Skopje - capital and largest city in Macedonia, which is also an administrative, political, economic, cultural, educational and scientific center. It is located in the northern part of the country, and in the central part of the Balkan Peninsula, spread on the banks of the river Vardar. Stone bridge is located near the river Vardar. Macedonian National Theater is located on the boulevard St. Clement of Ohrid. Suli an is that palace, which is located in the Old Bazaar in Skopje. MRTV is a private television station in Macedonia, followed by Porta Makedonija, Warrior on Horseback and Skopsko Kale. Later, in 84 or 85, Emperor Domitian founded the colony of Flavia Scupi, a city of Roman self-government that was the largest in the area from Thessaloniki in the south to the Danube in the north. At that time Skopje experienced great development and became a city with its own bishop. In World War II, Skopje was again occupied by Bulgaria, an ally of Nazi Germany. On April 22, 1941, the Bulgarian Fifth Army occupied Skopje and remained in the city until September 9, 1944. On November 13, 1944, the fighters of the 42nd and 50th National Liberation Divisions of the Macedonian Army and the 16th Macedonian Brigade liberated Skopje from the German fascist occupation. Skopje is the first largest city in Macedonia in terms of population (2015). On August 6, 2016, the Skopje region was hit by a big storm, which resulted in strong winds and floods. The storm killed 22 people.
The city of Skopje during its existence depending on the
historical circumstances was named with different names. The ancient
name is Scupi (Latin: Scupi).
The name of the city of Skopje
has a different transcription in different languages and cultures.
The city is known as Shkupi (Shkupi) in Albanian, Skopje / Skoplje
in Serbian / Croatian, Scupi (Skupi) in Latin, Skopje in Russian,
Skopiye (Skopje) in Romani, Skopje (Skopje) in Greek, Skopje in
Romanian, Üsküp in Turkish, etc.
In Byzantine documents, the
city is mentioned as Skopje, and the Slavs also marked it as Skopje,
Skopje, Skopje. During the reign of Tsar Samuel, Skopje became part
of Samuel's Kingdom. In the later period the city fell under the
rule of Byzantium, Bulgaria and Serbia, and on January 19, 1392 the
city was occupied by the Ottomans and was named Uskup (Üsküp).
Prehistory and the ancient period
The oldest
testimonies and archeological findings claim that Skopje has been
inhabited since 4000 BC. Skopje is mentioned for the first time in
documents by Claudius Ptolemy under the ancient name Skupi. The name
Skupi (hut, shelter, eaves) first appears in the Paeonian tribe
Agriani (Grai), who lived in this area.
According to
historical data, in the time of the emperor Octavian Augustus, from
13 to 11 BC, Skupi from the camp (castrum) of the two Macedonian
legions - the 5th Macedonian and the 4th Scythian legion grew into a
city.
Later, in 84 or 85, Emperor Domitian founded the colony
of Flavia Scupi, a city of Roman self-government that was the
largest in the area from Thessaloniki in the south to the Danube in
the north. At that time Skopje experienced great development and
became a city with its own bishop.
Medieval history
The
city was first destroyed in a catastrophic earthquake on April 28,
518. After the earthquake, Skupi is no longer mentioned, and the
Skopje valley gets a new city called "Justiniana Prima".
On
April 16, 1346 in Skopje, Stefan Dusan was crowned emperor in the
presence of the Serbian Patriarch Ioannicius and adopted the famous
Dusan Code.
Ottoman period
The city fell under Ottoman
rule in 1392 and soon Skopje received a Turkish oriental landmark.
In 1555 the city was again destroyed by a catastrophic earthquake,
but was soon rebuilt and became a Turkish military stronghold.
Economically it developed rapidly especially in the XVI and XVII
century when after Constantinople it became one of the most
developed and largest cities in the European part of the Ottoman
Empire, as well as an important craft and trade center. Several
caravanserais and inns such as Kurshumli-an, Suli-an, Kapan-an and
others were erected to accommodate the merchants and their goods.
The travel writer Evliya Celebija compared the Skopje Bazaar with
the one in Constantinople. According to him, in 1660-61 Skopje had
12,000 houses with about 60,000 inhabitants, then 2,150 shops, one
bezisten, 70 public baths, 120 mosques, several bey lodgings and
palaces. The trade caravans regularly maintained connections with
Thessaloniki, Belgrade and Dubrovnik.
Evlija Celevija wrote
about the Skopje Bazaar:
"It [the bazaar] has 2,150 shops. There
are squares and markets, with arches and domes. The most beautiful
of all are: the bazaar of bezazis (cotton fabrics), umbrellas,
shoemakers, painters and weavers (hats). These are large bazaars
made according to plan. Their alleys are clean and cobbled. Each
store is decorated with hyacinths, violets, roses, basil, lilac and
lily in vases and pots. They simply intoxicate the brains of
visitors and traders with their scent. There are educated and very
honest people here. "During the summer heat, the whole Skopje market
looks like the shadows of Baghdad, because all its bazaars have
covered roofs and arches like in Sarajevo and Halep."
On October 25 and 26, 1689, the city was conquered by the
Austrian General Silvio Piccolomini, who later set fire to Skopje
due to a plague epidemic and to leave nothing to the enemies. The
city burned for two days and was almost completely destroyed.
A large part of the population left the city, and some, mainly
Turks, settled even in Constantinople where they founded it.
Uskub Maaloto and most other Macedonians joined the migration wave
of Arsenie Crnojevic and moved far north to the Pannonian Plain.
In the 19th century, Skopje became an important traffic center
where handicrafts began to flourish. The first light bulb in Skopje
was lit in 1909, with the help of a small diesel power plant, which
served to power the pumping station for the needs of the city water
supply. On October 25, 1912, after 520 years of rule, the Ottomans
left Skopje, and the very next day the Moravian Division of the
Serbian army entered the city, thus the city fell under Serbian
rule.
World War I and World War II
During the First World
War, Skopje was under the occupation of the Bulgarian and
Austro-Hungarian forces, and after the end of the war it became part
of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.
In World War
II, Skopje was again occupied by Bulgaria, an ally of Nazi Germany.
On April 22, 1941, the Bulgarian Fifth Army occupied Skopje and
remained in the city until September 9, 1944. On November 13, 1944,
the fighters of the 42nd and 50th National Liberation Divisions of
the Macedonian Army and the 16th Macedonian Brigade liberated Skopje
from the German fascist occupation.
After the liberation from
the fascist occupier on November 13, 1944, the city developed
rapidly and became the industrial, cultural and administrative
center of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, which is part of the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The 1963 earthquake
In early November 1962, due to heavy rains, the river Vardar flooded
Skopje. About 5,000 houses were flooded. The flood was a harbinger
of a greater tragedy a few months later.
At 5:17 a.m. on July
26, 1963, Skopje was devastated by an earthquake measuring 9 on the
Mercalli scale (6.1 on the Richter scale). 1,070 of its citizens
lost their lives under the rubble, more than 4,000 citizens were
injured. More than 90 percent of the city's buildings were
demolished and more than 20,000 people were left homeless.
After the earthquake, the city began to be built on the model of
Kenzo Tange and Adolf Ciborovski. The old railway station is today a
museum of the city of Skopje and a symbol of the great earthquake.
The station clock is permanently stopped at the fatal 5 o'clock and
17 minutes in the morning.
First aid for the citizens of
Skopje came from the army and the citizens of the then Yugoslav
republics, and a few days after the earthquake, aid and rescue teams
from all over the world began to arrive. Exactly 87 nations in the
world sent some help to Skopje and helped it to be rebuilt, and that
is why the city bears the epithet "city of solidarity".
Contemporary history
On August 6, 2016, the Skopje region was hit
by a big storm, which resulted in strong winds and floods. The storm
killed 22 people.