Last Updated on 27/12/2023 by kami
Skopje was probably the weirdest city I’ve ever been to. I loved it and had a wonderful time there but during my whole visit I just couldn’t believe how crazy it is, how hard it tries to be something it is not, how nothing fits there. I was walking around speechless, with eyes wide open and kept thinking that Skopje must be every architect’s nightmare. However, what impressed me the most was not the kitsch modern architecture colliding with buildings from the ’80s but the overwhelming number of odd-looking monuments…
Skopje was badly destroyed during the earthquake in 1963, 80% of the city was damaged back then. Now colourful yet broken tiles spread all over the place remind of this tragic events that have changed the city forever. In 2010 the new project, supported and financed by the Macedonian Government, was launched. The aim of it is to give Skopje a new, more classical look by the end of 2014. You can find out more about the project when googling “Skopje 2014”. When I visited the North Macedonian capital in November 2014 a lot of works were still under construction and the main square of the city was partly closed to the pedestrians…
One of the main purposes of the project, besides brand new neoclassical buildings, were monumental monuments showing some of the most important people for North Macedonia. There’s Alexander the Great, Mother Theresa (did you know she was born in Skopje?) or Justinian I just to name few. But besides the well known figures there are also monuments that confused me a lot and even if I tried really hard to understand their meaning I failed big time. I’m talking about shopaholic girls, dog with the crown or swimmers jumping into the Vardar River…
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I really wish to know how many monuments exactly are in Skopje but it’s not so easy to count them. There were places where, from the point I was standing in, I could count some 20 monuments around me. The Art Bridge itself has 29 sculptures of well known North Macedonian artists and musicians! I felt so overwhelmed by most of these monuments and I really am wondering what the architect and people approving this project were really thinking. But on the other hand – the crazy architecture of Skopje makes the city so unique and well worth a visit! Just take a look!
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10 Comments
goliathon
05/05/2015 at 16:12i think they are cool and yes i would like to visit this amazing city! :D :D
kami
07/01/2016 at 23:43fingers crossed you will!
Adri T
06/01/2016 at 19:24I loved Macedonia, but definitely liked Ohrid more than Skopje.
I had the same feelings (just prepping a post about it now and I’m a little double-sided about the city), it was weird to see how hard they were pushing Alexander the Great everywhere (and not only :) )
But your photos are just amazing! :)
kami
07/01/2016 at 23:54I can’t really compare Ohrid and Skopje but they both were really amazing! I’m hoping to see more of Macedonia next month, I’m really intrigued by the country!
Skopje is just so weird! but I really enjoyed this quirkiness there! Even if I didn’t fully understand it ;)
and thank you!!
Valentin
03/05/2018 at 21:07I was in Skopje last weekend. And I like this kind of weirdness. Today maybe it seems ugly, but in hundred years, it could become a symbol of Skopje.
Can you imagine that Eifell tower in Paris was also considered (by residents in that time)something weird and ugly. And now nobody can imagine Paris without it.
kami
12/05/2018 at 11:26I have to agree with you as the modern architecture is what kind of distinguish Skopje. But at the same time – do you think it will survive 100 or more years? I’m honestly not that sure…
konstantinos Lenis
26/08/2018 at 10:53I have to mention, that sculpures like Alexander the Great, and his father Fillipos II, are shame to be in this kitchy surrounding….The Skopjians want to constract a history of the past that they werent inside…..they are Slavs who came to this region in the 6th century…..1000 years after the Greek macedonian Kingdom of Fillipos and his son Alexander……The Skopjie, the real town history is the Old bazzar of the Ottoman empire and thats the reality…the history speaks its self inside their archeological museum….
kami
14/09/2018 at 13:14Thank you for your valuable input. Regards.
David Golber
20/08/2022 at 20:54Next time you in Skopje, go into the church Sveti Spas (in the old carsija, the old market area. Slow down and look look look at the carved ikonostas.
kami
22/08/2022 at 08:30I’ve been there during my other trips to Skopje, what a beautiful place this is!