Skopje: Encyclopedia - Skopje

Skopje

Skopje (Macedonian: Скопје, Albanian: Shkupi, Serbian/Croatian: Skoplje, Bulgarian: Скопие; Ottoman Turkish: Üsküb, Greek: Σκόπια);see also different names; is the capital city of the Republic of Macedonia. It has approx. 650,000 inhabitants (2000 estimate) and is located on the upper Vardar river. Skopje is located at 42°0′N 21°26′E.

Skopje is the political, economic, and cultural centre of the modern Republic of Macedonia. It is a major centre for the metal-processing, chemical, timber, textile, leather, and printing industries. Industrial development of the city has been accompanied by an intensive development of the trade and banking sectors, as well as an emphasis on the fields of culture and sport.

Skopje - History

Skopje - Classical era

The site of modern Skopje has been inhabited since at least 3500 BC; remains of Neolithic settlements have been found within the old Kale fortress that overlooks the modern city centre. Skopje was known to the ancient Greeks as Skupi, a name given to a settlement to the northwest of the city centre in the area of the modern suburb of Zlokučani. The settlement appears to have been founded around the 3rd century BC by the Dardanians, a people on the fringes of the Kingdom of Macedon.

Skupi came under Roman rule from 148 BC, when it became a seat of government within the Roman province of Moesia superior. From 395 AD, it passed into the hands of the Eastern Roman (or Byzantine) Empire.

Skopje - Medieval era

The Byzantine Emperor Justinian I was born near Skupi, at Tauresium, in 483. In 518, Skupi was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake. Justinian came to the aid of its inhabitants by founding a new settlement called Justiniana Prima further downriver from the site of Skupi. However, Justiniana and the remnants of Skupi were destroyed by invading Slavic peoples at the end of the 7th century. The Slavs renamed the site as Skopje but were eventually pushed out by the Byzantines.

During much of the early medieval period, the town was contested between the Byzantines and the expansionist Bulgarian Empire. It was a thriving trading settlement but fell into decline after being hit by another devastating earthquake at the end of the 11th century. It was conquered by the Serbs in 1282. In 1346 it was named the capital of the Serbian Empire of Stefan Dušan.

Skopje - The Ottoman city

In 1392, three years after the Serbian defeat in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, Skopje was captured by the Ottoman Empire. For the next five hundred years it was known by the Turkish name Üsküb or Üsküp. Ottoman Üsküb was the capital of the Vilayet of Kosova (district of Kosova), which occupied a much greater area than the modern Kosovo.

The city's character changed markedly during this period. The Ottomans imported Islam and built many mosques and other typically Turkish buildings, such as hammans (baths) and travellers' inns, some of which still exist today. Many Sephardi Jews expelled from Spain also settled in the city, adding to its ethnic variety.

The medieval city was badly damaged by an earthquake which struck in 1555, but it soon recovered and prospered. By the 17th century, its population was put at between 30,000-60,000 inhabitants. The Turkish writer Dulgar Dede visited Üsküb during this period and wrote: "I travelled for many years across that country of Rumelia and I saw a many beautiful cities and I was amazed at Allah's blessings, but not one impressed and delighted as much as the heavenly city of Skopje across which passes the Vardar River."

In 1689, however, Skopje was burned by the Austrian general Engelberto d'Ugo Piccolomini – ostensibly to eradicate an outbreak of cholera, but quite possibly to revenge the Ottomans' 1683 attack on Vienna.

The city's fortunes waned over the next 200 years and its population shrank to only about 10,000 people by the middle of the 19th century. It revived after 1873 with the building of the railway from Belgrade to Thessaloniki, which passed through Skopje.

Skopje - In the 20th century

By 1905, Skopje had a population of approximately 32,000, which was comprised of a mixture of ethnic groups, including Albanians, Macedonian Slavs, Bulgarians, Serbs, Turks, and Roma. The city was the seat of an Greek Orthodox archbishop, an archbishop of the Roman Catholic faith, and a Bulgarian Orthodox bishop. In 1910, the Albanian nun, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, later to become famous as Mother Teresa, was born in Skopje.

The city became a major centre of rebellion against the weakening Ottoman Empire, and in 1903 it was a key player in the unsuccessful Ilinden Rising against Ottoman rule. The Ottomans were expelled from the city in August 12, 1912 by the Albanian forces. Several months later the city is captured by the Serbs at the beginning of First Balkan War.

In 1913, the allies in the First Balkan War fell out with each other and launched the Second Balkan War over the division of the spoils. Serbia retained control of Skopje, with the Vardar valley being incorporated into Serbia. This lasted until October 1915, when Bulgaria joined the Central Powers and seized much of Serbian-ruled Macedonia.

The city was restored to Serbia at the war's end in 1918, when it became part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (known as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929). The city was occupied by Bulgaria rule during both World Wars, but on its liberation in 1944 it became the capital of the new People's Republic of Macedonia. Following the wars, Skopje and the rest of Yugoslav Macedonia was incorporated into Tito's Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

On 26 July 1963, Skopje was struck by another major earthquake, which killed over 1,000 people and made another 120,000 homeless. Eighty percent of the city was destroyed by the earthquake, and numerous cultural monuments were seriously damaged. A major international relief effort saw the city rebuilt quickly, though much of its old Turkish aspect was lost in the process. The ruins of the old Skopje train station which was destroyed in the earthquake remains today as a memorial to the victims. The memorial features a museum.

Under Yugoslav rule Skopje grew rapidly and became a major industrial centre for the southern Balkans region. In 1991 the Yugoslav federation broke up and Skopje became the capital of the independent Republic of Macedonia. Greece objected to the use of the name Macedonia by the new state, and imposed an economic blockade on the country, which severely damaged Skopje's economy by closing its access to the sea through Thessaloniki. The blockade was lifted in 1995 following an agreement between Athens and Skopje.

Skopje - Buildings

North of the city there is a Roman aqueduct. Medieval monasteries in the vicinity include that of Nerezi (1164), with rather realistic 12th-century frescoes, similar to the Giotto’s pictures, some 140 years latter. There are notable buildings from the Turkish rule such as the Kuršumli Han (medieval Turkish inn) and several mosques. One of the bridges connecting both side of Vardar River is the stone bridge built during the time of Stefan Dušan.

Skopje - Trivia

Below is the list of famous people born in Skopje or its surroundings:

• Justinian I
• Mother Teresa
• Darko Pancev
• Milco Mancevski

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Skopje", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki