Scupi is attested for the first time in the second century AD as a city inRoman Dardania.[8][9] When theRoman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in AD 395, Scupi came underByzantine rule fromConstantinople. During much of theearly medieval period, the town was contested between the Byzantines and theBulgarian Empire, whose capital it was between 972 and 992. In 1004, when it was again seized by the Byzantine Empire, the city became a centre of a newprovince calledBulgaria. From 1282, the town was part of theSerbian Empire, of which it was the capital from 1346 to 1371.
In 1392, Skopje was conquered by theOttoman Empire, who called itÜsküb (اسکوب).[a] The town stayed under Ottoman control for over 500 years, serving as the capital of thepashasanjak ofÜsküp and later theVilayet of Kosovo. Its central position in theOttoman Balkans made it a significant centre of commerce and administration during the Ottoman era. In 1912, it was annexed by theKingdom of Serbia during theBalkan Wars.[10]
Skopje is located on the upper course of theVardar River and on a major north–southBalkan route betweenBelgrade andAthens. It is a centre for the chemical, timber, textile, leather, printing, and metal-processing industries. Industrial development of the city has been accompanied by development of the trade, logistics, and banking sectors, as well as an emphasis on the fields of transportation, culture and sport. According to the last official census from 2021, Skopje had a population of 526,502 inhabitants.[2]
Serbian troops overseeing the city's renaming from "Üsküb" to "Skoplje" following Serbia's annexation ofVardar Macedonia in 1912
The city is attested for the first name inGeography byPtolemyc. AD 150 as one of the cities ofRoman Dardania. Ptolemy describes the city in Latin asScupi and ancient Greek asΣκοῦποι. Thetoponym likely belongs to a group of similarIllyrian toponyms which have been transmitted to Slavic languages in the same way as the modernMacedonian toponymSkopje:Skoplje andUskoplje in Bosnia,Uskoplje in Dalmatia (Croatia).[12]
Shkup, the name of the city inAlbanian, developed directly from Roman-eraScupi in agreement with the Albanian phonological development, the basis of evidence of an earlier Albanian settlement in the area.[13][14][15][16]Shkupi is the definite form ofShkup in Albanian.[17]Skopje, the name of the city during the Middle Ages, is the local Slavic (Macedonian) rendition ofScupi.[18] TheOttoman Turkish rendition of the city's name isÜsküb (Ottoman Turkish:اسكوب) and it was adapted in Western languages in "Uskub" or "Uskup", and these two appellations were used in theWestern world until 1912. Some Western sources also cite "Scopia" and "Skopia".[19]Scopia is the name of the city inAromanian.[20]
Skopje is in the north of the country, in the centre of theBalkan peninsula, and approximately halfway between Belgrade andAthens. The city was built in theSkopje Valley, oriented on a west–east axis, along the course of theVardar river, which flows into theAegean Sea in Greece. The valley is approximately 20 km (12 mi) wide[21] and it is limited by several mountain ranges to the north and south. These ranges limit the urban expansion of Skopje, which spreads along the Vardar and theSerava [mk;sr], a small river which comes from the north. In its administrative boundaries, the City of Skopje stretches for more than 33 km (21 mi),[22] but it is only 10 km (6.2 mi) wide.[23]
Skopje is approximately 245 m above sea level and covers 571.46 km2.[24] The urbanised area only covers 337 km2, with a density of 65 inhabitants per hectare.[25] Skopje, in its administrative limits, encompasses many villages and other settlements, includingDračevo,Gorno Nerezi and Bardovci. According to the 2021 census, the City of Skopje had 526,502 inhabitants.[2][26]
TheVardar river, which flows through Skopje, is at approximately 60 km (37 mi) from its source nearGostivar. In Skopje, its average discharge is 51 m3/s, with a wide amplitude depending on seasons, between 99.6 m3/s in May and 18.7 m3/s in July. The water temperature is between 4.6 °C in January and 18.1 °C in July.[27]
Several rivers meet the Vardar within the city boundaries. The largest is theTreska, which is 130 km (81 mi) long. It crosses theMatka Canyon before reaching the Vardar on the western extremity of the City of Skopje. TheLepenac, coming fromKosovo, flows into the Vardar on the north-western end of the urban area. The Serava, also coming from the north, had flowed through theOld Bazaar until the 1960s when it was diverted towards the west because its waters were very polluted. Originally, it met the Vardar close to the seat of theMacedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Nowadays, it flows into the Vardar near the ruins ofScupi.[28]Markova Reka, which originates in MountVodno, meets the Vardar at the eastern extremity of the city. These three rivers are less than 70 km (43 mi) long.[23]
The City of Skopje incorporates two artificial lakes, on the Treska.Lake Matka is the result of the construction of a dam inMatka Canyon in the 1930s, and the Treska Lake was dug for leisurely purposes in 1978.[23] Three small natural lakes can be found nearSmilkovci, on the north-eastern edge of the urban area.
The river Vardar historically caused many floods, such as in 1962, when its outflow reached 1110 m3/s−1.[27] Several works have been carried out since Byzantine times to limit the risks, and since the construction of theKozjak dam on the Treska in 1994, the flood risk is close to zero.[29]
The subsoil contains a largewater table which is alimented by the Vardar and functions as an underground river. Under the table lies anaquifer contained inmarl. The water table is 4 to 12 m under the ground and 4 to 144 m deep. Several wells collect its waters but most of the drinking water used in Skopje comes from akarstic spring inRašče, west of the city.[25]
The Skopje valley is bordered on the west by theŠar Mountains, on the South by theJakupica range, on the east by hills belonging to theOsogovo range, and on the north by theSkopska Crna Gora. MountVodno, the highest point inside the city limits, is 1066 m high and is part of theJakupica range.[23]
Although Skopje is built on the foot of Mount Vodno, the urban area is mostly flat. It comprises several minor hills, generally covered with woods and parks, such as Gazi Baba hill (325 m), Zajčev Rid (327 m), the foothills of Mount Vodno (the smallest are between 350 and 400 m high) and the promontory on whichSkopje Fortress is built.[30]
The Skopje valley is near a seismic fault between the African and Eurasiantectonic plates and experiences regular seismic activity.[31] This activity in enhanced by the porous structure of the subsoil.[32] Large earthquakes occurred in Skopje in 518, 1555 and 1963.[31]
The Skopje valley belongs to the Vardar geotectonic region, the subsoil of which is formed ofNeogene andQuaternary deposits. The substratum is made ofPliocene deposits includingsandstone,marl, and various conglomerates. It is covered by a first layer of Quaternary sands and silt, which is between 70 and 90 m deep. The layer is topped by a much smaller layer of clay, sand, silt, and gravel, carried by theVardar river. It is between 1.5 and 5.2 m deep.[33]
In some areas, the subsoil iskarstic. It led to the formation of canyons, such as theMatka Canyon, which is surrounded by ten caves. They are between 20 and 176 m deep.[34]
Skopje has ahumid subtropical climate (Köppen:Cfa), bordering on ahumid continental climate (Köppen:Dfa)[35][36] with a mean annual temperature of 12.6 °C (55 °F). Precipitation is relatively low due to the pronouncedrain shadow of theAccursed Mountains to the north-west, being significantly less than what is received on the Adriatic Sea coast at the same latitude. The summers are long, hot and relatively dry with lowhumidity. Skopje's average July high is 32 °C (90 °F). On average Skopje experiences 88 days above 30 °C (86 °F) each year, and 10.2 days above 35.0 °C (95 °F) every year.
Winters are short, relatively cold and wet. Snowfall is common in the winter period, but heavy snow accumulation is rare and the snowcover lasts only for a few hours or a few days if heavy. In summer, temperatures are usually above 31 °C (88 °F) and sometimes above 40 °C (104 °F). In spring and autumn, the temperatures range from 15 to 24 °C (59 to 75 °F). In winter, the day temperatures are roughly in the range from 5–10 °C (41–50 °F), but at nights they often fall below 0 °C (32 °F) and sometimes below −10 °C (14 °F). Typically, temperatures throughout one year range from −13 °C to 39 °C. Occurrences of precipitation are evenly distributed throughout the year, being heaviest from October to December, and from April to June.
Climate data for Skopje International Airport (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1949−present)
The City of Skopje encompasses various natural environments, having diversefauna andflora. However, it is threatened by the intensification of agriculture and urban extension. The largest protected area within the city limits is Mount Vodno, which is a popular leisure destination. A cable car connects its peak to the downtown, and many pedestrian paths run through its woods. Other large natural spots include theMatka Canyon.[25]
The city itself comprises several parks and gardens amounting to 4,361 hectares. Amongst these are theCity Park [mk], built by the Ottoman Turks at the beginning of the 20th century; Žena Borec Park, in front of the Parliament; the university arboretum; and the Gazi Baba forest. Many streets and boulevards are planted with trees.[40]
Water treatment plants are being built, but much of the polluted water is still being discharged untreated into theVardar.[25] Waste is disposed of in the open-air municipal landfill site, 15 km (9.3 mi) north of the city. Every day, it receives 1,500 m3 of domestic waste and 400 m3 of industrial waste. Health levels are better in Skopje than in the rest of North Macedonia, and no link has been found between the low environmental quality and the health of the residents.[41]
A panoramic view of Skopje as seen from Mount Vodno.
The urban morphology of Skopje was deeply impacted by the1963 earthquake, which destroyed 80% of the city, and by its subsequent reconstruction.[31] For instance, neighbourhoods were rebuilt in such a way that the demographic density remains low to limit the impact of potential future earthquakes.[42]
Reconstruction following the 1963 earthquake was mainly conducted by the Polish architectAdolf Ciborowski, who had already planned the reconstruction ofWarsaw afterWorld War II. Ciborowski divided the city into blocks dedicated to specific activities. The banks of theVardar river became natural areas and parks, areas between the main boulevards were built withhigh-rise housing and shopping centres, and the suburbs were left to individual housing and industry.[43] Reconstruction had to be quick to relocate families and to relaunch the local economy. To stimulate economic development, the number of thoroughfares was increased, and future urban extension was anticipated.[44]
Skopje as seen by theSPOT satellite. Mount Vodno is visible on the bottom left of the picture.
The south bank of the Vardar River generally comprises high-rise tower blocks, including the vast Karpoš neighbourhood which was built in the 1970s west of the city centre. Towards the east, the new municipality ofAerodrom was planned in the 1980s to house 80,000 inhabitants on the site of the old airport. Between Karpoš and Aerodrom lies the city centre, rebuilt according to plans by Japanese architectKenzo Tange. The centre is surrounded by a row of long buildings suggesting a wall (Gradski Zid).[42]
On the north bank, where the most ancient parts of the city lie, theOld Bazaar was restored and its surroundings were rebuilt with low-rise buildings, so as not to spoil views of theSkopje Fortress. Several institutions, including the university and theMacedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, were also relocated to the north bank to reduce borders between the ethnic communities. The north bank is mostly inhabited by Muslim Albanians, Turks, and Roma, whereas Christian ethnic Macedonians predominantly reside on the south bank.[43]
The earthquake left the city with few historical monuments, apart from the Ottoman-eraOld Bazaar, and the reconstruction, conducted between the 1960s and 1980s, turned Skopje into amodernist city. At the end of the 2000s, the city centre experienced profound changes. A highly controversial[45] urban project,Skopje 2014, was adopted by the municipal authorities to give the city a more monumental and historical aspect, and thus to transform it into a proper national capital. Severalneoclassical buildings destroyed in the 1963 earthquake were rebuilt, including the national theatre, and the streets and squares were refurbished. Many other elements were also built, including fountains, statues, hotels, government buildings and bridges. The project has been criticised because of its cost and its historicist aesthetics.[46] The large Albanian minority felt it was not represented in the new monuments,[47] and launched side projects, including a new square over the boulevard that separates the city centre from theOld Bazaar.[48]
Kapištec neighbourhood, developed during the 1970s. Some post-earthquake prefabricated houses can be seen in the foreground.
Skopje is an ethnically diverse city, and its urban sociology primarily depends on ethnic and religious affiliation.Macedonians form 66% of the city population, whilstAlbanians andRoma account respectively for 20% and 6%.[49] Each ethnic group generallyself-segregates itself to certain areas of the city. Macedonians live south of theVardar in areas massively rebuilt after 1963, whilst Muslims live on the northern side, in the oldest neighbourhoods of the city. These neighbourhoods are considered more traditional, whereas the south side evokes modernity to Macedonians.[50]
The northern areas are the poorest; this is especially true forTopaana, inČair municipality, and forŠuto Orizari municipality, which are the two main Roma neighbourhoods. They are made of many illegal constructions not connected to the electric grid nor water supply, which are passed from one generation to another. Topaana, close to theOld Bazaar, is a very old area: it was first mentioned as a Roma neighbourhood in the beginning of the 14th century. It has between 3,000 and 5,000 inhabitants. Šuto Orizari, on the northern edge of the city, is a municipality of its own, withRomani as its local official language. It was developed after the 1963 earthquake to accommodate Roma who had lost their homes.[51]
The population density varies greatly from one area to another. So does the size of the living area per person. The city average was at 19.41 m2 (208.93 sq ft) per person as of 2002[update], but at 24 m2 (258 sq ft) inCentar on the south bank, and only 14 m2 (151 sq ft) inČair on the north bank. InŠuto Orizari, the average was at 13 m2 (140 sq ft).[49]
Gorno Nerezi, a village on the northern side of Mount Vodno
Outside of the urban area, the City of Skopje encompasses many small settlements. Some of them are becoming outer suburbs, such asČento, on the road to Belgrade, which has more than 23,000 inhabitants, andDračevo, which has almost 20,000 inhabitants.[52] Other large settlements are north of the city, such asRadišani, with 9,000 inhabitants,[52] whereas smaller villages can be found on Mount Vodno or inSaraj municipality, which is the most rural of the ten municipalities that form the City of Skopje.[53]
Air pollution is a serious problem in Skopje, especially in winter.[54] Concentrations of certain types ofparticulate matter (PM2 and PM10) are regularly over twelve times theWHO-recommended maximum levels. In winter, smoke regularly obscures vision and can lead to problems for motorists. Together withKosovo andBosnia and Herzegovina,North Macedonia has the most polluted urban areas in Europe.[55]
Skopje's high levels of pollution are caused by a combination of smoke from houses, emissions from the industry, public and private transport, and a general lack of interest in caring for the environment. Central heating is often not affordable, and so households often burnfirewood, as well as used car tyres, plastic waste, petroleum, and other possibly flammable waste, which emits toxic chemicals harmful to the population, especially to children and the elderly.[54]
The city's smog has reduced its air quality and affected the health of many of its citizens, many of whom have died from pollution-related illnesses.
Anapplication calledAirCare (Macedonian:МојВоздух,romanized: MojVozduh) has been launched by local eco-activistGorjan Jovanovski to help citizens track pollution levels. It uses atraffic light system, with purple for heavily polluted air, red for high levels detected,amber for moderate levels detected, and green for when the air is safe to inhale.[56] The application relies on both government and volunteersensors to track hourly air pollution. Unfortunately, government sensors are frequently inoperable and malfunctioning, causing the need for more low-cost, but less accurate, volunteer sensors to be put up by citizens. Faults on government sensors are especially frequent when the pollution is measured is extremely high, according to the AQILHC (Air Quality Index Levels of Health Concern).[57]
Skopje topped the ranks in December 2017 as one of the most polluted cities in the world.[58] In 2017, as part of the city's efforts to reduce pollution, aCityTree was installed, and promoted by German ambassadorChristine Althauser [de].[59]
On 29 November 2019, a march, organised by the Skopje Smog Alarm activist community,[60] attracted thousands of people who opposed the government's lack of action in dealing with the city's pollution, which has worsened since 2017, contributing to around 1300 deaths annually.[61][60]
A panoramic view of the smog in the central area of Skopje
The rocky promontory on whichSkopje Fortress stands was the first site to be settled in Skopje. The earliest vestiges of human inhabitance found on this site date from theChalcolithic (4th millennium BC).[62]
Although the Chalcolithic settlement must have been of some significance, it declined during theBronze Age. Archeological research suggests that the settlement always belonged to the same culture, which progressively evolved due to contacts withBalkan andDanube cultures, and later with theAegean. The locality eventually disappeared during theIron Age[63] whenScupi emerged on Zajčev Rid hill, some 5 km (3.1 mi) west of the fortress promontory. At the centre of the Balkan peninsula and on the road between the Danube andAegean Sea,[64] it was a prosperous locality, although its history is not well known.[64]
During the Iron Age, the area of Skopje was inhabited by theDardani.Illyrian tribes lived in most of the area west of Skopje andThracian groups (Maedi) to the east, whilstPaeonians lived to the south of Skopje.[65] The Dardanians had remained independent after the Roman conquest ofMacedon, and it seems most likely that Dardania lost its independence in 28 BC.[66]
A "Venus Pudica" found in Scupi, dated from the 2nd century AD[67]
Roman expansion east brought Scupi under Roman rule as a colony oflegionaries, mainly veterans of theLegio VII Claudia during the reign of EmperorDomitian (AD 81–96). However, several legions from theRoman province of Macedonia ofCrassus' army may already have been stationed there around 29–28 BC before the official imperial command was instituted.[68][69] The first mention of the city was made at that period byLivy, who died in AD 17.[18] Scupi first served as a military base to maintain peace in the region[64] and was officially named "Colonia Flavia Scupinorum",Flavia being the name of theemperor's dynasty.[70] Shortly afterwards it became part of the province ofMoesia duringAugustus's rule. After the division of the province by Domitian in AD 86, Scupi was elevated to colonial status and became a seat of government within the new province ofMoesia Superior. The district calledDardania (within Moesia Superior) was formed into a special province by EmperorDiocletian, with the capital atNaissus. In Roman times the eastern part of Dardania, from Scupi to Naissus, remained inhabited mostly by a local population, mainly ofThracian origin.[71]
The city's population was very diverse. Engravings on tombstones suggest that only a minority of the population came fromItalia, whilst many veterans were fromDalmatia, southernGaul andSyria. Because of the ethnic diversity of the population,Latin maintained itself as the main language in the city at the expense ofGreek, which was spoken in most of the Moesian and Macedonian cities.[72] During the following centuries, Scupi experienced prosperity. The period from the end of the 3rd century to the end of the 4th century was particularly flourishing.[70] The first church was founded under the reign of EmperorConstantine the Great and Scupi became the seat of adiocese. In 395, following the division of theRoman Empire into two, Scupi became part of theEastern Roman Empire.[18]
In its zenith, Scupi covered 40 hectares and was closed by a 3.5 m (11 ft) wide wall.[74] It had many monuments, including fournecropoles, a theatre,thermae,[70] and a large Christianbasilica.[75]
In 518, Scupi was destroyed by a violent earthquake,[31] possibly the most devastating the town had ever experienced.[76] At that time, the region was threatened byBarbarian invasions, and the city inhabitants had already fled to the forests and mountains before the disaster occurred.[77] The city was eventually rebuilt byJustinian I. During his reign, many Byzantine towns were relocated on hills and other easily defendable places to face invasions. It was thus transferred to another site: the promontory on whichSkopje Fortress stands.[78] Despite this, Scupi was sacked bySlavs at the end of the 6th century and the city seems to have fallen under Slavic rule in 595.[79] The Slavic tribe which sacked Scupi was probably theBerziti,[18] who had invaded the entire Vardar Valley.[80] However, the Slavs did not settle permanently in the region, which had been already plundered and depopulated, but continued south to the Mediterranean coast.[81] After the Slavic invasion it was deserted for some time and is not mentioned during the following centuries.[18] It is possible that in the late 7th or the early 8th century the Byzantines again settled at this strategic location. Along with the rest of the Upper Vardar valley it became part of the expandingBulgarian Empire in the 830s.[82][83]
Starting from the end of the 10th century Skopje experienced a period of wars and political troubles. It served as the Bulgarian capital from 972 to 992, andTsar Samuel ruled it from 976[84] until 1004, when its governor surrendered it to Byzantine EmperorBasil the Bulgar Slayer in 1004 in exchange for the titles ofpatrikios andstrategos.[85] It became a centre of a new Byzantineprovince calledBulgaria.[86] Later Skopje was briefly seized twice by Slavic insurgents who wanted to restore the Bulgarian state. At first in 1040 underPeter Delyan's command,[87] and in 1072 under the orders ofGeorgi Voyteh.[88] In 1081, Skopje was captured byNorman troops led byRobert Guiscard and the city remained in their hands until 1088. Skopje was subsequently conquered by the Serbian Grand PrinceVukan in 1093, and again by the Normans four years later. However, because of epidemics and food shortage, Normans quickly surrendered to the Byzantines.[89]
During the 12th and 13th centuries, Bulgarians and Serbs took advantage of Byzantine decline to create large kingdoms stretching from theDanube to theAegean Sea.Kaloyan brought Skopje back into the re-establishedSecond Bulgarian Empire in 1203[90][91] until his nephewStrez declared autonomy along the Upper Vardar with Serbian aid only five years later.[92] In 1209, Strez switched allegiances and recognisedBoril of Bulgaria with whom he led a successful joint campaign against Serbia's first internationally recognised KingStefan Nemanjić.[91] From 1214 to 1230, Skopje was a part of the Byzantine successor state ofEpirus before being recaptured byIvan Asen II and held by Bulgaria until 1246 when the Upper Vardar valley was incorporated once more into another Byzantinerump state – theEmpire of Nicaea.[93] Byzantine conquest was briefly reversed in 1255 by theregents of the youngMichael Asen I of Bulgaria.[94] Meanwhile, in the parallel civil war for the Crown inTarnovo, the Skopjeboyar and grandson ofStefan NemanjaConstantine Tikh gained the upper hand and ruled until theUprising of Ivaylo, Europe's only successful peasant revolt, led to his deposition from power.
In 1282, Skopje was captured by Serbian KingStefan Milutin.[95] Under the political stability of theNemanjić rule, the settlement spread outside the walls of the fortress, towards Gazi Baba hill.[84] Churches, monasteries and markets were built and tradesmen from theRepublic of Venice andDubrovnik opened shops. The town greatly benefited from its location near European, Middle Eastern, and African markets. In the 14th century, Skopje became such an important city that KingStefan Dušan made it the capital of theSerbian Empire. In 1346, he was crowned asEmperor of the Serbs and Greeks in Skopje.[18] After his death the Serbian Empire collapsed into several principalities which were unable to defend themselves against the Ottoman Turks. Skopje was first inherited by theLordship of Prilep and finally taken byVuk Branković in the wake of theBattle of Maritsa (1371)[96] before becoming part of theOttoman Empire in 1392.[18]
In 1330, Serbian KingStefan Dečanski mentioned Albanians as being in the district of Skopje and regularly going to the Fair ofSaint George which convened near the city.[97]
First May Day celebration of theOttoman period in Skopje, 1909
TheOttomans stayed in Skopje for over 520 years and the city's economic life greatly benefited from its position in the middle ofRumelia, the European province of the Ottomans. TheStone Bridge, "one of the most imposing stone bridges to be found in Yugoslavia", was reconstructed under the patronage ofSultan Mehmed II the Conqueror between 1451 and 1469.[98] The Ottomans drastically changed the appearance of the city. They organised theBazaar with itscaravanserais, mosques andbaths.[99]
In thecadastral register of 1451–52, the Skopje neighborhoodGjin-ko (Gjinaj), is mentioned, being named after the medieval AlbanianGjini family. The neighbourhood displayed mixed Christian Albaniananthroponymy with cases ofSlavicisation present (e.g.Palić;Pal + Slavic suffixić).[100] During this time period, a number oftimariots of the city are recorded as bearing the nameArnauti (meaningAlbanian) alongside a Muslim name, i.e.Hamza Arnauti,Shahin Arnauti,Jusuf Arnauti. Another group bore Slavic Christian names, whilst also carrying bearing the surnameArbanas/Arnaut, i.e.Bogdan Arbanas,Bogoslav Arbanas,Milosh Arbanas,Bozhidar Arnaut, etc. These individuals are noted as not having the Slavic appellativesdošlac,prišlac oruselica, which were given by Ottoman authorities to new settlers of a given region, likely indicating they were locals.[101] In the year 1451 or 1453 a neighborhood was registered bearing anAromanian name,Mahalle-i Todor Vlaja-Vlaha. Amongst the 45 family heads of this neighborhood, Christian Slavic and Albanian anthroponyms were recorded (Gjon-çe, son ofNoriç,Koljko Bibani,Tusho, son ofRada, etc.), whilst a sizeable number of individuals bearing mixed Slavic-Vlach anthroponyms are also registered, such as:Petko, son ofVllah (Iflak),Petru, son ofDavid,Andreja,kozhuhar,Nikul Çikun, etc.[102]
In themahallahAhrijan Hasan in the year 1451 or 1453, a head of the family from the noble AlbanianMuzaka family, who had converted to Islam, was re-registered amongst the Muslim heads of the family. In the other register of 1467/68, now in the Christian mahallah namedSvetko Samarxhi, amongst the 29 heads of families with Slavic Christian anthroponyms, a number also carried Albanian anthroponyms.[103] In the neighborhood ofJazixhi Shahin, amongst the residents with Muslim names, the head of the family was registered only with the surnameZenebishi, without mentioning his social position or his profession, indicating a higher social status. This may suggest a relation to Hasan Bey Zenebishi, a descendant of theZenebishi family and theSoubashi of theNahiyah ofKalkandelen. Individuals bearing Albanian anthroponyms, be they in conjunction with Islamic, Slavic or Christian ones, also appear in the neighbourhoods ofKasim Fakih,Dursun Saraç,Kujumxhi Mentesheli,Çerep, Jandro, Stanimir, Vllah Dançu andRela.[102] A number of Sipahis were also of Albanian origin, with these individuals holdingtimars in areas which had a Christian Albanian symbiosis with Slavic anthroponyms in the vicinity of Skopje. The defters noted that these were oldsipahis, likely having been landowners. These individual Sipahis were closely related by descent and blood, and taking account kinship ties, even though they had heterogeneous, Christian, Slavic and Oriental names, they appear to have been Albanians. Some have names indicating their origin, such asShimerd Vardarli from Skopje, making it likely these timariotes were locals.[104]
In 1623–1624,Pjeter Mazreku, a Roman Catholicprelate, reported the town was inhabited by "Turks (Muslims), the majority of them beingAlbanians, the rest are of Asiatic origin", Mazreku further wrote, "there are also Jews, Serbs and some Greeks in the town".[109][110] In the Ottoman period,Turk was used within Christian writings as a name for a Muslim or for Islamised Albanians.[111][112] Sources from the years of 1689–1690 considered the town of Shkupi (Skopje) during those periods as part ofAlbania.[113]
Until the 17th century, Skopje experienced a long golden age. Around 1650, the number of inhabitants in Skopje was between 30,000 and 60,000, and the city contained more than 10,000 houses. It was then one of the only big cities on the territory of futureYugoslavia, together with Belgrade andSarajevo. At that time,Dubrovnik, which was a busy harbour, did not even have 7,000 inhabitants.[114] The city severely suffered from theGreat Turkish War at the end of the 17th century and consequently experienced recession until the 19th century. In 1689, theHabsburgs seized Skopje which was already weakened by acholera epidemic.[115] The same day, generalSilvio Piccolomini began theSkopje fire of 1689, attempting to end the epidemic.[18] It is however possible that he wanted to avenge damages that the Ottomans caused in theBattle of Vienna in 1683.[116] Skopje burned for two days but the general himself perished of the plague and his leaderless army was routed.[117][118] The Austrian presence in Macedonia motivated Slav uprisings. Nevertheless, the Austrians left the country within the year and theHajduks, the leaders of the uprisings, had to follow them in their retreat north of the Balkans.[18] Some were arrested by the Ottomans, such asPetar Karposh, who was impaled on Skopje's Stone Bridge.[119]
After the war, Skopje was in ruins. Most of the official buildings were restored or rebuilt, but the city experienced newplague andcholera epidemics and many inhabitants emigrated.[105]Ottoman Empire as a whole entered into recession and political decline. Many rebellions and pillages occurred in Macedonia during the 18th century, either led by Ottoman outlaws,Janissaries orHajduks.[120] An estimation conducted by French officers around 1836 revealed that at that time Skopje only had around 10,000 inhabitants. It was surpassed by two other towns of present-day North Macedonia:Bitola (40,000) andŠtip (15–20,000).[121]
Skopje began to recover from decades of decline after 1850. At that time, the city experienced a slow but steady demographic growth, mainly due to the rural exodus of Slavic Macedonians. It was also fuelled by the exodus of Muslims from thePrincipalities of Serbia andBulgaria, which were gaining autonomy and independence from the Empire at that time.[18][105] During theTanzimat reforms,nationalism arose in the Ottoman Empire and in 1870 a newBulgarian Exarchate was established and its separate diocese was created, based onethnic identity, rather than religious principles.[122] The Slavic population of the bishopric of Skopje voted in 1874 overwhelmingly, by 91% in favour of joining the Exarchate and became part of theBulgarian Millet.[123] Economic growth was permitted by the construction of the Skopje-Salonica railway in 1873.[18] The train station was built south of theVardar and this contributed to the relocation of economic activities on that side of the river, which had never been urbanised before.[43] Because of the rural exodus, the share of Christians in the city population increased. Some of the newcomers became part of the local elite and helped to spread nationalist ideas[105] In 1877, Skopje was chosen as the capital city of the newKosovo Vilayet, which encompassed present-dayKosovo, north-western Macedonia and theSanjak of Novi Pazar.
In statistics gathered by Bulgarian ethnographerVasil Kanchov in 1900, the City of Skopje was inhabited by 31,900 people, of whom 15,000 were Turks, 13,000 Christian Bulgarians, 1,920 Romani, 800 Jews, 450 Vlachs, 150 Christian Albanians, 50 Christian Greeks, 30Circassians and 500 inhabitants of various other ethnicities.[124] Kanchov wrote in the same year that many Albanians declared themselves as Turks. In Skopje, the population that declared itself Turkish "was of Albanian blood", but it "had beenTurkified after the Ottoman invasion, includingSkanderbeg", referring to Islamisation. Bulgarian literary historianYordan Ivanov wrote in 1915 that Albanians, since they did not have their own alphabet, due to a lack of consolidated national consciousness and influenced by foreign propaganda, declared themselves as Turks, Greeks and Bulgarians, depending on which religion they belonged to. Albanians were losing their mother tongue in Skopje.[125] German linguistGustav Weigand described that Skopje's Muslim population of "Turks" or "Ottomans" during the late Ottoman period were mainly Albanians who spoke Turkish in public and Albanian at home.[126] In 1905, the city had 32,000 inhabitants, making it the largest of the vilayet, although closely followed byPrizren with its 30,000 inhabitants.[19] At the beginning of the 20th century, local economy was focused ondyeing,weaving,tanning,ironworks and wine and flour processing.[19]
Skopje was one of the five main centres of theInternal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation when it organised the 1903Ilinden uprising. Its revolutionarynetwork in the region led byNikola Pushkarov was not well-developed and the lack of weapons was a serious problem. At the outbreak of the uprising, the rebel forces derailed a military train.[127] On 3 and 5 August respectively, they attacked an Ottoman unit guarding the bridge on the Vardar River and fought a battle in the St. Jovan monastery. In the next few days, the band was pursued by numerousBashibozuks and moved to Bulgaria.
Following theYoung Turk Revolution in 1908, the Ottoman Empire experienced democracy and several political parties were created.[18] However, some of the policies implemented by theYoung Turks, such as a tax rise and the interdiction of ethnic-based political parties, discontented minorities. Albanians opposed the nationalist character of the movement and led local uprisings in 1910 and 1912. During the latter, they managed to seize most of Kosovo and took Skopje on 11 August. On 18 August, the insurgents signed the Üsküb agreement which provided for the creation of an autonomous Albanian province, and they were amnestied the day later.[128]
Following an alliance contracted in 1912,Bulgaria,Greece andSerbia declared war on theOttoman Empire. Their goal was to definitively expel the Ottomans from Europe. TheFirst Balkan War started on 8 October 1912 and lasted six weeks. Serbians reached Skopje on 26 October. Ottoman forces had left the city the day before.[18] During the conflict,Chetniks, a Serb irregular force razed the Albanian quarter of Skopje andkilled numerous Albanian inhabitants from the city.[129] The Serbian annexation led to the exodus of 725 Muslim families which left the city on 27 January 1913. The same year, the city population was evaluated at 37,000 by the Serbian authorities.[105]
A view of the centre of Skopje in the 1930sA Bulgarian officer looking at Skopje's centre, April 1941
In 1915, during theFirst World War, Serbian Macedonia was invaded by Bulgaria, which captured Skopje on 22 October 1915. Serbia, allied to theTriple Entente, was helped by France,Britain,Greece, and Italy, which formed theMacedonian front. Following a great Allied offensive in 1918, theArmée française d'Orient reached Skopje 29 September and took the city by surprise.[130] After the end of the World War, Vardar Macedonia became part of the newKingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which became "Kingdom of Yugoslavia" in 1929.[18] A mostly foreignethnic Serb ruling class gained control, imposing large-scale repression.[131] The policies of de-Bulgarisation and assimilation were pursued.[132] At that time part of the young locals, repressed by the Serbs, tried to find a separate way of ethnic Macedonian development.[133] In 1931, in a move to formally decentralise the country, Skopje was named the capital of theVardar Banovina of theKingdom of Yugoslavia. Until theSecond World War, Skopje experienced strong economic growth, and its population increased. The city had 41,066 inhabitants in 1921, 64,807 in 1931, and 80,000 in 1941.[105] Although in an underdeveloped region, it attracted wealthy Serbs who opened businesses and contributed to the modernisation of the city.[134] In 1941, Skopje had 45 factories, half of the industry in the whole of Socialist Macedonia.[135]
The national theatre and the fortress around 1920
In 1941, during the Second World War, Yugoslavia was invaded byNazi Germany. Germans seized Skopje on 8 April[18] and left it to their Bulgarian allies on 22 April 1941.[136] To ensure theBulgarisation of the society, authorities closed Serbian schools and churches, opening new schools and a higher education institute, the King Boris University.[137] The 4,000 Jews of Skopje were all deported in 1943 to theTreblinka extermination camp where almost all of them were killed.[138]
AfterWorld War II, Skopje greatly benefited fromSocialist Yugoslav policies which encouraged industry and the development of Macedonian cultural institutions. Consequently, Skopje became home to a national library, a philharmonic orchestra, a university, and the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts. However, its post-war development was altered by the1963 earthquake which occurred on 26 July. Although relatively weak in magnitude, it caused enormous damage in the city and can be compared to the1960 Agadir earthquake.[143] The disaster killed 1,070 people, injuring 3,300 others. 16,000 people were buried alive in ruins and 70% of the population lost their home.[42] Many educational facilities, factories and historical buildings were destroyed.[43]
American soldiers in Skopje after the1963 earthquakeMonument to the Macedonian partisans – Liberators of Skopje, next to the Government building
After theearthquake, reconstruction was quick. It had a deep psychological impact on the population because neighbourhoods were split, and people were relocated to new houses and buildings they were not familiar with.[42] Many Albanians, some from Kosovo participated in the reconstruction effort.[144] Reconstruction was finished by 1980, even if many elements were never built because funds were exhausted.[43] Skopje's cityscape was drastically changed, and the city became a true example ofmodernist architecture. Demographic growth was very important after 1963, and Skopje had 408,100 inhabitants in 1981.[145] After 1963, rural youth migrated to Skopje and were involved in the reconstruction process resulting in a large growth of the urban Macedonian population.[146][147][148] The Albanian population of Skopje also increased as people from the northern villages migrated to the city and others came from Kosovo either to provide manpower for reconstruction or fled the deteriorating political situation, especially during the 1990s.[144] However, during the 1980s and the 1990s, the country experienced inflation and recession, and the local economy heavily suffered. The situation improved during the 2000s thanks to new investments. Many landmarks were restored and the "Skopje 2014" project renewed the appearance of the city centre.[citation needed]
Being the capital and largest city of North Macedonia, Skopje enjoys a particular status granted by law. The last revision of its status was made in 2004. Since then, the City of Skopje has been divided into 10 municipalities which all have a council and a mayor, like all of the country's municipalities. Municipalities only deal with matters specific of their territory, and the City of Skopje deals with matters that concern all of them, or that cannot be divided between two or more municipalities.[151]
The City Council consists of 45 members who serve a four-year term. It primarily deals with budget, global orientations and relations between the city and the government. Several commissions exist to treat more specific topics, such as urbanism, finances, environment of local development.[152] The President of the council is elected by the Council Members. Since 2021 the president has been Trajko Slaveski, member ofVMRO-DPMNE.[153][152]
Following the 2021 local elections, the City Council is constituted as follows:[152][154]
TheMayor of Skopje is elected every four years.The mayor represents the City of Skopje and can submit ideas to the council, manages the administrative bodies and their officials.[155]
Skopje was first divided into administrative units in 1945, but the first municipalities were created in 1976. There were five municiplaities:Centar,Čair,Karpoš,Gazi Baba andKisela Voda. After the 1991 independence of the country, power was centralised and municipalities lost much of their competences. A 1996 law restored them and created two new municipalities:Ǵorče Petrov andŠuto Orizari. After theinsurgency between Albanian rebels and Macedonian forces in 2001, a new law was enacted in 2004 to incorporate theSaraj Municipality into the City of Skopje. Saraj is mostly populated by Albanians and, since then, Albanians represent more than 20% of the city population. Thus, Albanian became the second official language of the city administration, something which was one of the claims of the Albanian rebels. The same year,Aerodrom Municipality separated itself from Kisela Voda, andButel Municipality from Čair.[151]
Municipalities are administered by a council of 23 members elected every four years. They also have a mayor and several departments (education, culture, finances...). The mayor primarily deals with these departments.[156]
Skopje is a medium city at the European level. Being the capital and largest city of North Macedonia, Skopje concentrates a large share of the national economy. TheSkopje Statistical Region, which encompasses the City of Skopje and some neighbouring municipalities, produces 45.5% of the Macedonian GDP.[157] In 2009, the regional GDP per capita amounted to US$6,565, or 155% of the Macedonian GDP per capita.[158] This figure is, however, smaller than the one of neighboringSofia (US$10,106),[159]Sarajevo (US$10,048)[160] or Belgrade (US$7,983),[161] but higher than the one ofTirana (US$4,126).[162]
Because there are no other large cities in the country, and because of political and economic centralisation, a large number of Macedonians living outside of Skopje work in the capital city. The dynamism of the city also encouragesrural exodus, not only from North Macedonia, but also fromKosovo,Albania and SouthernSerbia.[163]
In 2009, Skopje had 26,056 firms but only 145 of them had a large size. The large majority of them are either small (12,017) or very small (13,625).[164] A large share of the firms deal with trading of goods (9,758), 3,839 are specialised in business and real estate, and 2,849 are manufacturers.[165] Although few in number, large firms account for 51% of the local production outside finance.[53]
The city industry is dominated by food processing, textile, printing and metal processing. In 2012, it accounted for 30% of the city's GDP.[53] Most of the industrial areas are inGazi Baba municipality, on the major routes and rail lines to Belgrade andThessaloniki.[166] Notably, theArcelorMittal, Makstil steel plants and the Skopje Brewery are present there. Other zones are between Aerodrom and Kisela Voda, along the railway toGreece. These zones comprise Alkaloid Skopje (pharmaceuticals), Rade Končar (electrical supplies),Imperial Tobacco, and Ohis (fertilisers). Twospecial economic zones also exist, around the airport and the Okta refinery. They have attracted several foreign companies, such asJohnson Controls,Johnson Matthey andVan Hool.[167]
Besides many small traditional shops, Skopje has two large markets, the "Zelen Pazar" (green market) and the "Bit Pazar" (flea market). They are both considered local institutions.[50] However, since the 1970s, retailing has largely been modernised and Skopje now has many supermarkets and shopping centres. The largest, Skopje City Mall, opened in 2012. It comprises aCarrefour hypermarket, 130 shops and a cinema, and employs 2,000 people.[168]
51% of the Skopje active population is employed in small firms. 52% of the population work in the services sector, 34% in industry, and the remaining is mainly employed in administration.[53]
The unemployment rate for theSkopje Statistical Region was at 27% in 2009, three points under the national rate (30%). The neighbouringPolog Region had a similar rate, but the less affected region was theSouth-West, with 22%.[169] Unemployment in Skopje mainly affects men, who represent 56% of jobseekers, people between 25 and 44 years old (45% of jobseekers), and non-qualified people (43%).[53] Unemployment also concernsRoma people, who represent 4.63% of the city population but affects 70% of the active population in the community.[51]
The average net monthly wage in Skopje was at €400 in October 2010, which represented 120% of the national figure.[170] The average wage in Skopje was then lower than inSarajevo (€522),[171] Sofia (€436),[172] and in Belgrade (€440).[173]
People on Macedonia street, the main pedestrian axis of the city
According to the results of the 2021 census, the City of Skopje had 526,502 inhabitants.[2] Skopje's employment area covers a large part of the country, includingVeles,Kumanovo andTetovo, and totaling more than one million inhabitants.[176]
Skopje contains roughly a quarter of North Macedonia's population. The second most populous municipality,Kumanovo, had 107,632 inhabitants in 2011,[177] and anurban unit of 76,272 inhabitants in 2002.[49]
Before theAustro-Turkish war and the1689 Great Fire, Skopje was one of the biggest cities in theBalkans, with a population estimated between 30,000 and 60,000 inhabitants.[18] After the fire set by the retreating Austrian forces, it experienced a long period of decline and only had 10,000 inhabitants in 1836.[121] However, the population started to rise again after 1850 and reached 32,000 inhabitants in 1905.[19] In the 20th century, Skopje was one of the fastest-growing cities inYugoslavia, and it had 448,200 inhabitants in 1981. Since then, the demographic growth has continued at a steady rate.[174]
Skopje, just like North Macedonia as a whole, is characterised by a large ethnic diversity. The city is in a region where Macedonians and Albanians meet, and it has had populations of Bulgarians, Romani, Turks, Jews, and Serbs through its history. Skopje was mainly a Muslim city until the 19th century when large numbers of Christians started to settle there. According to the 2021 census, Macedonians were the largest ethnic group in Skopje, with 309,107 inhabitants, or 58.71% of the population. Then came Albanians with 120,293 inhabitants (22.85%), Roma people with 18,498 (3.51%), Serbs (9,478 inhabitants), Turks (8,524), Bosniaks (7,365) andAromanians (also known as "Vlachs", 2,778). 6,284 people did not belong to any of these groups.[2]
Macedonians form an overwhelming majority of the population in the municipalities ofAerodrom,Centar,Ǵorče Petrov,Karpoš andKisela Voda, which are all south of theVardar.[178] They also form a majority inButel[179] andGazi Baba which are north of the river. Albanians form a majority inČair which roughly corresponds to theOld Bazaar, and inSaraj.[180] They form a large minority in Butel[179] and Gazi Baba.Šuto Orizari, on the northern edge of the city, is predominantly Roma.[49] When an ethnic minority forms at least 20% of the population in a municipality, its language can become official on the local level. Thus, in Čair and Saraj schools and administration use Albanian, and Romani in Šuto Orizari.[181] The latter is the only municipality in the world where Romani is an official language.[51]
Relations between the two largest groups, Macedonians and Albanians, are sometimes difficult, as in the rest of the country. Each group tolerates the other but they tend to avoid each other and live in what can appear as two parallel worlds.[182] Both Macedonians and Albanians view themselves each as the original population of Skopje and the other as newcomers.[183][144][146] The Roma minority is on its side very deprived. Its exact size is not known because many Macedonian Roma declare themselves as belonging to other ethnic groups or simply avoid censuses. However, even if official figures are underestimated, Skopje is the city in the world with the largest Roma population.[51]
Religious affiliation is diverse: Macedonians, Serbs, and Aromanians are mainly Orthodox, with the majority affiliated to theMacedonian Orthodox Church; Turks are almost entirely Muslim; those of Albanian ethnicity are largely Muslim, although Skopje also has a sizeableRoman Catholic Albanian minority, into whichMother Teresa was born; the Roma (Gypsies) represent a mixture (in almost equal numbers) of Muslim and Orthodox religious heritage.[184]
UntilWorld War II, Skopje had a significant Jewish minority which mainly descended from SpanishSephardis who had escaped theInquisition. The community comprised 2,424 members in 1939 (representing about 3% of the city population), but most of them were deported and killed byNazis. After the war, most of the survivors settled in Israel.[117][186] Today the city has around 200 Jewish inhabitants (about 0.04% of the population).
Because of its 520-year Ottoman past, and the fact that many of its inhabitants today are Muslims, Skopje has more mosques than churches. Religious communities often complain about the lack of infrastructure and new places of worship are often built.[187] Skopje is the seat of many Macedonian religious organisations, such as theMacedonian Orthodox Church and the Islamic Religious Union of Macedonia. It has an Orthodox cathedral and seminary, severalmadrasahs, a Roman Catholic cathedral and a synagogue.[188]
Skopje has several public and private hospitals and specialised medical institutions, such as theFilip II Hospital, a psychiatric hospital, two obstetric hospitals, a gerontology hospital, and institutes for respiratory and ocular diseases.[189] In 2012, Skopje had a ratio of one physician per 251.6 inhabitants, a figure higher than the national ratio (one per 370.9). The ratio of medical specialists was also higher than in the rest of the country. However, the ratio of hospital beds, pharmacists and dentists was lower in Skopje.[190] The population in Skopje enjoys better health standards than other Macedonians. In 2010, the mortality rate was at 8.6‰ in Skopje and 9.3‰ on the national level. The infant mortality rate was at 6.8‰ in Skopje and 7.6‰ in North Macedonia.[190]
Skopje's citizenry is generally more educated than the rest of the country. 16% of Skopjans have graduated from university in contrast to 10% for the rest of the country. The number of people with a complete lack of education or ones who received a partial education is lower in Skopje at 9% compared to the provincial average of 17%. 80% of Macedonian citizens who hold a PhD take up residence in Skopje.[191]
Skopje has 21 secondary schools; 5 of which serve as general high-school gymnasiums and 16 vocational schools.[192] The city is also host to several higher education institutions, the most notable of which isSs. Cyril and Methodius University, founded in 1949. The university has 23 departments, 10 research institutes and is attended by an average of 50,000 students.[193] After the country's independence in 1991, several private universities were brought into existence. The largest private universities in Skopje areEuropean University Skopje with 7 departments[194] andFON University with 9 departments respectively.[195]
Skopje is the largest media centre in North Macedonia. Of the 818 newspapers surveyed in 2000 by the Ministry of Information, over 600 had their headquarters in Skopje. The dailyDnevnik, founded in 1996, with 60,000 runs per day is the most printed in the country. Also based in Skopje,Večer prints 50,000 copies and the state owns one-third of its capital.Nova Makedonija, reprinted 20,000 copies. Other major newspapers in Skopje, totally private, are Utrinski Vesnik (30,000 copies), Vest (25,000 copies), andVreme (15,000 copies). Magazines Fokus (12,000 copies), Start (10,000 copies), and Denes (7,500 copies) also have their headquarters in Skopje.[196][197]
The city is home of the studios ofMacedonian Radio-Television (MRT), the country's public radio and television. Founded in 1966, it operates with three national broadcast channels, twenty-four hours a day. The most popular private television stations areSitel,Kanal 5, Telma, Alfa TV, and AlsatM.[198] MRT also operates radio stations with national coverage, the private station Skopje's Kanal 77 is the only one to have such a span. RadioAntenna 5 and Metropolis are two other major private stations that have their headquarters in Skopje.[199]
Also, the city boasts big news agencies in the country, both public, such as theMedia Information Agency, and private, such as theMakfax.[196]
As the capital and largest city of North Macedonia, Skopje has many major sporting facilities. The city has three large swimming pools, two of which feature Olympic pools. These pools are particularly relevant to coaching water polo teams. Skopje also boasts many football stadiums, like Ilinden in Čair and Železarnica, which can accommodate between 4,000 and 4,500 spectators. The basketball court Kale can accommodate 2,200 people and the court of Jane Sandanski has a 6,000-seat capacity.[200]
The Toše Proeski Arena
The largest stadium remainsToše Proeski Arena. The stadium, built in 1947 and named until 2008, City Stadium Skopje[201] experienced a total renovation, begun in 2009 to meet the standards of FIFA. Fully renovated the stadium contains 33,460 seats,[202] and a health spa and fitness area. TheBoris Trajkovski Sports Center is the largest sports complex in the country with 6,250 seats. It was opened in 2008 and named after former presidentBoris Trajkovski, who died in 2004. It includes rooms dedicated to handball, basketball, and volleyball, a bowling alley, a fitness area, and an ice hockey court. Its main hall, which regularly hosts concerts, holds around 10,000 people.[203]
Skopje is near three other capital cities,Pristina (87 km (54 mi) away), Tirana (291 km) and Sofia (245 km). Thessaloniki is 233 km (145 mi) south and Belgrade is 433 km (269 mi) north.[205] Skopje is also at the crossroad of twoPan-European corridors:Corridor X, which runs betweenAustria andGreece, andCorridor VIII, which runs from theAdriatic in Albania to theBlack Sea in Bulgaria. Corridor X links Skopje to Thessaloniki, Belgrade, and Western Europe, whilst Corridor VIII links it with Tirana and Sofia.
Corridor X locally corresponds to theM-1 motorway (E75), which is the longest highway in North Macedonia. It also corresponds to theTabanovce-Gevgelija railway. Corridor VIII, less developed, corresponds to the M-4 motorway and theKičevo-Beljakovce railway. Skopje is not quite on the Corridor X and the M-1 does not pass on the city territory. Thus the junction between the M-1 and M-4 is some 20 km (12 mi) east, close to the airport. Although Skopje is geographically close to other major cities, movement of people and goods is not optimised, especially withAlbania. This is mainly due to poor infrastructure. As a result, 61.8% of Skopjans have never been to Tirana, whilst only 6.7% have never been to Thessaloniki and 0% to Sofia. Furthermore, 26% of Thessalonians, 33% of Sofians and 37% of Tiranans have never been to Skopje.[205]
The first highways were built during the Yugoslav period, when Skopje was linked through theBrotherhood and Unity Highway to, what was then, the Yugoslav capital Belgrade to the North, and the Greek border to the South.
The main railway station in Skopje is serviced by the Belgrade-Thessaloniki and Skopje-Pristina international lines.[206] After the completion of theCorridor VIII railway project, currently scheduled for 2030, the city will also be linked to Tirana and Sofia.[207][208][209] Daily trains also link Skopje with other towns of North Macedonia, such asKumanovo,Kičevo,Štip,Bitola orVeles.[206]
Skopje has several minor railway stations, but the city does not have its own railway network, and they are only serviced by intercity or international lines. On the railway linking themain station to Belgrade and Thessaloniki are Dračevo and Dolno Lisiče stations, and on the railway to Kičevo are Skopje-North, Ǵorče Petrov and Saraj stations. Several other stations are freight-only.[210]
Skopje coach station opened in 2005 and is built right under the main railway station. It can host 450 coaches in a day.[211] Coach connections reach more destinations than train connections, connecting Skopje to many domestic and foreign destinations includingIstanbul, Sofia, Prague, Hamburg andStockholm.[212]
A red Yutong City Master double-decker bus in Skopje
Skopje has a bus network managed by the city and operated by three companies. The oldest and largest is JSP Skopje, a public company founded in 1948. JSP lost its monopoly on public transport in 1990 and two new companies, Sloboda Prevoz and Mak Ekspres, obtained several lines. However, most of the network is still in the hands of JSP which operates 67 lines out of 80. Only 24 lines are urban, the others serving localities around the city.[213] Many of the JSP vehicles are redYutong City Master double-decker buses built by Chinese bus manufacturerYutong and designed to resemble the classic BritishAEC Routemaster.[214]
A tram network has long been planned in Skopje and the idea was first proposed in the 1980s. The project became real in 2006 when the mayor Trifun Kostovski asked for feasibility studies. His successor Koce Trajanovski launched a call for tenders in 2010 and the first line is scheduled for 2019.[215][needs update]
A new network for small buses started to operate in June 2014, not to replace but to decrease the number of big buses in the city centre.
The airport was built in 1928. The first commercial flights in Skopje were introduced in 1929 when the Yugoslav carrierAeroput introduced a route linking the city with the capital, Belgrade.[216] A year later the route was extended to Thessaloniki in Greece, and further extended to Greek capitalAthens in 1933.[216] In 1935 Aeroput linked Skopje withBitola andNiš, and also operated a longer international route linkingVienna and Thessaloniki throughZagreb, Belgrade and Skopje.[216] After the Second World War, Aeroput was replaced byJAT Yugoslav Airlines, which linked Skopje to a number of domestic and international destinations until the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.
Skopje International Airport is inPetrovec, 20 km (12 mi) east of the city. Since 2008, it has been managed by the TurkishTAV Airports Holding and it can accommodate up to four million passengers per year.[217] The annual traffic has constantly risen since 2008, reaching one million passengers in 2014.[218]
Skopje is home to the largest cultural institutions of the country, such as theNational and University Library "St. Kliment of Ohrid", theMacedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the National Theatre, the National Philharmonic Orchestra and the Macedonian Opera and Ballet. Amongst the local institutions are the Brothers Miladinov Library which has more than a million documents, the Cultural Information Centre which manages festivals, exhibitions and concerts, and the House of Culture Kočo Racin which is dedicated tocontemporary art and young talents.[219]
The city has several theatres and concert halls. The Univerzalna Sala, seating 1,570, was built in 1966 and is used for concerts, fashion shows, and congresses. The Metropolis Arena, designed for large concerts, has 3,546 seats. Other large halls include the Macedonian Opera and Ballet (800 seats), the National Theatre (724), and the Drama Theatre (333).[224] Other smaller venues exist, such as the Albanian Theatre and the Youth Theatre. A Turkish Theatre and a Philharmonic hall are under construction.[225][226]
Although Skopje has been destroyed many times throughout its history, it still has many historical landmarks which reflect the successive occupations of the city. Skopje has one of the biggest Ottoman urban complexes in Europe, with many Ottoman monuments still serving their original purpose. It was also a ground formodernist experiments in the 20th century, following the 1963 earthquake. At the beginning of the 21st century, it is again the subject of massive building campaigns, thanks to theSkopje 2014 project. Skopje is thus an environment where old, new, progressist, reactionary, eastern and western perspectives coexist.[134]
Skopje Aqueduct
Skopje has some remains of Prehistorical architecture which can be seen on theTumba Madžari Neolithic site.[233] On the other side of the city lies the remains of the ancientScupi, with ruins of a theatre, thermae and a basilica.[70] TheSkopje Aqueduct, between Scupi and the city centre, is rather mysterious because its date of construction is unknown. It seems to have been built by the Byzantines or the Turks, but it was already out of use in the 16th century.[234] It consists of 50 arches, worked in cloisonné masonry.[235]
Church of Saint Panteleimon
Skopje Fortress was rebuilt several times before it was destroyed by the 1963 earthquake. Since then, it has been restored to its medieval appearance. It is the only medieval monument in Skopje, but several churches around the city illustrate theVardar architectural school which flourished around 1300. Amongst these churches are the ones aroundMatka Canyon (St Nicholas, St Andrew and Matka churches). Thechurch of Saint Panteleimon inGorno Nerezi dates from the 12th century. Its expressive frescoes anticipate theItalian primitives.[236]
Aladža Mosque and its türbe
Examples ofOttoman architecture are in theOld Bazaar. Mosques in Skopje are usually simple in design, with a square base and a singledome andminaret. Their entrance is usually emphasised by a portico, as onMustafa Pasha Mosque, dating from the 15th century. Some mosques show some originality in their appearance:Sultan Murad and Yahya Pasha mosques have lost their dome and have a pyramidal roof, whilst Isa Bey Mosque has a rectangular base, two domes and two side wings. The Aladža Mosque was originally covered with blue faience, but it disappeared in the 1689 Great Fire. However, some tiles are still visible on the adjoiningtürbe. Other Ottoman public monuments include the 16th-century clock tower, abedesten, threecaravanserais, twohammams and theStone Bridge, first mentioned in 1469.[99][237]
The oldest churches in the city centre, theAscension and St Dimitri churches, were built in the 18th century, after the 1689 Great Fire. They were both renovated in the 19th century. The Church of the Ascension is particularly small as it is half-buried in order to not overlook neighbouring mosques.[238] In the 19th century, several new churches were built, including the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, which is a large three-nave building designed byAndrey Damyanov.[239]
Main post office and the Communication Centre
After 1912, when Skopje was annexed by Serbia, the city was drastically westernised. Wealthy Serbs built mansions and town houses such as the 1926Ristiḱ Palace. The architecture of that time is very similar to the one of Central Europe, but some buildings are more creative, such as theNeo-Moorish Arab House and theNeo-Byzantine train station, both built in 1938.[134]Modernism appeared as early as 1933 with the former Ethnographic Museum (today the City Gallery), designed byMilan Zloković.[134] However, modernist architecture only fully developed in Skopje after the 1963 earthquake. The reconstruction of the city centre was partially planned by JapaneseKenzo Tange who designed the new train station.[134] Macedonian architects also took part in the reconstruction:Georgi Konstantinovski designed the City Archives building in 1968 and the Hall of residence Goce Delčev in 1975, whilstJanko Konstantinov designed the Telecommunication Centre and the main post office (1974–1989).Slavko Brezovski designed theChurch of St. Clement of Ohrid.[240] These two buildings are noted for their originality although they are directly inspired bybrutalism.[134]
The reconstruction turned Skopje into a proper modernist city, with large blocks of flats, austere concrete buildings and scattered green spaces. The city centre was considered as a grey and unattractive place when local authorities unveiled theSkopje 2014 project in 2010.[241][242] It made plans to erect a large number of statues, fountains, bridges, and museums at a cost of about €500 million.[243]
The project has generated controversy: critics have described the new landmark buildings as signs of reactionaryhistoricist aesthetics.[244] Also, the government has been criticised for its cost and the original lack of representation of national minorities in the coverage of its set of statues and memorials.[244] However, representations of minorities have since been included amongst the monuments. The scheme is accused of turning Skopje to atheme park,[245] which is viewed as nationalistickitsch,[246] and has made Skopje an example to see how national identities are constructed and how this construction is mirrored in the urban space.[247]
The Skopje Cultural Summer Festival is a cultural event that takes place in Skopje each year during the summer. The festival is a member of theInternational Festivals and Events Association (IFEA) and it includes musical concerts, operas, ballets, plays, art and photograph exhibitions, movies, and multimedia projects that gather 2,000 participants from around the world each year including theSt Petersburg Theatre, the Chamber Orchestra of theBolshoi Theatre,Irina Arkhipova,Viktor Tretiakov, The Theatre of Shadows,Michel Dalberto, andDavid Burgess.
May Opera Evenings is a festival that has occurred annually in Skopje since 1972 and is dedicated to promoting opera amongst the general public. Over the years, it has evolved into a stage on which artists from some 50 countries have performed. There is one other major international theatre festival that takes place each year at the end of September, the Young Open Theater Festival (MOT), which was organised for the first time in May 1976 by the Youth Cultural Center – Skopje.[249] More than 700 theatrical performances have been presented at this festival so far, most of them being alternative,experimental theatre groups engaging young writers and actors. The MOT International Theatre Festival is also a member of theInternational Network for Contemporary Performing Arts or IETM.[250] Within the framework of the MOT Festival, the Macedonian National Center of the International Theater Institute (ITI) was established, and at the 25th ITI World Congress in Munich in 1993, it became a regular member of this theatre association. The festival has an international character, representing theatres from all over the world that present and enhance the exchange and circulation of young-fresh-experimental-avant-garde theatrical experience between its participants and their audience.
TheSkopje Film Festival is an annual event held in the city every March. Over 50 films are shown at this five-day festival, mostly from North Macedonia and Europe, but also including some non-commercial film productions from all over the world.
Skopje has a diverse nightlife. There is a large emphasis on casinos, many of which are associated with hotels. In 2010, the Colosseum club was named fifth on a list of the best clubs inSouth-eastern Europe.Armin van Buuren,Above and Beyond,The Shapeshifters are just some of the many musicians that have visited the club.[251] Nighttime concerts in local, regional and global music are often held at theToše Proeski Arena andBoris Trajkovski Sports Center.[252] For middle-aged people, places for having fun are also thekafeanas where traditionalMacedonian food is served and traditionalMacedonian music (Starogradska muzika) is played, butmusic from all the Balkans, particularlySerbian folk music is also popular. Apart from the traditional Macedonian restaurants, there are restaurants featuring international cuisines.[252] TheOld Bazaar was a popular nightlife destination in the past. Thenational government has created a project to revive nightlife in the Old Bazaar. The closing time in shops, cafés and restaurants was extended due to the high attendances recorded. In the bazaar's restaurants, along with the traditional Macedonian wine and food, dishes of theOttoman cuisine are also served.[253]
^Curtis, Matthew Cowan (2012).Slavic-Albanian Language Contact, Convergence, and Coexistence (Thesis). The Ohio State University. p. 45. Archived fromthe original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved28 January 2023.Again the evidence of an earlier Albanian settlement in Macedonian territories relies on the phonological development of particular locations. In Macedonia the names of Ohrid (AlbOhër) <Lychnidus, Skopje (MkSkopje, SrSkoplje, AlbShkup) <Skupi, andŠtip <Astibos are best explained by the phonological developments of Albanian (Stanišić 1995: 10–11 and references therein).
^Demiraj, Shaban (2006).The origin of the Albanians: linguistically investigated.Academy of Sciences of Albania. p. 139.ISBN9789994381715. Archived fromthe original on 20 November 2020.The place-nameShkup is evidenced asScupi- in ancient records, as for ex. inItineraria Romana 1916 (of the III-IV centuries A.D.)77. ln the Balkan Slavic languages this place-name sounds with the initial /Sko-/:Skopie, whereas in Albanian the initial /Shku-/ inShkup-i is a direct reflection of the ancient /Scu-/, and this excludes a Slavic intermediation. The regular evolution ofScupi >Shkup has also been admitted by Barić ( 1955, p. 49) and Skok78 (before him).
^Popullsia shqiptare e Kosovës gjatë shek studime dhe dokumente. XV-XVI - Selami Pulaha 1984 - 'Other ancient toponyms that belong to the Albanian territories in the former Yugoslavia have evolved in accordance to the historical phonetic rules of the Albanian language. Such cases are Naissus-Nish, Scupi-Shkup, Astibos-Shtip, Scardus-Shar, Ulpiana-Lipjan and many more. The explanation of why these ancient names have arrived to us in the form they did, is that these territories have been inhabited by Albanians continuously and not intermittingly. The presence of an Albanian speaking population has been preserved mostly in the names of the towns. This evidence demonstrates that the Albanian population could not have been made up of shepherds sheltered in the highlands or the mountains. Quite on the contrary, that population was urbanized and apparently with an advanced standard of living for its time.Among other factors, the ancient toponomastic data, such as the contemporary names of places used by Slavs, which are explainable only through the phonetic rules of the ancient Albanian language, has convinced scientists that these territories were inhabited by Albanians. Distinguished linguists such as Norbert Jokl, Gustav Weygand, and Petrovici, and even some Yugoslav scholars like Henrik Baric and others, have argued that it was precisely Dardania, defined as an enclave by the use of the ancient names such as Nish, Shkup, Shtip that was one of the centers of the formation of the Albanian people.'
^abcdChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911)."Usküb" .Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 811.USKÜB, Uscup, or Skopia (anc. Scupi, Turk. Üshküb, Slav. Skoplye), the capital of the vilayet of Kossovo
^Baba, A.; Tayfur, G.; Gündüz, O.; Howard, K.W.F.; Friedel, M.J.; Chambel, A: "Climate Change and its Effects on Water Resources: Issues of National and Global Security". NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security. Springer. 2011, XVI, 318p.ISBN978-9400711457.
^abcdeRobert Homes."Rebuilding Skopje"(PDF). Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge and Chelmsford. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 12 April 2012. Retrieved26 February 2011.
^Arthur Evans (2007).Ancient Illyria: An Archaeological Exploration. I.B.Tauris. p. 234.ISBN9781845111670.
^András Mócsy (1974).Pannonia and Upper Moesia. Routledge. p. 356.ISBN9780710077141.
^Arthur Evans (2007).Ancient Illyria: An Archaeological Exploration. I.B.Tauris. p. 241.ISBN9781845111670.
^Andrew Rossos (2008).Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History. Hoover Press. p. 25.ISBN978-0-8179-4882-5.
^Ivan Mikulčiḱ, Medieval towns and castles in the Republic of Macedonia, Book 5 of Makroproekt "Istorija na kulturata na Makedonija",Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, 1996, p. 27.
^abJohn Van Antwerp Fine (1994).The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. University of Michigan Press. pp. 175–184.ISBN978-0-472-08260-5.
^Rexha, Iljaz (2011)."Vendbanimet dhe popullsia albane gjatë mesjetës në hapësirën e Maqedonisë së sotme: Sipas burimeve sllave dhe osmane".Gjurmime Albanologjike: Seria e Shkencave Historike (41–42):167–218Në defterin kadastral të vitit 1451-52 për Rumelinë, në Shkup ishte regjistruar lagjeja Gjin-ko –(Gjinaj), me emrin e familjes fisnike mesjetare albane, ku në dokumente sllave të shek.XIV, por edhe në defterët osmanë të shek.XV-XIV, permenden 5 vendbanime me emrin Gjinofc në rrthinat e Shtipt, të Kriva Pallankes, të Gostivarit, Tetovës dhe të Dibres si dhe 2 tjera me emrin Gjinofc janë regjitruar në hapësirën në mes Radomirit dhe të Qystendilit në Bullgari, vendbanime këto qe në mesjetë i themeluan vëllezritë e Gjinajve. Në lagjen e sipërpërmendur Gjinko, në radhë të parë ishte regjistruar kryefamiljari Gjin-ko, me profesion (këpuctarë), dhe Todori, i vëllai i tij (Gjinit), siç shihet themelues i kësaj lagje, ndersa më vonë, në këtë lagjë, në vitin 1467 ishte regjistruar djali i tij Marko, i biri i Gjinit, pastaj në mesin e banorëve të tjerë, ishin regjistruar edhe banorë me antroponimi simbiotike krishtere tradicionale arbane: Milesh-a, bostanxhi, Dimitri, i biri i Prençes, Dragati, i biri i Male-s (Malja), Nikolla, i biri i Naneçit (Nano), Jovan i vëllai i tij, Jako i biri i Dodanit (Doda), Stepan, i biri i Andreas, Paliq (Pali) i biri i Stepanit, Nikolla i biri i Drralla, Roza, e vejë.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^Rexha, Iljaz (2011)."Vendbanimet dhe popullsia albane gjatë mesjetës në hapësirën e Maqedonisë së sotme: Sipas burimeve sllave dhe osmane".Gjurmime Albanologjike: Seria e Shkencave Historike (41–42):167–218Si dëshmi tjetër për praninë e albanëve në territorrin e Maqedonisë së sotme ishin edhe spahinjtë vendas, me prejardhje albane e jo të ardhur nga Arbanoni politik mesjetar, që më parë kishin kaluar në fenë islame dhe ishin inkuadruar në sistemin e timarit të spahinjve osmanë. Sipas defterëve të shek. XV (1451/53 dhe 1467/68) ata i kishin timaret e veta në territorin e Maqedonisë dhe të Kosovës, kësaj radhe po i përmendim vetëm disa prej tyre: Hamza Arnauti,59 nga mëhalla Mentesheli e Shku-pit e kishte timarin e vet në fshatin Gumaleva. Hamza Arnauti, (tjetër) nga vendbanimi Niçevo (Nokova) e Shkupit kishte timarin e tij në fshatin Pa-garusha. Jusuf Arnauti, nga fshati Topçe Is’akli afër Draçevës së Shkupit. Shahin Arnauti59/a dizdar i kalasë së Shkupit i kishte timarin në tri fshatra të Shkupit... pranë individit me etno-nimin Arbanas ose Arnaut, apelativi sllav: doshlac prishlac, uselica, emigrant, që do thotë se kryefamiljarët shqiptarëme këtë etnonim si:Petro Arbanas, Dimitri Arbanas, Nikolla Arbanas, Bogdan Arbanas, Bogoslav Arbanas, Milosh Arbanas, Bozhidar Arnaut, Gjuro Arba-nas, Mihajl Arbanas, Todor Arnaut, Andreja Arnaut, Lzar Arnaut apo Jusuf Arnaut, ose Hamza Arnavut etj., nuk janë shënuar me cilë-sorin sllav doselic ose prishlec, çka dëshmon se ata ishin vendës në vendbanimet e tyre{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^Rexha, Iljaz (2011)."Vendbanimet dhe popullsia albane gjatë mesjetës në hapësirën e Maqedonisë së sotme: Sipas burimeve sllave dhe osmane".Gjurmime Albanologjike: Seria e Shkencave Historike (41–42):167–218Në lagjenAhrijan Hasantë Shkupit të vitit 1451/53 ishte re-gjistruar në mesin e kryefamiljarëve myslimanë edhe kryefamiljari me partonimin e familjes fisnike albane Muzak, që kishte kaluar në islam, duke mos e përmendur emrin e tij të mëhershëm të krishterë dhe pa e theksuar pozitën shoqërore apo profesionin e tij.77 Në defterin tjetër të vitit 1467/68, tani në lagjen e krishterë me emrin Svetko Samarxhi tëShkupit, në mesin e 29 kryefamiljarëve me antroponimi krishtere sllave janë regjistruar: Nikolla, i biri Muzak-es, Todor, i biri Shendre-es (Shen Andre-it), Gjuro, i biri Marin-it, Jovan, i biri Suteç-it ( Suta). Nga këto të dhëna të këtyre dy defterëve shihet qartë, se këta dy kryefamiljarë me mbiemrin Muzaka, njëri i krishterë e tjetri mysliman ishin farefis dhe banorë të vjetër të Shkupit, ngase të parët e familjeve të tyre që nga mesjeta e hershme banonin në hapësirat e rajoneve të Nishit, Kosovës dhe të Maqedonisë sotme, pra para depërtimit osman në Ballkan{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^Rexha, Iljaz (2011)."Vendbanimet dhe popullsia albane gjatë mesjetës në hapësirën e Maqedonisë së sotme: Sipas burimeve sllave dhe osmane".Gjurmime Albanologjike: Seria e Shkencave Historike (41–42):167–218Në vijim po japim edhe disa të dhëna për spahinjtë e krishterë me prejardhje albane, që i kishin timaret e veta së bashku me individë të tjerë, në simbiozë me antroponimi sllave në rrethinën e Shkupit, ku shihet se edhe këta ishin vendas, meqë në defterë, posaçërisht theksohet se këta individë ishin spahinj të vjetër, çka kuptohet se edhe para viteve 1467-68, në regjistrimet e mëhershme, që nuk janë ruajtur, i kanë pasur timaret e tyre. Timari i Mirashit të birit të Todorit, i Dobroslavit, i të birit të Jaroslavit, i Kojçinit i të birit të Gjonit ,..... (dhe 4 individë të tjerë ). Timari i Gjurës i biri i Todorit, Petko i vëllai i Ibrahimit, Gjoni i vëlla i Petkos (Ibrahimit), Gjura i biri i Petko ( Ibrahimit ) dhe Lazori i biri Petko ( Ibrahimit ).Timari Hamzajt i vëlla i Ibrahimit, Gjoni i vëlla i Hamzait të vëllait të Ibrahimit, Nikolla i vëlla i tij Gjonit, Pavli i biri i Mihos, Pejo i biri i Pavlit, Petko i biri i Gjonit i vëllai i Hamzait të vëllait të Ibrahimit...Kemi edhe shumë spahinj tjerë me prejardhje albane si: Ali dhe Hamza Kërçovali, nga Kër-çova, Shimerd Vardarli i Shkupit, Mahmud Manastirli, Ali Arnauti etj. shihet qartazi se këta posedues të timareve ishin nga trojet e sotme të Maqedonisë e jo të ardhur nga Shqipëria e Qendrore e sotme.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
^Гергова, Яна (2015).Култът към светци безсребърници в България: образи, вярвания и ритуални практики. София: ИК „Гутенберг“. p. 100.ISBN978-619-176-046-6.
^Rebels, Believers, Survivors: Studies in the History of the Albanians "Some elements of a conversionist approach can also be found in the text of the Cuneus prophetarum. At one point, for example, Bogdani declares: ‘It is better to be a Christian, the son of a Muslim, than to be a Muslim, the son of a Christian:”” (As always in Christian writings of this period, the word “Turk here is used to mean ‘Muslim:) " p. 116
^Popullsia shqiptare e Kosovës gjatë shek studime dhe dokumente. XV-XVI - ' In the documents of the Austrian High Command, for example, in the promemorie on Albania of the General Marsiglio, a high ranking member of the Austrian General Staff dated April 1, 1690, in the letters of the Catholic Vicar of the Shkup, Thoma Raspasan who had substituted the leader of the Albanian uprising, the Archbishop of Albania, Pjetër Bogdani, it said clearly that “Prizren was the capital of Albania,” that “Peja and Shkup were parts of Albania,” and that in the area of Kosova people spoke the Albanian language.'
^John R. Lampe (2000).Yugoslavia as History: Twice there was a Country. Cambridge University Press. p. 34.ISBN9780521774017.
^Salajdin SALIHI. "DISA SHËNIME PËR SHQIPTARËT ORTODOKSË TË REKËS SË EPËRME". FILOLOGJIA - International Journal of Human Sciences 19:85-90.
^Hart, Laurie Kain (February 1999), "Culture, Civilization, and Demarcation at the Northwest Borders of Greece",American Ethnologist,26 (1): 214,doi:10.1525/ae.1999.26.1.196,JSTOR647505 "Aarbakke notes that Weigand says of Skopje that the "Turks" are mostly Albanians who speak Turkish in public and Albanian at home, "but should be regarded as Osmanli" (Aarbakke 1992:10)."
^"L'Armée d'Orient et la Macédoine"(PDF). Basse-Normandie Macédoine, la coopération au service de la gouvernance locale. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 31 March 2010. Retrieved25 March 2011.
^Rossos, Andrew (2008)Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History Hoover Institution Press, Stanford, California,page 135,ISBN978-0-8179-4881-8
^Siemen Van Berkum et Natalija Bogdanov (2012).Serbia on the Road to Eu Accession: Consequences for Agricultural Policy and the Agri-Food Chain. CABI. p. 40.ISBN9781780641454.
^William Bartlett; Hristina Cipusheva; Marjan Nikolov; Miroljub Shukarov (2010).The Quality of Life and Regional Development in FYR Macedonia. Croatian Economic Survey. pp. 121–162.
^"Macedonian Museum of Natural History". The Second International Congress on "Biodiversity, Ecological Aspects and Conservation of the Balkan Fauna". 1998. Archived fromthe original on 9 March 2011. Retrieved8 March 2011.
^"Skopje Zoo". Skopje Zoo. 2009. Archived fromthe original on 30 December 2011. Retrieved26 December 2011.
^Barikada – World of Music – Svastara – 2007."Barikada – World of Music". Barikada.com. Archived fromthe original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved26 January 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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