Municipality of North Macedonia
Photo: Andrzej Wójtowicz from Poznań, Poland, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Centar (Macedonian: Центар) is the modern commercial and political hub of Skopje, capital of North Macedonia. It is one of the 10 municipalities that make up the City of Skopje. To the northeast is the Old Bazaar and Čair Municipality, Gazi Baba Municipality is to the east, Aerodrom and Kisela Voda municipalities are to the southeast, and Karpoš Municipality is to the west. Centar includes the Parliament and Government of North Macedonia, the ever-changing Macedonia Square, quality museums, and the country's largest stadium.
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Камен мост
A main symbol of Skopje since the 15th century, though bridges have existed at the location since perhaps the 6th century. It is built of solid stone blocks and has 12 arches, stretching 214 m (702 ft) long. The pedestrian bridge connects across the Vardar the historic Old Town to Macedonia Square and the modern commercial centre of the city.
Македонски народен театар
The first Macedonian National Theatre building was built in 1927, fronting the Vardar River. It was destroyed in the 1963 earthquake but was rebuilt in 2013 in largely the same design. It is a neoclassical building with many statues standing on it. The interior is even more lavish than the exterior would suggest. With its big white walls, and almost without windows and with an incline, it is known as "the bounce board." The theatre has a large stage and seats for 850 spectators, and also a small stage for 200 spectators.
Плоштад Македонија
Macedonia Square has had two major changes in appearance in the past several decades. Following the 1963 earthquake, most of its neoclassical buildings were destroyed with the exception of the southern section crowned with the "СКОПСКО" sign. Then in the 2010s, after decades of being a mostly empty open space, it became a major site of the government-funded Skopje 2014 project which has constructed mostly neoclassical-style buildings and monuments across the central part of the city. The facades of socialist-era buildings on the square have been changed into neoclassical styles as well. It is now fronted by older-looking buildings and massive statues. The new buildings and monuments have generated much controversy but, regardless of your opinion, they have once again made Macedonia Square a major point of interest in the city.
Стара Градска Куќа
Most of Skopje 2014 consists of original buildings but some, like the Old City Hall, are reconstructions of buildings lost in the 1963 earthquake. The Old City Hall is under construction and will have the same appearance, although it is being built in a different location on the square than the original.
Warrior on a Horse
This grand fountain and statue may be the main symbol of the entire Skopje 2014 project. Placed in the centre of the square, it consists of a 10 m (33 ft) column atop which stands a 14.5 m (48 ft) tall bronze statue of Alexander on his horse. At the base are eight bronze soldiers and at the edges of the fountain pool are eight bronze lions.
It's where Macedonia Street meets Macedonia Square. The monument depicts Tsar Samuel sitting on a throne holding a scepter. It stands 9 m (28 ft) high.
Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, born in Tauresium just outside Skopje, is depicted sitting on a throne on top of a pedestal. The monument is at the north side of the square, near the river.
Мост на Уметноста
A pedestrian bridge across the Vardar, the Art Bridge runs from the cafes east of Macedonia Square to the Financial Police Building. The bridge contains 29 sculptures of noted North Macedonian musicians and artists.
Мост на Цивилизации во Македонија
Another new pedestrian bridge across the Vardar, the Bridge of Civilisations contains 28 sculptures of individuals of the various civilisations that have existed in Macedonia.
Between the new buildings for the Agency for Electronic Communications and the Financial Police on the river is Mother Teresa Square. Fronting it are the boldly modern Macedonian Philharmonic and the Macedonian Opera and Ballet building.
Порта Македонија
A triumphal arch built in 2011 to commemorate 20 years of Macedonian independence. The 21 m (69 ft) arch contains marble reliefs on its exterior depicting various scenes from Macedonian history. It has interior rooms as well as an elevator to the observation deck. Access to the deck is included in the ticket price at the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle.
Плоштад ВМРО
A square anchored by the new white neoclassical VMRO building. Fans of the Skopje 2014 project will admire this building. It has a taller tower section attached to the south side. The center of the square contains a lion sculpture atop a white column within a white fountain.
Феудална Кула
A 14-m-high residential tower from the 17th century, this is the oldest building on this side of the Vardar in central Skopje. Built for defense with 1.5-m-thick walls, a high door, and small windows on the lower floors. Today it serves as a souvenir shop and you can enter and see it from the inside.
Собрание на Република Македонија
Built in 1933 by Viktor Hudak in modernistic style. In the 2010s, large glass domes were incorporated onto the building's roof. A large equestrian statue of Nikola Karev, president of the historical Kruševo Republic, stands directly in front of the building.
Парк Жена Борец
This park sits directly across Parliament and contains many new memorials. One is to the Fall Soldiers of Macedonia, a white monument and fountain consisting of many pillars. Another is to the Anti-Fascists Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia, which consists of the individuals involved in the assembly sitting at a table. Other includes those of Kuzman Josifovski-Pitu, the Defenders of Macedonia, and the Founders of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation.
Влада на Република Македонија
Built in a modern style, it received a complete makeover in the early 2010s transforming the complex into a white neoclassical style.
Дебар Маало
Skopje's Bohemian neighbourhood. It was settled by displaced Macedonians from the Debar region in western Macedonia in the early 1920s. The individuals from this part of North Macedonia are known for their building skills (Mijaks) and this can be seen in the Debar Maalo area. Today, the neighbourhood consists of tree-lined streets and countless restaurants, bars, and cafes. It is also home to some of the highest property values in the city.
Црква „Рождество на Пресвета Богородица“
The first church here was built in 1835 and was the cathedral church of the city. Its iconostasis was finished in 1842. On April 7, 1944, the church was burned down by fascists. It was rebuilt in the same design in 2008. It features many arch designs on its exterior and a distinctive bell tower. The interior is mostly white with large chandeliers.
Црква „Св. Константин и Елена“
The original church was demolished in 1970 to make room for the City Shopping Center. A new church is under construction in a different area. It is not being built in its original, more simple appearance. Rather, it is being built in the Byzantine style with gold-capped domes.
Храм „Св. Климент Охридски“
After Virgin Mary Cathedral was burned by Fascists at the end of World War II and with St. Demetrius Church being unable to accommodate enough people, building of a new cathedral dedicated to St Clement of Ohrid started in 1972. The architect was Slavko Brezoski, and it is a bold and contemporary interpretation of Orthodox architecture. The Jesus Pantocrator fresco painted in the main dome covers area of 70 m² and his eye is 1.5 m long. The cathedral also has a clock tower.
Музеј на Археологија
The Museum of Archaeology, in the new Greek revival building fronting the Vardar, houses a collection of over 6,000 pieces. Each of the three floors hold two sections. Much of the upper floors exhibits things like pottery and necklaces. The ground floor exhibits, on the southeast half, a coin collection starting from ancient times and, on the northwest half, a collection of statues and busts recovered from various sites in North Macedonia. One of the most significant pieces is the statue of Venus found at nearby Scupi in superb condition.
Музеј на македонската борба
Take a tour and have the guide walk you through this museum that chronicles the history of the struggle of those in North Macedonia in achieving an independent state, starting in Ottoman times through the creation of the Republic of Macedonia in the early 1990s. It contains countless wax figures of the individuals involved on all sides of the struggle. The entrance hall is nicely decorated with stained glass ceilings. The museum opened in 2011 to commemorate 20 years of Macedonian independence.
Меморијален центар на холокаустот на Евреите од Македонија
The Holocaust Museum sits behind the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle in what was Skopje's Jewish Quarter until the residents were deported in the Holocaust. The museum commemorates the 7,148 Macedonian Jews killed with a variety of exhibits such as a wagon used to transport some of them to Treblinka.
Спомен Куќа на Мајка Тереза
Mother Teresa was born and lived in Skopje until she was 18. Her original house is no longer standing, but there is a tranquil modern chapel—architecturally remarkable in that it's a jumble of cubes, stone walls, and shiny mirrored glass, as if it's a real life interpretation of Escher's works, and, like everything built in Skopje in modern times, utterly kitschy—and interpretive museum centre on the site.
Стара железничка станица
The Old Railway Station stands half-ruined as a monument to the earthquake of 1963. The clock on the exterior remains fixed on the time it stopped working during the earthquake. It was built in 1938 by Velimir Gavrilovik in a modern style with Byzantine decoration. Today it houses an exhibition gallery and a small city museum on two floors. Its most important piece is the 7,000-year-old Adam of Govrlevo, a Neolithic sculpture depicting a sitting male body.
A "free" walking tour of the major sites in Centar and the Old Town. The tour lasts about 3 hours.
Graffiti Art Gallery
A nice graffiti wall.
Градски Парк
A large green area in the center of Skopje. A part of it is a museum, with several monuments within. It is a nice place to go for recreation, as there are pathways around the small lakes, tennis courts, the children’s amusement park, cafes, restaurants, etc. The city zoo and stadium are also within the park. In the summer, Skopje's nightlife concentrates on the nightclubs in this park.
Македонска филхармонија
Part of the Skopje 2014 project, but notable for having bold modern architecture instead of neoclassical. It was built to have excellent acoustics and features concerts regularly.
City Stadium Skopje
The largest stadium in the country with a capacity of over 33,000. Mostly used for football, it is home to FK Vardar and FK Rabotnički (both in the Macedonian First League) and the North Macedonia national football team. It first opened in 1947 but has been expanded a few times over its life, most significantly in 2011. The stadium is now world-class and occasionally hosts concerts.
The most inexpensive fast food restaurant in the city. Not fancy, just food.
Пелистер
On Macedonia Square, Pelister is in one of the buildings to have received a neoclassical facade giving it a Parisian cafe look. It offers traditional cuisine, pasta, and pizza. While it is pricier than other restaurants in the city, it is still cheap by European standards. Service and quality are excellent.
One of Skopje's best Italian restaurants.
While you don't have much of a choice when it comes to Asian cuisine in Skopje, Peking Garden's food is at least as good as what you'd typically find in Europe.
Very decent place for vegan burgers. They are quite delicious, made with vegan paddies and hummus. They also serve freshly made juice. A welcoming alternation from the often heavy hearty Balkan food.
Under the slopes of Vodno mountain.
Intimate and pleasant place by the Vardar river.
Recognized as one of the best restaurants in North Macedonia for more than a decade. Nice selection of local wine and food. Free Wi-Fi
Delicious snacks: taco chips with melted cheese, fried chicken wings fresh salads, pizza, warm sandwiches, or some homemade sweets. Offers a large variety of beer on draught.
Known for its traditional cuisine, wines, and rakija (brandy).
Authentic kafana (Macedonian restaurant), among the oldest in the city.
Traditional cuisine.
One of the best seafood spots in the city.
Authentic Macedonian food.
Cool place to have a drink, in the morning (coffee) or at night. The owner speaks English and will hang out with you to make sure you're taken care of.
A cocktail bar.
Eat the peanuts and throw the shells on the floor.
Coffee, drinks, cocktails. LGBT friendly.
Popular rock bar, considered among the best in the country.
New popular bar with young locals, not posh, but friendly.
Irish Pub St. Patrick
Decent bar and restaurant, sociable atmosphere.
Chill and open air bar and coffee place.
KRUG
A genuine neighborhood rock bar rather than a touristy night life spot.
Also called "Ferialen Dom" or "Mladinski Hotel". Five minutes from the bus/train station. It has dorms and privates, but the privates are organised more like a hotel, i.e. boxy rooms off a corridor. At €50 for a small twin ensuite room, with breakfast, this is not the best value for money
Very nice small hotel with dormitories and a few rooms, kitchen, clean bathrooms and toilets, free Wi-Fi, and a balcony.
Small and cozy place 3 minutes walking distance from the international bus and train station, and 5 minutes from the center of Skopje. Near Shanti Hostel there are large super markets, bars, clubs, theatre, a swimming pool, shopping malls, change office and ATM.
The top floor of an office building. Very nice rooms, friendly staff, and an open air balcony with an excellent view to Square Macedonia and the stone bridge. Rooms with air-con and TV.
Next to the river, at the end of stretch that has all the bars and restaurants which are great in the summer.
UH Skopje
Business hotel.
On Orce Nikolov Boulevard north of Macedonia Square.
5-star hotel. The rooms and suites, many with superb views of the Vardar River, Stone Bridge, Square Macedonia with modern city, Fortress Kale, Old City with churches and mosques, are spacious and luxurious, giving an extremely comfortable and elegant feel.
The only Marriott in Southeast Europe opened in Skopje in 2016. It stands imposingly on Macedonia Square in a new white, neoclassical-style building. This hotel is much more expensive than others in the area but still not too pricey by European standards.
The city's oldest shopping centre. It is partially open-air and sits just east of Macedonia Square on the Vardar. It was made in the 1970s by Zivko Popovski. It includes cafes, restaurants, bars, banks, shops, and even has a bowling court.
It is in one of the busiest thoroughfares in Skopje. In includes many shops and boutiques.
If you are looking for an American-looking mall, this is where you'll want to go. It has shops, restaurants, cafes and cinema.
Another American-looking mall that is part of the Vero network. Very spacious with a huge supermarket, a few restaurants and cafes, the huge Jumbo shop (Target-like), and all kinds of small shops for clothing, accessories, T-Mobile/T-Home, ONE and VIP salons etc. It has good parking.
Lots of high quality fashion stores and very interesting structure, like a labyrinth.
Zelen pazar
An authentic farmers market less overrun by tourists and therefore much more decent prices and stall personnel. You can also find homemade spirits here and a few other shops.
By car
Many major boulevards lead to Centar. From the west, Ilinden, Partizanski Odredi, and Mitropolit Teodosij Gologanov can be used.
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