Skopje, North Macedonia

Geography | Localities and villages | Economy | Firms and activities | Employment | Health | Education | Media | Sport | Transport | Rail and coach stations | Transport : Public : Air | Cultural institutions | Culture : Museums | Architecture | Festivals | Culture : Nightlife

🇲🇰 Skopje is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.

Scupi is attested for the first time in the second century CE as a city in Roman Dardania. When the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in 395 AD, Scupi came under Byzantine rule from Constantinople. During much of the early medieval period, the town was contested between the Byzantines and the Bulgarian Empire, whose capital it was between 972 and 992.

From 1282, the town was part of the Serbian Empire, and acted as its capital city from 1346 to 1371. In 1392, Skopje was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, who called it Üsküb (اسکوب). The town stayed under Ottoman control for over 500 years, serving as the capital of the pashasanjak of Üsküp and later the Vilayet of Kosovo. In 1912, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbia during the Balkan Wars. During the First World War the city was seized by the Kingdom of Bulgaria, and, after the war, it became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Yugoslavia as the capital of Vardarska Banovina. In the Second World War the city was again captured by Bulgaria and in 1945 became the capital of SR Macedonia, a federated state within the Yugoslavia. The city developed rapidly, but this was interrupted in 1963 when it was hit by a disastrous earthquake.

Skopje is located on the upper course of the Vardar River, and is located on a major north–south Balkan route between Belgrade and Athens. It is a centre for metal-processing, chemical, timber, textile, leather, and printing 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. Ten municipalities form the city as well as many other less urbanised and rural settlements some of which are located 20 km away from the city itself in the larger metropolitan area.

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Geography Skopje is in the north of the country, in the centre of the Balkan peninsula, and halfway between Belgrade and Athens. The city was built in the Skopje valley, oriented on a west–east axis, along the course of the Vardar river, which flows into the Aegean Sea in Greece. The valley is approximately 20 km (12 mi) wide 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 the Serava, a small river which comes from the North. In its administrative boundaries, the City of Skopje stretches for more than 33 km (21 mi), but it is only 10 km (6.2 mi) wide.

Skopje is approximately 245 m above sea level and covers 571.46 km². The urbanized area only covers 337 km2, with a density of 65 inhabitants per hectare. Skopje, in its administrative limits, encompasses many villages and other settlements, including Dračevo, Gorno Nerezi and Bardovci. According to the 2021 census, the City of Skopje itself comprised 422,540 inhabitants and 526,502 within administrative limits.

The City of Skopje reaches the Kosovo border to the north-east. Clockwise, it is also bordered by the municipalities of Čučer-Sandevo, Lipkovo, Aračinovo, Ilinden, Studeničani, Sopište, Želino and Jegunovce.

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Localities and villages Outside of the urban area, the City of Skopje encompasses many small settlements. Some of them are becoming outer suburbs, such as Čento, on the road to Belgrade, which has more than 23,000 inhabitants, and Dračevo, which has almost 20,000 inhabitants. Other large settlements are north of the city, such as Radišani, with 9,000 inhabitants, whereas smaller villages can be found on Mount Vodno or in Saraj municipality, which is the most rural of the ten municipalities that form the City of Skopje.

Some localities outside the city limits are also becoming outer suburbs, particularly in Ilinden and Petrovec municipality. They benefit from the presence of major roads, railways and the airport, in Petrovec.

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Economy Skopje is a medium city at European level. Being the capital and largest city of North Macedonia, Skopje concentrates a large share of the national economy. The Skopje Statistical Region, which encompasses the City of Skopje and some neighbouring municipalities, produces 45.5% of the Macedonian GDP. In 2009, the regional GDP per capita amounted to US$6,565, or 155% of the Macedonian GDP per capita. This figure is, however, smaller than the one of neighboring Sofia (US$10,106), Sarajevo (US$10,048) or Belgrade (US$7,983), but higher than the one of Tirana (US$4,126).

Because there are no other large cities in the country, and because of political and economical centralization, a large number of Macedonians living outside of Skopje work in the capital city. The dynamism of the city also encourages rural exodus, not only from North Macedonia, but also from Kosovo, Albania and Southern Serbia.

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Firms and activities 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). A large share of the firms deal with trade of goods (9,758), 3,839 are specialized in business and real estate, and 2,849 are manufacturers. Although few in number, large firms account for 51% of the local production outside finance.

The city industry is dominated by food processing, textile, printing and metal processing. In 2012, it accounted for 30% of the city GDP. Most of the industrial areas are in Gazi Baba municipality, on the major routes and rail lines to Belgrade and Thessaloniki. Notably, the ArcelorMittal and Makstil steel plants are there, and also the Skopje Brewery. Other zones are between Aerodrom and Kisela Voda, along the railway to Greece. These zones comprise Alkaloid Skopje (pharmaceuticals), Rade Končar (electrical supplies), Imperial Tobacco, and Ohis (fertilizers). Two special economic zones also exist, around the airport and the Okta refinery. They have attracted several foreign companies, such as Johnson Controls, Johnson Matthey and Van Hool.

As the country's financial capital, Skopje is the seat of the Macedonian Stock Exchange, of the National Bank and of most of the country's banking, insurance and telecommunication companies, such as Makedonski Telekom, Komercijalna banka Skopje and Stopanska Banka. The services sector produces 60% of the city GDP.

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 as local institutions. However, since the 1970s, retailing has largely been modernized and Skopje now has many supermarkets and shopping centres. The largest, Skopje City Mall, opened in 2012. It comprises a Carrefour hypermarket, 130 shops and a cinema, and employs 2,000 people.

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Employment 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.

The unemployment rate for the Skopje Statistical Region was at 27% in 2009, three points under the national rate (30%). The neighbouring Polog Region had a similar rate, but the less affected region was the South-West, with 22%. Unemployment in Skopje mainly affects men, who represent 56% of job-seekers, people between 25 and 44 years old (45% of job-seekers), and non-qualified people (43%). Unemployment also concerns Roma people, who represent 4.63% of the city population but affects 70% of the active population in the community.

The average net monthly wage in Skopje was at €400 in October 2010, which represented 120% of the national figure. The average wage in Skopje was then lower than in Sarajevo (€522), Sofia (€436), and in Belgrade (€440).

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Health Skopje has several public and private hospitals and specialized medical institutions, such as the Filip II Hospital, a psychiatric hospital, two obstetric hospitals, a gerontology hospital and institutes for respiratory and ocular diseases. 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. 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.

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Education Skopje's citizenry is generally more educated than the rest of the country. For one, 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.

Skopje has 21 secondary schools; 5 of which serve as general high-school gymnasiums and 16 vocational schools. The city is also host to several higher education institutions, the most notable of which is Ss. 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. After the country's declaration of independence in 1991, several private universities were brought to existence. The largest private universities in Skopje are European University Skopje with 7 departments and FON University with 9 departments respectively.

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Media 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 daily Dnevnik, founded in 1996, with 60 000 runs per day is the most printed in the country. Also based in Skopje, Večer is pulled 50,000 copies and the state owns one third of its capital, as well as Nova Makedonija, reprinted 20,000 copies. Other major newspapers in Skopje, totally private, are Utrinski Vesnik (30,000 copies), Vest (25,000 copies) and Vreme (15,000 copies). Magazines Fokus (12,000 copies), Start (10,000 copies), and Denes (7,500 copies) also have their headquarters in Skopje.

The city is home of the studios of Macedonian Radio-Television (MRT), the country's public radio and television. Founded in 1966, it operates with three national broadcast channels, twenty-four hours at day. The most popular private television stations are Sitel, Kanal 5, Telma, Alfa TV and AlsatM are another major private television companies. MRT also operates radio stations with national coverage, the private station Skopje's Kanal 77 is the only one to have such a span. Radio Antenna 5 and Metropolis are two other major private stations that have their headquarters in Skopje.

Also, the city boasts big news agencies in the country, both public, as the Media Information Agency, and private, such as the Makfax.

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Sport 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.

The largest stadium remains Toše Proeski Arena. The stadium, built in 1947 and named until 2008, City Stadium Skopje experienced a total renovation, begun in 2009 to meet the standards of FIFA. Fully renovated the stadium contains 33,460 seats, and a health spa and fitness area. The Boris Trajkovski Sports Center is the largest sports complex in the country. It was opened in 2008 and named after former president Boris Trajkovski, who died in 2004. It includes rooms dedicated to handball, basketball and volleyball and host 6,250 seats, a bowling alley, a fitness area and an ice hockey court. Its main hall, which regularly hosts concerts, holds around 10,000 people.

FK Vardar and FK Rabotnički are the two most popular football teams in the city, Vardar plays in the second division, while Rabotnicki plays in the first division. Their games are held at Toše Proeski Arena, like those of the national team. The city is also home to many smaller football clubs, such as: FK Makedonija Ǵorče Petrov, FK Gorno Lisiče, FK Lokomotiva Skopje, FK Metalurg Skopje, FK Madžari Solidarnost and FK Skopje, who play in first, second or third national league. Another popular sport in North Macedonia is basketball, represented in particular by the teams MZT Skopje and Rabotnički. Handball is illustrated by RK Vardar PRO and RK Metalurg Skopje, also the women's team ŽRK Metalurg and ŽRK Vardar. The city co-hosted the 2008 European Women's Handball Championship together with Ohrid, and hosted the 2017 UEFA Super Cup, the match between the two giants of the European football Real Madrid and Manchester United

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Transport Skopje is near three other capital cities, Prishtina (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. Skopje is also at the crossroad of two Pan-European corridors: Corridor X, which runs between Austria and Greece, and Corridor VIII, which runs from the Adriatic in Albania to the Black sea in Bulgaria. Corridor X links Skopje to Thessaloniki, Belgrade and Western Europe, while Corridor VIII links it with Tirana and Sofia.

Corridor X locally corresponds to the M-1 motorway (E75), which is the longest highway in North Macedonia. It also corresponds to the Tabanovce-Gevgelija railway. Corridor VIII, less developed, corresponds to the M-4 motorway and the Kičevo-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 optimized, especially with Albania. This is mainly due to poor infrastructure. As a result, 61.8% of Skopjans have never been to Tirana, while 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.

The first highways were built during Yugoslav period, when Skopje was linked through the Brotherhood and Unity Highway to, what was then, Yugoslav capital Belgrade to North, and Greek border to South.

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Rail and coach stations The main railway station in Skopje is serviced by the Belgrade-Thessaloniki and Skopje-Prishtina international lines. After the completion of the Corridor VIII railway project, currently scheduled for 2030, the city will also be linked to Tirana and Sofia. Daily trains also link Skopje with other towns of North Macedonia, such as Kumanovo, Kičevo, Štip, Bitola or Veles.

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 the main 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.

Skopje coach station opened in 2005 and is built right under the main railway station. It can host 450 coaches in a day. Coach connections reach more destinations than train connections, connecting Skopje to many domestic and foreign destinations including Istanbul, Sofia, Prague, Hamburg and Stockholm.

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Transport: Public 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. Many of the JSP vehicles are red Yutong City Master double-decker buses built by Chinese bus manufacturer Yutong and designed to resemble the classic British AEC Routemaster.

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.

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.

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Transport: Air The airport was built in 1928. The first commercial flights in Skopje were introduced in 1929 when the Yugoslav carrier Aeroput introduced a route linking the city with the capital, Belgrade. A year later the route was extended to Thessaloniki in Greece, and further extended to Greek capital Athens in 1933. In 1935 Aeroput linked Skopje with Bitola and Niš, and also operated a longer international route linking Vienna and Thessaloniki through Zagreb, Belgrade and Skopje. After the Second World War, Aeroput was replaced by JAT Yugoslav Airlines, which linked Skopje to a number of domestic and international destinations until the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.

Nowadays, International Airport Skopje is in Petrovec, some 20 km (12 mi) east of the city. Since 2008, it has been managed by the Turkish TAV Airports Holding and it can accommodate up to four million passengers per year. The annual traffic has constantly risen since 2008, reaching one million passengers in 2014.

Skopje's airport has connections to several European cities, including Athens, Vienna, Bratislava, Zürich, Brussels, Istanbul, London and Rome. It also maintains a direct connection with Dubai and Doha, Qatar.

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Cultural institutions Skopje is home to the largest cultural institutions of the country, such as the National and University Library "St. Kliment of Ohrid", the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the National Theatre, the National Philharmonic Orchestra and the Macedonian Opera and Ballet. Among 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 to contemporary art and young talents.

Skopje has also several foreign cultural centres, such as a Goethe-Institut, a British Council, an Alliance française, an American Corner.

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). Other smaller venues exist, such as the Albanian Theatre and the Youth Theatre. A Turkish Theatre and a Philharmonic hall are under construction.

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Culture: Museums The largest museum in Skopje is the Museum of the Republic of North Macedonia which details the history of the country. Its icons and lapidary collections are particularly rich. The Macedonian Archeological Museum, opened in 2014, keeps some of the best archeological finds in North Macedonia, dating from Prehistory to the Ottoman period. The National Gallery of Macedonia exhibits paintings dating from the 14th to the 20th century in two former Turkish baths of the Old Bazaar. The Contemporary Art Museum was built after the 1963 earthquake thanks to international assistance. Its collections include Macedonian and foreign art, with works by Fernand Léger, André Masson, Pablo Picasso, Hans Hartung, Victor Vasarely, Alexander Calder, Pierre Soulages, Alberto Burri and Christo.

The Skopje City Museum is inside the remains of the old railway station, destroyed by the 1963 earthquake. It is dedicated to local history and it has four departments: archeology, ethnology, history, and art history. The Memorial House of Mother Teresa was built in 2009 on the original site of the church in which the saint had been baptized. The Museum of the Macedonian Struggle is dedicated to the modern national history and the struggle of Macedonians for their independence. Nearby is the Holocaust Memorial Center for the Jews of Macedonia. The Macedonian Museum of Natural History showcases some 4,000 items while the 12-ha Skopje Zoo is home to 300 animals.

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Architecture Although Skopje has been destroyed many times through 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 for modernist experiments in the 20th century, following the 1963 earthquake. In the beginning of the 21st century, it is again the subject of massive building campaigns, thanks to the "Skopje 2014" project. Skopje is thus an environment where old, new, progressist, reactionary, eastern and western perspectives coexist.

Skopje has some remains of Prehistorical architecture which can be seen on the Tumba Madžari Neolithic site. On the other side of the city lie the remains of the ancient Scupi, with ruins of a theatre, thermae and a basilica. The Skopje 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. It consists of 50 arches, worked in cloisonné masonry.

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 the Vardar architectural school which flourished around 1300. Among these churches are the ones around Matka Canyon (St Nicholas, St Andrew and Matka churches). The church of Saint Panteleimon in Gorno Nerezi dates from the 12th century. Its expressive frescoes anticipate the Italian primitives.

Examples of Ottoman Turkish architecture are in the Old Bazaar. Mosques in Skopje are usually simple in design, with a square base and a single dome and minaret. There entrance is usually emphasized by a portico, as on Mustafa 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, while 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 adjoining türbe. Other Turkish public monuments include the 16th-century clock tower, a bedesten, three caravanserais, two Turkish baths and the Stone Bridge, first mentioned in 1469.

The oldest churches in the city centre, the Ascension 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 it is half-buried in order not to overlook neighbouring mosques. 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 by Andrey Damyanov.

After 1912, when Skopje was annexed by Serbia, the city was drastically westernized. Wealthy Serbs built mansions and town houses such as the 1926 Ristiḱ Palace. Architecture of that time is very similar to the one of Central Europe, but some buildings are more creative, such as the Neo-Moorish Arab House and the Neo-Byzantine train station, both built in 1938. Modernism appeared as early as 1933 with the former Ethnographic Museum (today the City Gallery), designed by Milan Zloković. However, modernist architecture only fully developed in Skopje after the 1963 earthquake. The reconstruction of the city centre was partially planned by Japanese Kenzo Tange who designed the new train station. 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, while Janko Konstantinov designed the Telecommunication Centre and the main post office (1974–1989). Slavko Brezovski designed the Church of St. Clement of Ohrid. These two buildings are noted for their originality although they are directly inspired by brutalism.

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 the "Skopje 2014" project in 2010. It made plans to erect a large number of statues, fountains, bridges, and museums at a cost of about €500 million.

The project has generated controversy: critics have described the new landmark buildings as signs of reactionary historicist aesthetics. Also, the government has been criticized for its cost and for the original lack of representation of national minorities in the coverage of its set of statues and memorials. However, representations of minorities have since been included among the monuments. The scheme is accused of turning Skopje to a theme park, which is viewed as nationalistic kitsch, and has made Skopje an example to see how national identities are constructed and how this construction is mirrored in the urban space.

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Festivals The Skopje Jazz Festival has been held annually in October since 1981. It is part of the European Jazz Network and the European Forum of World Wide Festivals. The artists' profiles include fusion, acid jazz, Latin jazz, smooth jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Ray Charles, Tito Puente, Gotan Project, Al Di Meola, Youssou N'Dour, among others, have performed at the festival. Another music festival in Skopje is the Blues and Soul Festival. It is a relatively new event in the Macedonian cultural scene that occurs every summer in early July. Past guests include Larry Coryell, Mick Taylor & the All-Stars Blues Band, Candy Dulfer & Funky Stuff, João Bosco, The Temptations, Tolo Marton Trio, Blues Wire, and Phil Guy.

The Skopje Cultural Summer Festival is a renowned cultural event that takes place in Skopje each year during the summer. The festival is a member of the International 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 the St Petersburg Theatre, the Chamber Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre, Irina Arkhipova, Viktor Tretiakov, The Theatre of Shadows, Michel Dalberto, and David Burgess.

May Opera Evenings is a festival that has occurred annually in Skopje since 1972 and is dedicated to promoting opera among 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 month September, the Young Open Theater Festival (MOT), which was organized for the first time in May 1976 by the Youth Cultural Center – Skopje. 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 the International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts or IETM. 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, always representing theatres from all over the world that present and enhance exchange and circulation of young-fresh-experimental-avant-garde theatrical energy and experience between its participants on one side and the audience on the other.

The Skopje 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.

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Culture: Nightlife Skopje has a diverse nightlife. There is a large emphasis on casinos, many of which are associated with hotels, such as that of the Holiday Inn. Other casinos include Helios Metropol, Olympic, Bon Venon, and Sherry. Among young people the most popular destinations are bars, discos, and nightclubs which can be found in the centre and the City Park. Among the most popular nightclubs are The Loft, Club Epicentar, Stanica 26, Midnight, Maracana, Havana Summer Club, XL Summer Club (former Colosseum Summer Club) where world-famous disc jockeys and idiosyncratic local performances are frequent. In 2010, the Colosseum club was named fifth on a list of the best clubs in Southeastern Europe. Armin van Buuren, Above and Beyond, The Shapeshifters are just some of the many musicians that have visited the club. Nighttime concerts in local, regional and global music are often held at the Toše Proeski Arena and Boris Trajkovski Sports Center. For middle-aged people, places for having fun are also the kafeanas where traditional Macedonian food is served and traditional Macedonian music (Starogradska muzika) is played, but music from all the Balkans, particularly Serbian folk music is also popular. Apart from the traditional Macedonian restaurants, there are restaurants featuring international cuisines. Some of the most popular cafés in Skopje are Café Trend, Izlet, Ljubov, Vinyl, Public Room, Kino Karposh, Krug, Sindkat. The Old Bazaar was a popular nightlife destination in the past. The national 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 the Ottoman cuisine are also served.

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Skopje, North Macedonia 
<b>Skopje, North Macedonia</b>
Image: Adobe Stock stoimilov #293963182

Skopje is rated Sufficiency by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) which evaluates and ranks the relationships between world cities in the context of globalisation. Sufficiency level cities are cities that have a sufficient degree of services so as not to be overly dependent on world cities.

Skopje was ranked #490 by the Nomad List which evaluates and ranks remote work hubs by cost, internet, fun and safety. Skopje has a population of over 474,889 people. Skopje also forms the centre of the wider Skopje metropolitan area which has a population of over 531,400 people. Skopje is ranked #280 for startups with a score of 1.109.

To set up a UBI Lab for Skopje see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Skopje has links with:

🇹🇷 Adana, Turkey 🇹🇷 Ankara, Turkey 🇹🇷 Bağcılar, Turkey 🇷🇸 Belgrade, Serbia 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bradford, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Chesham, England 🇩🇿 Chlef, Algeria 🇷🇴 Craiova, Romania 🇫🇷 Dijon, France 🇩🇪 Dresden, Germany 🇹🇷 Esenyurt, Turkey 🇹🇷 Istanbul, Turkey 🇮🇹 Lecce, Italy 🇸🇮 Ljubljana, Slovenia 🇹🇷 Manisa, Turkey 🇩🇪 Nuremberg, Germany 🇺🇸 Pittsburgh, USA 🇲🇪 Podgorica, Montenegro 🇭🇷 Pula, Croatia 🇫🇷 Roubaix, France 🇧🇦 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇪🇬 Suez, Egypt 🇺🇸 Tempe, USA 🇦🇱 Tirana, Albania 🇮🇹 Turin, Italy 🇧🇪 Waremme, Belgium 🇭🇷 Zagreb, Croatia 🇪🇸 Zaragoza, Spain
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license | GaWC | Nomad | StartupBlink

Antipodal to Skopje is: -158.638,-42.007

Locations Near: Skopje 21.3622,42.0068

🇲🇰 Karpoš 21.4,42 d: 3.2  

🇲🇰 Centar 21.425,41.995 d: 5.4  

🇲🇰 Čair 21.433,42 d: 5.9  

🇲🇰 Kisela Voda 21.441,41.98 d: 7.2  

🇲🇰 Gazi Baba 21.46,42.003 d: 8.1  

🇲🇰 Aerodrom 21.467,41.983 d: 9  

🇲🇰 Kumanovo 21.716,42.136 d: 32.5  

🇲🇰 Tetovo 20.967,42 d: 32.7  

🇽🇰 Ferizaj 21.167,42.367 d: 43.1  

🇽🇰 Gjilan 21.467,42.45 d: 50  

Antipodal to: Skopje -158.638,-42.007

🇵🇫 Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 17160.9  

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 17224.2  

🇦🇸 Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 16720.8  

🇼🇸 Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 16636.8  

🇺🇸 Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 13141.1  

🇺🇸 Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 13036.5  

🇺🇸 Maui County -156.617,20.868 d: 13020.7  

🇺🇸 Kahului -156.466,20.891 d: 13017.6  

🇺🇸 Wailuku -156.505,20.894 d: 13017.4  

🇺🇸 Honolulu -157.85,21.3 d: 12975.2  

Bing Map

Option 1