Štip (Macedonian:Штип[ʃtip]ⓘ) is the largesturban agglomeration in the eastern part ofNorth Macedonia, serving as the economic, industrial, entertainment and educational focal point for the surrounding municipalities.
As of the 2021 census, Štip had a population of about 44,866, making it North Macedonia's sixth most populous city.[1]
Štip is the largest textile production center in the country. It is the center of thefashion industry in North Macedonia, as well as the site of the sole public university in eastern North Macedonia, theGoce Delčev University of Štip.
The nameAstibos is first mentioned by the ancient historianPolyaenus in the 2nd century BC, who notes that Paeonian kings did ritualistic bathing in the Astibo/Brigantium (today:Bregalnica) river, as a coronation ritual. Astibo is also marked in theTabula Peutingeriana, as one of the stations fromStobi (near modernGradsko) to Serdica (today:Sofia). The name evolved from the ancientAstibos, to ByzantineStipeon, to modern Štip.[2]
It is generally acknowledged that the Slavic 'Štip' followsProto-Albanian phonetic rules and was acquired via the Albanian 'Shtip'.[3][4][5] Shtip may indicate that Proto-Albanian was spoken in the region in pre-Slavic antiquity.[4][6][7] The localAromanian community also refer to the city asShtip.[citation needed]
The Isar hill, with its early medieval fortress on top, dominates the city and provides for the common reference as "The town under the Isar".
The area surrounding the city is suffering fromdeforestation which is contributing to the extreme temperatures, summers being hot and dry with mean temperatures around 32 °C (90 °F) and days above 40 °C (104 °F) being common. Winters are short (usually less than 2 months) and mild (though considered cold for the area) with normal temperatures around −2 °C (28 °F), but with occasional drops down to −10 °C (14 °F). Spring usually comes in February, when most of the foliage is regenerating, although freak snow storms could appear as late as May.
The soil is mostly sandy, and has large patches of red soil (Macedonian:Црвеница,crvenica) which indicates large percentage ofIron in the soil.
The geographical area of the city of Štip is bordered
It is probable that the capital of the Paeonian royal house was in the area ofAstibus (Astivos, Άστιβος inAncient Greek).[11]
ThePaeonians were situated in the region west of the fertileAxius river basin, around the 5th and 4th centuries BC. The two tribes that lived along the riverAstibo, an estuary to the Axius, were theDerrones, named after their god of healing, Darron, and theLaeaeans, who minted their own heavy coins as a sign of their sovereignty following the example of the Greek city-states onChalkidiki. Although these tribes were heavily weakened by the Persian invasion of 480 BC, led by KingXerxes I, they remained a formidable power and a well-organized people, renowned for the production of their exceptionally heavy coins with emblems including domesticated specimens of the wildaurochs for which Paeonia was also famous. They were absorbed into theMacedonian Empire byAlexander I before 360 BC.[12]
The area itself is first mentioned in the writings of the historianPolien from the 3rd century BC, who talks of a river named "Astibo" which is presumed to be the riverBregalnica today. Polien also states that thePaeonian emperors were crowned in Astibo.
The first mention of a settlement dates to the reign of Roman emperorTiberius (14-37 AD), whenEstipeon is mentioned as an important settlement in the Roman province ofPaeonia and the second stop on the Roman road fromStobi toPautalia.
In the 6th century, the Slavs raided the Balkans and destroyed the Byzantine settlement, and the Slavic tribe ofSagudates permanently settled the area.
From the mid-13th century the town changed hands several times.
By 1284, Serbian KingStefan Milutin conquered the region; he mentioned Štip explicitly in 1308 and did not wish to give it up to the Byzantines.[13]
In a document of Serbian TsarStefan Uroš that dates between 1293 and 1302, in which the citizens of Štip are named, there are several figures listed withAlbanian names and anthroponomy. Furthermore, in a 1330 letter by Serbian TsarStefan Dušan, several figures with Albanian names and anthroponomy (including the last nameArbanasin, which literally meansAlbanian) were recorded.[14]
In 1334, the Church of the Holy Archangel in Štip, built byprotosebastosHrelja who held the region under the Serbian crown, was according to his wish granted (metochion) toHilandar, in a charter of KingStefan Dušan.[15]
The region was annexed by theOttoman Empire after a raid in 1385.[16] It was known asİştip and was made the seat of a sanjak.
Štip at the end of the 19th century
There is little information about the development of Štip during Ottoman rule which would continue for the next five centuries, interrupted only during 1689–1690 when the city was taken by the Austrians for two years. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Štip was part of theKosovo Vilayet of theOttoman Empire.
In 1912, at the start of theBalkan Wars, Štip and the surrounding area was occupied by Bulgaria. But Bulgaria's defeat, after it, dissatisfied with the result of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies in 1913, which resulted in the annexation of all ofVardar Macedonia into theKingdom of Serbia. Štip was occupied by Bulgaria and Germany during the First World War.
On 6 April 1941, when Yugoslavia was attacked byNazi Germany, the city was bombed by German planes which took off fromBulgaria.[17] During theSecond World War the Axis-allied Bulgarian forces occupied the city until early September, 1944, after which it was taken by German troops. Štip was retaken by theMacedonian National Liberation Army and the newly allied Bulgarian Army, now part of the anti-Axis coalition on 8 November 1944.[18][19]
Thus, 8 November is celebrated as "Liberation Day" in the city of Štip and its broader municipality, and is a non-working holiday.
Today, Štip is the center of North Macedonia's textile and fashion industry.
Formerly the home of such industrial giants in theformer Yugoslavia like the cotton industry company "Makedonka" - Štip, with its enormous suburban campus, and the fashion industry brand "Astibo", from their ashes many private mini-factories were created, mostly by former managers in the socialist giants, which employ most of the women in town today, with fashion and textile still being the core skills of the city population, as maintained by the educational system.
Some of the larger private textile and fashion houses in Štip are:
The current mayor of Štip is Ivan Jordanov (Macedonian:Иван Јорданов).[21]
The city is ruled by the "City Council" which is elected every four years. The counselors are usually members of the strongest political parties. Every city council elects a president. The president of the city council leads the sessions and also signs the decisions together with city mayor.[22]
The public transport is organized in suburban services and inter-city.
The suburbs of
Babi,
Senjak,
Prebeg,
Makedonka,
Novo Selo and Kežovica, etc.
are served by a fleet of municipal buses running 7 days a week and connecting several locations in the city center with the suburbs.
The inter-city services are provided by the public transportation company "Balkan Ekspres" (Macedonian:Балкан Експрес) which has connections to all cities inNorth Macedonia as well as some neighboring countries.
The train station located in the northern suburb "Železnička" provides links to
There are numerous pre-school, elementary/primary and middle school institutions in Štip and its municipal area.
There are five high/secondary schools, each somewhat specialized in a particular field, according to the educational policy ofNorth Macedonia. The five high schools are as follows:
Textile Secondary School "Dimitar Mirasčiev" (Macedonian:Државно средно текстилно училиште „Димитар Мирашчиев“) -web siteArchived 3 March 2021 at theWayback Machine
Secondary School for Children with Special Needs — Iskra -web site
Electro-Technical Secondary School "Kole Nehtenin" (Macedonian:Државно средно електротехничко училиште) -web site
Lyceum "Slavčo Stojmenski" (Macedonian:Државна гимназија „Славчо Стојменски“)[23] -web site
On the south slope of Isar stands a small church dedicated toSt. John the Baptist built by nobleman Jovan Probištitović in 1350.
A single nave church dedicated to theAscension of Jesus (Sveti Spas) was built in 1369 by duke Dimitrije. In it one can still see original, 14th centuryfrescoes as well as those from its reconstruction in 1601, done by master Jovan.[25]
TheBezisten, a massive stone building which used to be an indoor bazaar (now an art gallery) is a remnant of the Ottoman influence in the city.
In the old parts of the town (and especially inNovo Selo), some houses built in the Ottoman style of architecture can still be found.
The town also boasts the healing powers of theKežovica mineral spa and with the ruins of the ancient city ofBargala.
The ancient city of Bargala is located at the foot of the Plačkovica mountain. Nearby is the Kozjačka river and a small village called Kozjak. It is believed that the ruins found there belong to the ancient city. The town was built in the early 4th century, because there are some Roman documents found, containing information that the city gate of Bargala was built by Anthon Alipius, administrator of the province.
Štip boasts the largest festival of pop music inNorth Macedonia, calledMakFest. It has been held every November in the "Aco Šopov" cultural center for over two decades.
Another large cultural event in Štip is the "Štip Summer of Culture" (Macedonian:Штипско Културно Лето), which is a monthlong festival held from 1 July to 1 August, since 1987.[27]
The first known opera performance inNorth Macedonia was staged in Štip in 1925.[28]
The first privatetelevision station in North Macedonia (and also in former Yugoslavia) "TEKO TV", was founded in Štip by Mr. Mile Kokotov in 1989. The channel is no longer operational.
The other currently operational local TV stations are:
"TV IRIS" and
"TV STAR".
Important radio stations are
"Kanal 77", one of the most popular Macedonian radio stations,
^"Klimatafel von Stip (Schtip) / Mazedonien"(PDF).Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved1 April 2016.
^"Station 13591 Stip".Global station data 1961–1990—Sunshine Duration (FTP). Retrieved1 April 2016.[dead ftp link](To view documents seeHelp:FTP)
^A History of Macedonia: Historical geography and prehistory p. 202ISBN0-19-814294-3
^Hammond, N. G. L. (1991).The Miracle that was Macedonia. London: Sidgwick & Jackson Ltd. p. 22.
^John V. A. Fine, The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest, University of Michigan Press, 1994, p. 407
^"Gradovi prijatelji Splita" [Split Twin Towns].Grad Split [Split Official City Website] (in Croatian). Archived fromthe original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved19 December 2013.
Ismajli, Rexhep (2015). Eqrem Basha (ed.).Studime për historinë e shqipes në kontekst ballkanik [Studies on the History of Albanian in the Balkan context](PDF) (in Albanian). Prishtinë: Kosova Academy of Sciences and Arts, special editions CLII, Section of Linguistics and Literature.
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