Probištip (Пробиштип, Probishtip) - a city in the eastern part of the Republic of
Macedonia, administrative center of the municipality of the same
name. It is known as a mining town, because near it is the lead and
zinc mine "Zletovo". In addition to mining, the city also has an
industrial capacity for the production of batteries and
accumulators.
It has an area of 329 km2 and is the center
of the Municipality of Probistip which contains 37 settlements.
The city has 10,816 inhabitants, and the municipality 16,193
inhabitants. The town of Probistip does not exist as a separate
statistical unit, but the number of its inhabitants is obtained by a
sum of three separate statistical units: the village of Probistip,
the unit Industrial settlement and the suburban settlement
Kalnishte.
Medieval period
This settlement is one of the
oldest villages in the Zletovo area, whose origins date back to the
early 14th century. The beginning of its occurrence is directly
related to the name of this village. Namely, the origin and the name
of this village is probably based on the name of the family
Probistoviti, who had their own property in that place, and that is
the time when these parts were part of the medieval Serbian state.
This is more specifically confirmed on the basis of a document from
1350, which mentions the name of someone Ivan Probistitovic, who
bought a property in Stip, and lived on the property in the area of
the current village Probistip. Probably with spontaneous language
modification, according to the name of Probistitovic, under the
influence of the proximity of the city of Stip, instead of
Probistitovic, Probistipovic is used. The property on which the
Probistovit family lived, grows and grows into a small village
settlement, which gets its name from its first inhabitants, first as
Probistit, and later Probistip. This interpretation of the origin of
the name of the village Probistip, is practically an answer to the
question about the origin and origin of the name of the town
Probistip, although there are several folk legends about the origin
of the name Probistip, but still they are just legends without
scientific basis for logical assumption.
Ottoman period
The medieval village of Probistip was probably displaced during the
Karposh Uprising (1689), and later settled not only the Macedonian
population but also a large number of Turks. This imposes the
conclusion that in the village of Probistip there were no natives,
but all the ancestors of the inhabitants of this village are
immigrants in it, immigrated during the 19th and 20th century. At
the end of the 19th century in the village of Probistip lived 233
inhabitants, and seven decades later, in 1971, 455 inhabitants. At
the time of centuries of Turkish slavery, the inhabitants of this
village were cousins on the property of rich Turkish beys, but
some of the cousins managed to buy the land they cultivated, even
before the Turks left the Balkans.
Contemporary history
The construction of the new mining-industrial settlement started in
1937 when a power plant was built here, it started with the
flotation of lead-zinc ore and several residential buildings for the
miners. Probistip, which bears the epithet, city of miners, was
created after the end of World War II and the creation of the modern
free Macedonian state within the then federal community of
Yugoslavia. The city was born and grew in parallel with the
development and growth of the lead and zinc mines "Zletovo". From
the initial period of formation of the small settlement, through the
period between 1950 and 1955, when the planned, and at that time the
modernly urbanized so-called "Mining colony". The time after that,
when the urbanized mining settlement slowly but surely grows into a
small but modern and contemporary city, with a fully functional
infrastructure and significant economic power and economic
development. Probistip in its maximum reach, in the time of overall
expansion and great success, enabled it as a city and municipality
to be the richest in Macedonia, and the main bearer of successful
economic development were the Mines "Zletovo" and the battery
factory "Zletovo". The middle of the eighties, unfortunately, was
the period when the first beginnings of the crisis appeared in the
operation, management and production achievements in the Mines
"Zletovo", and a few years later in the Battery Factory. The general
crisis in the municipality of Probistip culminates in the period of
transition, the time of self-existence and existence of the Republic
of Macedonia as an independent and sovereign state, a crisis that
threatens Probistip and its further existence as a city and
municipality.
In terms of climate, the
area is located in the southern part of the northern temperate zone,
between areas where the effects of the Mediterranean climate are
felt (Kochanska Kotlina and Ovche Pole) and the Osogovo massif where
there is a pronounced mountain climate. This geographical position
conditioned its climate to be characterized by elements of moderate
continental, modified-Mediterranean and mountain climate.
Considering the relief in this area, two climatic regions can be
distinguished: a region of temperate climate, with elements of a
modified Mediterranean climate and a region of mountain climate.
The first region covers the area of the Zletovo area south of
Zletovo, ie the Zletovo field. With the valley of the Zletovska
River this field is open to Mediterranean influences.
The
second climatic region covers the area that extends north from
Zletovo to the highest peaks of the area. As a mountainous area it
is characterized by cool summer, cold spring and autumn, and cold
and snowy winter.
The average annual air temperature is
around 13 ° C, while the average temperature in the winter months
ranges from 1 to 3 ° C, and in the summer months from 21 to 25 ° C.
The amount of annual precipitation is about 600-650 mm.