Skopje

Skopje is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia, located in the northern part of the country on the Vardar River, in the Skopje Basin beneath the western slopes of Vodno Mountain. It serves as the country’s political, cultural, and economic center, hosting government institutions, universities, museums, and a busy urban life. The city’s population is about half a million people.

Historically, Skopje has been a crossroads since antiquity, known in Roman times as Scupi, and later shaped by Byzantine and Ottoman rule. It grew as a regional urban center under the Ottoman Empire and became the capital of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia within Yugoslavia after World War II. A major earthquake in 1963 destroyed large parts of the city and led to a wide reconstruction program that reshaped its modern layout.

Key landmarks include the Old Bazaar, one of the largest and best-preserved bazaar districts in the Balkans; the Stone Bridge over the Vardar; and Kale Fortress on a hill overlooking the city. The urban core also contains the National Theatre, several museums, and the Holocaust Memorial Center. In the 2010s, government-led projects known as Skopje 2014 added neoclassical buildings and statues, shaping the city’s contemporary identity.

Skopje is a regional transport hub with Skopje International Airport and railway connections. The city hosts Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje and other higher-education institutions. The economy centers on services, administration, retail, and light industry. The surrounding region offers recreational areas along the Vardar and on Vodno Mountain.