaloniki, via Vardar which was sailed from Veles to the mouth of the Aegean Sea. The economic growth of the town culminated before the Balkan Wars, when the settlement numbered as many as 700 houses. In the city bazaar and in the whole city in general, there were about 300 craft and trade shops. During the Balkan Wars, part of the city along with the bazaar was set on fire.

The latest period
November 8, the Day of the Liberation of Negotino from the fascist occupiers in 1944, is celebrated as the Day of the Municipality. Negotino achieved its greatest growth in the second half of the 20th century when it grew into a modern urban settlement with a developed infrastructure.

 

Destinations

The destroyed Clock Tower