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.
The destroyed Clock Tower