Po redaktohet Skopje

{{short description|Capital of North Macedonia}}
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{{Use British English|date=May 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                     = Skopje
| official_name            = City of Skopje
| native_name              = {{native name|mk|Скопје|italics=off}}<br />{{native name|sq|Shkup}}
| settlement_type          = [[Capital city]]
| translit_lang1           = 
| image_skyline            = {{photomontage
| photo1a = Goce Delčev Bridge (42230632835).jpg
| photo2a = СК Old Bridge, Skopje (33745349220).jpg
| photo2b = Куршумли Ан (Стара Скопска чаршија).jpg
| photo3a = Iglesia de San Clemente, Skopie, Macedonia del Norte, 2014-04-17, DD 03.jpg
| photo3b = Поглед кон Сули Ан и Старата скопска чаршија.JPG
| photo4a = Antigua estación de ferrocarril, Skopie, Macedonia, 2014-04-17, DD 15.JPG
| spacing = 2
| border = 0
| color = #F2F2F2
| size = 280
}}
| imagesize                = 280px
| image_caption            = {{small|From top, clockwise: View over central Skopje from [[Skopje Fortress]] (''Kale''), [[Kuršumli An]], [[Old Bazaar, Skopje|Old Bazaar]], [[Museum of the City of Skopje|Old Railway Station]], [[Church of St. Clement of Ohrid]], [[Stone Bridge (Skopje)|Stone Bridge]].}}
| image_flag               = Flag of City of Skopje.svg
| flag_link                = Flag of Skopje
| image_shield             = Coat of arms of Skopje.svg
| shield_link              = Coat of arms of Skopje
| mapsize                  = 230px
| map_caption              = Location of Skopje in North Macedonia
| pushpin_map              = North Macedonia#Balkans#Europe
| pushpin_relief           = 1
| coordinates              = {{Coord|41|59|46|N|21|25|54|E|type:city_region:MK-85|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type         = Country
| subdivision_name         = {{flag|North Macedonia}}
| subdivision_type1        = [[Statistical Regions of North Macedonia|Region]]
| subdivision_name1        = [[Skopje Statistical Region|Skopje Statistical]]
| subdivision_type2        = [[Municipalities of North Macedonia|Municipality]]
| subdivision_name2        = [[Greater Skopje]]
| government_type          = Special unit of local self-government
| governing_body           = Skopje City Council
| leader_title             = [[Mayor of the City of Skopje|Mayor]]
| leader_name              = [[Danela Arsovska]] ([[Independent politician|Independent]])<ref>[https://rezultati.sec.mk/en/mayr-sk/r Local Elections 2021 – Mayor of Skopje] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101082844/https://rezultati.sec.mk/en/mayr-sk/r |date=1 November 2021 }}. State Election Commission.</ref>
| area_total_km2           = 571.46
| area_urban_km2           = 337.80
| area_metro_km2           = 1854.00
| elevation_m              = 240
| population_total         = 526,502
| total_type               = Greater Skopje
| population_urban         = 488,103
| population_metro         = 607,007
| population_as_of         = 2021
| population_footnotes     = <ref name="stats2"/>
| population_density_urban_km2 = auto
| population_density_metro_km2 = auto
| population_demonym       = [[wikt:Skopjan|Skopjan]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.yourdictionary.com/skopjan |title=Skopjan dictionary definition &#124; skopjan defined |publisher=www.yourdictionary.com}}</ref>
| timezone1_DST            = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset1_DST          = +2
| postal_code_type         = Postal codes
| postal_code              = МК-10 00
| area_code                = +389 2
| iso_code                 = MK-85
| blank_name_sec1          = Car plates
| blank_info_sec1          = SK
| blank_name_sec2          = [[Köppen climate classification|Climate]]
| blank_info_sec2          = [[Semi-arid climate|BSk]]
| website                  = {{URL|www.skopje.gov.mk/}}
| timezone                 = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset               = +1
}}

'''Skopje''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|k|ɒ|p|j|i|,_|-|j|eɪ}} {{respell|SKOP|yee}}, {{respell|-yay}}, {{small|US also}} {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|k|oʊ|p|-}} {{respell|SKOHP-}};<ref>{{citation |last=Wells |first=John C. |year=2008 |title=Longman Pronunciation Dictionary |edition=3rd |publisher=Longman |page=747 |isbn=9781405881180}}</ref> {{lang-mk|Скопје}} {{IPA-mk|ˈskɔpjɛ||Mk-Skopje.ogg}}; {{lang-sq|Shkup}}) is the capital and [[List of cities in North Macedonia by population|largest city]] of [[North Macedonia]]. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.

The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; remains of [[Neolithic]] settlements have been found within the old [[Skopje Fortress|Kale Fortress]] that overlooks the modern city centre. Originally a [[Paeonia (kingdom)|Paeonian]] city, [[Scupi]] became the capital of [[Kingdom of Dardania|Dardania]] in the second century BC. On the eve of the 1st century AD, the settlement was seized by the Romans and became a military camp.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Syme |first1=Ronald |last2=Birley |first2=Anthony |title=The Provincial at Rome: And, Rome and the Balkans 80BC-AD14 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D5IxWxCgFFwC&q=scupi+dardania+roman&pg=PA129 |publisher=University of Exeter Press |date=1 January 1999 |isbn=9780859896320 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Mócsy |first=András |title=Pannonia and Upper Moesia: A History of the Middle Danube Provinces of the Roman Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6L49AAAAIAAJ&q=scupi+&pg=PA65 |publisher=Routledge & K. Paul |date=1 January 1974 |isbn=9780710077141 |via=Google Books}}</ref> When the [[Roman Empire]] was divided into eastern and western halves in 395 AD, Scupi came under [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] rule from [[Constantinople]]. During much of the [[Early Middle Ages|early medieval]] period, the town was contested between the Byzantines and the [[First Bulgarian Empire|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 Empire|Ottoman Turk]]s, who called it {{lang|ota-Latn|Üsküb}} ({{lang|ota|اسکوب}}).{{Efn|This name was also in use in English for a time.}} The town stayed under Ottoman control for over 500 years, serving as the capital of the [[Sanjak|pashasanjak]] of {{lang|ota-Latn|Üsküp}} and later the [[Vilayet of Kosovo]]. In 1912, it was annexed by the [[Kingdom of Serbia]] during the [[Balkan Wars]].{{sfn|Ramet|2006|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=FTw3lEqi2-oC&pg=PA40&dq=serbia++annexed++1912#v=onepage&q=serbia%20%20annexed%20%201912&f=false 40]}} 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 [[Socialist Republic of Macedonia|SR Macedonia]], a [[federated state]] within the [[Democratic Federal Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]].<ref>John B., Bell, Martin, ''Conflict in the former Yugoslavia: an Encyclopedia'', ABC-CLIO, 1998, p. 270, {{ISBN|0874369355}}.</ref> The city developed rapidly, but this was interrupted in 1963 when it was hit by [[1963 Skopje earthquake|a disastrous earthquake]].

Skopje is on the upper course of the [[Vardar]] River, and is on a major north–south [[Balkans|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. According to the last official census from 2021, Skopje had a population of 422,540 inhabitants in its urban area and 526,502 in ten municipalities that form the city and, beside Skopje, include many other less urbanized and rural settlements some of which are {{cvt|20|km|abbr=in}} away from the city itself or even border the neighbouring [[Kosovo]].<ref name="stats2"/>{{failed verification|date=August 2022}}

== Name ==
{{see also|Names of European cities in different languages: Q-T#S|l1=Other names of Skopje}}
[[File:Skoplje 1912.jpg|thumb|Serbian troops overseeing the city's renaming from "Üsküb" to "Skoplje" following Serbia's annexation of [[Vardar Macedonia]] in 1912]]
The name of the city comes from [[Scupi]], which was the name of an early [[Paeonia (kingdom)|Paeonian]]<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=King |editor-first=Carol J. |title=Ancient Macedonia |date=2017 |publisher=Routledge |page=20}}</ref> settlement (later the capital of [[Kingdom of Dardania|Dardania]] and subsequently a [[Roman colony]]) nearby. The meaning of that name is unknown,<ref>{{cite book |author=Adrian Room |title=Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for Over 5000 Natural Features, Countries, Capitals, Territories, Cities, and Historic Sites |publisher=McFarland |year=2003 |isbn=9780786418145 |page=335}}</ref><ref>John Everett-Heath, The Concise Dictionary of World Place Names, Edition 3, Oxford University Press, 2017, {{ISBN|0192556460}}, Skopje.</ref> but there is a hypothesis that it derives from the Greek {{lang|el|ἐπίσκοπος}}, (lit. "watcher, observer"), referring to its position on a high place, from which the whole place could be observed.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Wilson |editor1-first=Nigel |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece |date=2005 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0415973342 |page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofan0000unse_a6l6/page/663 663] |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofan0000unse_a6l6/page/663}}</ref>

After [[Classical antiquity|Antiquity]], Scupi was occupied by various people and consequently its name was translated several times in several languages. Thus Scupi became "Skopje",<ref name="history">{{cite web |url=http://www.skopje.gov.mk/EN/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=46 |title=History |year=2009 |publisher=City of Skopje |access-date=26 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090512232543/http://www.skopje.gov.mk/EN/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=46 |archive-date=12 May 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and later "Üsküb" ({{lang-ota|اسكوب}}) for the [[Ottoman Empire|Turks]]. This name was adapted in Western languages in "Uskub" or "Uskup", and these two appellations were used in the Western world until 1912. Some Western sources also cite "Scopia" and "Skopia".<ref name="britannica">{{cite EB1911|wstitle= Usküb |volume=27 |page=811 |quote=USKÜB, Uscup, or Skopia (anc. Scupi, Turk. Üshküb, Slav. Skoplye), the capital of the vilayet of Kossovo}}</ref> {{lang|rup|Scopia}} is in fact the name of the city in [[Aromanian language|Aromanian]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://repository.ukim.mk/bitstream/20.500.12188/6782/1/The_war_of_numbers_and_its_first_victim.pdf |title=The War of Numbers and its First Victim: The Aromanians in Macedonia (End of 19th – Beginning of 20th century)}}</ref> Nowadays, the local Albanian population call the city "Shkup" and "Shkupi", the latter being the definite form.{{sfn|Herold|Langer|Lechler|2010|p=29}} This name has evolved from the ancient name ''Scupi'' in agreement with the Albanian phonetic system, the basis of evidence of an earlier Albanian settlement in the area.<ref>{{Cite thesis|last=Curtis|first=Matthew Cowan|title=Slavic-Albanian Language Contact, Convergence, and Coexistence |url=https://etd.ohiolink.edu/apexprod/rws_etd/send_file/send?accession=osu1338406907|publisher=The Ohio State University |year=2012 |page=45|quote=Again the evidence of an earlier Albanian settlement in Macedonian territories relies on the phonological development of particular locations. In Macedonia the names of Ohrid (Alb ''Ohër'') < ''Lychnidus'', Skopje (Mk ''Skopje'', Sr ''Skoplje'', Alb ''Shkup'') < ''Skupi'', and ''Štip'' < ''Astibos'' are best explained by the phonological developments of Albanian (Stanišić 1995: 10–11 and references therein).}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Demiraj|first=Shaban|author-link=Shaban Demiraj|publisher=[[Academy of Sciences of Albania]]|title=The origin of the Albanians: linguistically investigated|isbn=9789994381715|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aXIbAQAAIAAJ|year=2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120114336/https://books.google.com/books?id=aXIbAQAAIAAJ|archive-date=20 November 2020|page=139|quote=The place-name ''Shkup'' is evidenced as ''Scupi-'' in ancient records, as for ex. in ''Itineraria Romana'' 1916 (of the III-IV centuries A.D.)77. ln the Balkan Slavic languages this place-name sounds with initial /''Sko-''/: ''Skopie'', whereas in Albanian the initial /''Shku-''/ in ''Shkup-i'' is a direct reflection of the ancient /''Scu-''/, and this excludes a Slavic intermediation. The regular evolution of ''Scupi'' > ''Shkup'' has also been admitted by Barić ( 1955, p. 49) and Skok78 (before him).}}</ref>

When [[Vardar Macedonia]] was annexed by the [[Kingdom of Serbia]] in 1912, the city officially became "Skoplje" ({{Lang-sr-Cyrl|Скопље}}) and this name was adopted by many languages. To reflect local pronunciation, the city's name was eventually spelled as "Skopje" ({{lang-mk|Скопје}}) after the [[Second World War]], when standard [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]] became the official language of the new [[Socialist Republic of Macedonia]].

== Geography ==

=== Topography ===

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 {{cvt|20|km|abbr=off}} wide<ref name="tourism">{{cite web |url=http://www.macedoniatourism.gov.mk/freeTime.aspx?q=uKZfRLQMSvIy7ig7VCbGlw==#&&hp=L75tfs0nVNv%2bI7mU8aucLg%3d%3d |title=Nature of the region of Skopje |publisher=Tourist office of Macedonia |year=2009 |access-date=26 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914052819/http://www.macedoniatourism.gov.mk/freeTime.aspx?q=uKZfRLQMSvIy7ig7VCbGlw==#&&hp=L75tfs0nVNv%2bI7mU8aucLg%3d%3d |archive-date=14 September 2011}}</ref> 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 {{cvt|33|km|abbr=off}},<ref name="transports">{{cite web |title=Traffic and transport projects |url=http://www.transpower-rp6.org/uploads/media/Skopje_Actual__Traffic_Projects_01.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613112034/http://www.transpower-rp6.org/uploads/media/Skopje_Actual__Traffic_Projects_01.pdf/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 June 2018 |publisher=City of Skopje |year=2008 |access-date=26 February 2011}}</ref> but it is only {{cvt|10|km|abbr=off}} wide.<ref name="figures">{{cite web |title=Figures |url=http://www.skopje.gov.mk/EN/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=33 |publisher=City of Skopje |year=2009 |access-date=26 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721162550/http://www.skopje.gov.mk/EN/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=33 |archive-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Wildflowers of Bardovci12.jpg|thumb|Landscape of the Skopje valley, near Bardovci.]]
Skopje is approximately 245 m above sea level and covers 571.46&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>.<ref name="drisla"/> The urbanized area only covers 337&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>, with a density of 65 inhabitants per hectare.<ref name="nature">{{cite web |url=http://www.parkovi.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=585010091E61F94A93252F30545D68B9 |title=The Study on Wastewater Management in Skopje in the Republic of Macedonia |publisher=Tokyo Engineering Consultants |year=2008 |access-date=19 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115085154/http://www.parkovi.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=585010091E61F94A93252F30545D68B9 |archive-date=15 November 2012}}</ref> Skopje, in its administrative limits, encompasses many villages and other settlements, including [[Dračevo, Skopje|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.<ref name="stats2"/>{{failed verification|date=August 2022}}

The City of Skopje reaches the [[Kosovo]] border to the north-east. Clockwise, it is also bordered by the municipalities of [[Čučer-Sandevo Municipality|Čučer-Sandevo]], [[Lipkovo Municipality|Lipkovo]], [[Aračinovo Municipality|Aračinovo]], [[Ilinden Municipality|Ilinden]], [[Studeničani Municipality|Studeničani]], [[Sopište Municipality|Sopište]], [[Želino Municipality|Želino]] and [[Jegunovce Municipality|Jegunovce]].
[[File:Map City of Skopje en.svg|thumb|center|upright=2|The City of Skopje; its administrative limits are in red]]

=== Hydrography ===
[[File:Skopje X31.jpg|thumb|The [[Vardar]] and the [[Stone Bridge (Skopje)|Stone Bridge]], symbol of the city]]

The [[Vardar]] river, which flows through Skopje, is at approximately {{cvt|60|km|abbr=off}} from its source near [[Gostivar]]. In Skopje, its average discharge is 51 m<sup>3</sup>/s, with a wide amplitude depending on seasons, between 99.6 m<sup>3</sup>/s in May and 18.7 m<sup>3</sup>/s in July. The water temperature is comprised between 4.6&nbsp;°C in January and 18.1&nbsp;°C in July.<ref name="vardar">{{cite web |url=http://www.kuke.com.pl/download.php?id=9 |title=Combined Cycle Co-Generation Power Plant Project, Skopje, Environmental Assessment Report |publisher=TE-TO AD SKOPJE |year=2006 |access-date=6 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090816180417/http://www.kuke.com.pl/download.php?id=9 |archive-date=16 August 2009}}</ref>
[[File:Del od Skopje, 1950ti.jpg|thumb|left|The main river running through the centre of Skopje, c. 1950]] 
Several rivers meet the Vardar within the city boundaries. The largest is the [[Treska]], which is {{cvt|130|km|abbr=off}} long. It crosses the [[Matka Canyon]] before reaching the Vardar on the western extremity of the City of Skopje. The [[Lepenac]], coming from [[Kosovo]], flows into the Vardar on the northwestern end of the urban area. The Serava, also coming from the North, had flowed through the [[Old Bazaar, Skopje|Old Bazaar]] until the 1960s, when it was diverted towards the West because its waters were very polluted. Originally, it met the Vardar close to the seat of the [[Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts]]. Nowadays, it flows into the Vardar near the ruins of [[Scupi]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://star.vest.com.mk/default.asp?id=40399&idg=3&idb=604&rubrika=Revija |title=Одмаздата на Серава |year=2001 |publisher=Vest |author=Risto Ḱorstošev |access-date=6 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131023061721/http://star.vest.com.mk/default.asp?id=40399&idg=3&idb=604&rubrika=Revija |archive-date=23 October 2013}}</ref> Finally, the Markova Reka, the source of which is on Mount [[Vodno]], meets the Vardar at the eastern extremity of the city. These three rivers are less than {{cvt|70|km|abbr=off}} long.<ref name="figures"/>

[[File:Кањон.jpg|thumb|The [[Matka Canyon]] and the [[Treska]], on the western edge of the City of Skopje]]
The City of Skopje incorporates two artificial lakes, on the Treska. The lake Matka is the result of the construction of a dam in the Matka Canyon in the 1930s, and the Treska lake was dug for leisure purpose in 1978.<ref name="figures"/> Three small natural lakes can be found near Smiljkovci, on the northeastern edge of the urban area.

The river [[Vardar]] historically caused many floods, such as in 1962, when its outflow reached 1110 m<sup>3</sup>/s<sup>−1</sup>.<ref name="vardar"/> Several works have been carried since Byzantine times to limit the risks, and since the construction of the Kozjak dam on the Treska in 1994, the flood risk is close to zero.<ref name="kozjak">{{cite web |url=http://www.jasen.com.mk/Default.aspx?id=1703cd5c-b351-44f8-a60d-8108b7a76e5a |title=Lake Kozjak |author=Jasen |year=2010 |publisher=Government of the Republic of Macedonia |access-date=27 February 2011}}</ref>

The subsoil contains a large [[water table]] which is alimented by the Vardar river and functions as an underground river. Under the table lies an [[aquifer]] contained in [[marl]]. The water table is 4 to 12 m under the ground and 4 to 144 m deep. Several wells collect its waters but most of the drinking water used in Skopje comes from a [[karst]]ic spring in Rašče, west of the city.<ref name="nature"/>
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Slalomova trat pod prehradou Treska.jpg|The Treska leaving the canyon.
File:Saraj swimming pool.jpg|The Treska lake.
File:Serava.jpg|The Serava north of the city.
</gallery>

=== Geology ===

[[File:Skopje X90.JPG|thumb|Mount [[Vodno]] as seen from the [[Stone Bridge (Skopje)|Stone Bridge]]]]
[[File:Cave lake (8172274819).jpg|thumb|A cave at the [[Matka Canyon]]]]
The Skopje valley is bordered on the West by the [[Šar Mountains]], on the South by the [[Jakupica]] range, on the East by hills belonging to the [[Osogovo]] range, and on the North by the [[Skopska Crna Gora]]. Mount [[Vodno]], the highest point inside the city limits, is 1066 m high and is part of the [[Jakupica]] range.<ref name="figures"/>

Although Skopje is built on the foot of Mount Vodno, the urban area is mostly flat. It comprises several minor hills, generally covered with woods and parks, such as Gazi Baba hill (325 m), Zajčev Rid (327 m), the foothills of Mount Vodno (the smallest are between 350 and 400 m high) and the promontory on which [[Skopje Fortress]] is built.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.build.mk/docs/GUP-Transport.jpg |title=GUP Transport |publisher=Build.mk |access-date=6 October 2012}}</ref>

The Skopje valley is near a seismic fault between the African and Eurasian [[tectonic plate]]s and experiences regular seismic activity.<ref name="damages">{{cite web |url=http://www.meseisforum.net/1963_skopje.pdf |title=Damaging Effects of July 26, 1963 Skopje Earthquake |author=Jakim T. Petrovski |publisher=Meseisforum |access-date=27 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401004715/http://www.meseisforum.net/1963_skopje.pdf |archive-date=1 April 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> This activity in enhanced by the porous structure of the subsoil.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rad2012.elfak.rs/pdf/presentations/StojanovskaRAD2012.ppt |title=Annual and sesonnal variations of indoor radon concentration in Skopje (Republic of Macedonia), Zdenka Stojanovska, Faculty of Electronic Engeeniring, Nis, Serbia, 2012}}</ref> Large earthquakes occurred in Skopje in 518, 1555 and 1963.<ref name="damages"/>

The Skopje valley belongs to the Vardar geotectonic region, the subsoil of which is formed of [[Neogene]] and [[Quaternary]] deposits. The substratum is made of [[Pliocene]] deposits including [[sandstone]], [[marl]] and various conglomerates. It is covered by a first layer of Quaternary sands and silt, which is between 70 and 90 m deep. The layer is topped by a much smaller layer of clay, sand, silt and gravel, carried by the [[Vardar]] river. It is between 1.5 and 5.2 m deep.<ref name="ohis">{{cite web |url=http://ozoneunit.gov.mk/pops/Ohis.pdf |title=Macedonian Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, OHIS Site Remediation Project Conceptual Design, 2010 |website=ozoneunit.gov.mk |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428174642/http://ozoneunit.gov.mk/pops/Ohis.pdf |archive-date=28 April 2014}}</ref>

In some areas, the subsoil is [[karst]]ic. It led to the formation of canyons, such as the [[Matka Canyon]], which is surrounded by ten caves. They are between 20 and 176 m deep.<ref name="macedonia.co.uk">{{cite web |url=http://www.macedonia.co.uk/client/index1.aspx?idp=modules&page=426 |title=Matka Canyon |website=macedonia.co.uk}}</ref>

=== Climate ===

Skopje has a borderline [[humid subtropical climate]] (''Cfa'' in the [[Köppen climate classification]]) and cold [[semi-arid climate]] (''BSk'').<ref>Baba, A.; Tayfur, G.; Gündüz, O.; Howard, K.W.F.; Friedel, M.J.; Chambel, A: "Climate Change and its Effects on Water Resources: Issues of National and Global Security". NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security. Springer. 2011, XVI, 318p. {{ISBN|978-9400711457}}.</ref><ref>Klement Bergant: "[http://www.seeclimateforum.org/upload/document/climate_change_scenarios_for_macedonia.pdf Climate Change Scenario for Macedonia: Summary] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224907/http://www.seeclimateforum.org/upload/document/climate_change_scenarios_for_macedonia.pdf |date=17 December 2013 }}". University of Nova Gorca, Centre for Atmospheric Research. September 2006.</ref> with a mean annual temperature of {{cvt|13.5|°C|0}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skopje.gov.mk/EN/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=33 |title=Official web-site of Skopje |publisher=Skopje.gov.mk |author=Град Скопје |access-date=23 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721162550/http://www.skopje.gov.mk/EN/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=33 |archive-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Precipitation is relatively low due to the pronounced [[rain shadow]] of the [[Prokletije]] mountains to the northwest, being significantly less than what is received on the Adriatic Sea coast at the same latitude. The summers are long, hot and relatively dry with low humidity. Skopje's average July high is {{cvt|31|°C|0}}. On average Skopje sees 88 days above {{cvt|30|°C|0}} each year, and 10.2 days above {{cvt|35.0|°C|0}} every year. Winters are short, relatively cold and wet. Snowfalls are common in the winter period, but heavy snow accumulation is rare and the snowcover lasts only for a few hours or a few days if heavy. In summer, temperatures are usually above {{cvt|31|°C|0}} and sometimes above {{cvt|40|°C|0}}. In spring and autumn, the temperatures range from {{cvt|15|to|24|C|F|0}}. In winter, the day temperatures are roughly in the range from {{cvt|5-10|°C|0}}, but at nights they often fall below {{cvt|0|°C|0}} and sometimes below {{cvt|-10|°C|0}}. Typically, temperatures throughout one year range from −13&nbsp;°C to 39&nbsp;°C. Occurrences of precipitation are evenly distributed throughout the year, being heaviest from October to December, and from April to June.
{{Weather box
|width = auto
|location= Skopje International Airport (1991-2020)
|metric first= y
|single line= y
|Jan record high C = 19.9
|Feb record high C = 24.2
|Mar record high C = 28.8
|Apr record high C = 32.4
|May record high C = 35.2
|Jun record high C = 41.1
|Jul record high C = 42.8
|Aug record high C = 43.7
|Sep record high C = 37.0
|Oct record high C = 33.9
|Nov record high C = 28.2
|Dec record high C = 22.1
|year record high C = 43.7
|Jan high C= 4.8
|Feb high C= 9.0
|Mar high C= 14.5
|Apr high C= 19.4
|May high C= 24.4
|Jun high C= 29.2
|Jul high C= 32.0
|Aug high C= 32.3
|Sep high C= 26.7
|Oct high C= 20.1
|Nov high C= 12.5
|Dec high C= 5.9

|Jan mean C = 0.2
|Feb mean C = 3.0
|Mar mean C = 7.7
|Apr mean C = 12.4
|May mean C = 17.2
|Jun mean C = 21.7
|Jul mean C = 24.1
|Aug mean C = 24.1
|Sep mean C = 19.0
|Oct mean C = 13.1
|Nov mean C = 6.9
|Dec mean C = 1.8

|Jan low C= -3.3
|Feb low C= -1.6
|Mar low C= 1.9
|Apr low C= 5.7
|May low C= 10.3
|Jun low C= 14.3
|Jul low C= 16.3
|Aug low C= 16.2
|Sep low C= 12.2
|Oct low C= 7.6
|Nov low C= 2.8
|Dec low C= -1.4

|Jan record low C = -25.8
|Feb record low C = -21.8
|Mar record low C = -10.8
|Apr record low C = -5.8
|May record low C = -1.0
|Jun record low C = 3.0
|Jul record low C = 7.0
|Aug record low C = 7.0
|Sep record low C = -2.0
|Oct record low C = -6.4
|Nov record low C = -12.2
|Dec record low C = -22.9
|year record low C = -25.8
|precipitation colour=green
|Jan precipitation mm= 30
|Feb precipitation mm= 29
|Mar precipitation mm= 38
|Apr precipitation mm= 40
|May precipitation mm= 43
|Jun precipitation mm= 54
|Jul precipitation mm= 38
|Aug precipitation mm= 36
|Sep precipitation mm= 34
|Oct precipitation mm= 49
|Nov precipitation mm= 45
|Dec precipitation mm= 48
|year precipitation mm= 483

|Jan humidity= 83
|Feb humidity= 75
|Mar humidity= 68
|Apr humidity= 66
|May humidity= 66
|Jun humidity= 61
|Jul humidity= 56
|Aug humidity= 56
|Sep humidity= 63
|Oct humidity= 74
|Nov humidity= 82
|Dec humidity= 85
|year humidity= 70
|Jan precipitation days= 10
|Feb precipitation days= 9
|Mar precipitation days= 10
|Apr precipitation days= 10
|May precipitation days= 11
|Jun precipitation days= 10
|Jul precipitation days= 7
|Aug precipitation days= 6
|Sep precipitation days= 6
|Oct precipitation days= 7
|Nov precipitation days= 9
|Dec precipitation days= 11
|Jan snow days = 5
|Feb snow days = 5
|Mar snow days = 3
|Apr snow days = 0.2
|May snow days = 0
|Jun snow days = 0
|Jul snow days = 0
|Aug snow days = 0
|Sep snow days = 0
|Oct snow days = 0.1
|Nov snow days = 2
|Dec snow days = 5
|year snow days = 20
|Jan sun = 86.9
|Feb sun = 112.5
|Mar sun = 161.1
|Apr sun = 198.4
|May sun = 245.2
|Jun sun = 276.3
|Jul sun = 323.0
|Aug sun = 305.4
|Sep sun = 247.5
|Oct sun = 188.2
|Nov sun = 114.8
|Dec sun = 79.6
|year sun = 2339
|source 1=Pogoda.ru.net,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pogoda.ru.net/climate2/13586.htm |title=Skopje Climate |publisher=pogoda.ru.net |access-date=11 November 2012}}</ref> [[World Meteorological Organization]] (precipitation days)<ref name=WMO>
{{cite web |url=http://worldweather.wmo.int/090/c00199.htm |title=World Weather Information Service – Skopje |publisher=World Meteorological Organization |access-date=11 November 2012}}</ref>
|source 2 = [[NOAA]] (sun, 1961–1990)<ref name=HKO>{{cite web |url=ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_VI/MC/13591.TXT |title=Climatological Information for Skopje, Macedonia |publisher=[[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] |access-date=10 December 2013}}</ref>
|date=July 2012
}}

=== Environment ===

[[File:Mt. Vodno1.jpg|thumb|Skopje as seen from Mount Vodno. The cable car cables are also visible.]]
The City of Skopje encompasses various natural environments and its fauna and flora are rich. However, it is threatened by the intensification of agriculture and the urban extension. The largest protected area within the city limits is Mount Vodno, which is a popular leisure destination. A cable car connects its peak to the downtown, and many pedestrian paths run through its woods. Other large natural spots include the [[Matka Canyon]].<ref name="nature"/>

The city itself comprises several parks and gardens amounting to 4,361 hectares. Among these are the City Park (Gradski Park), built by the Ottoman Turks at the beginning of the 20th century; Žena Borec Park, in front of the Parliament; the university arboretum; and Gazi Baba forest. Many streets and boulevards are planted with trees.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parkovi.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=585010091E61F94A93252F30545D68B9 |title=Градско Зеленило |publisher=Паркови и Зеленило |access-date=19 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115085154/http://www.parkovi.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=585010091E61F94A93252F30545D68B9 |archive-date=15 November 2012}}</ref>

Skopje experiences many environmental issues which are often overshadowed by the economic poverty of the country. However, alignment of North Macedonian law on European law has brought progress in some fields, such as water and waste treatment, and industrial emissions.<ref name="pol">{{cite web |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/skopje-signals-air-pollution-alarm |title=Pollution Alert in Smog-Bound Skopje |date=13 December 2011 |author=Sinisa Jakov Marusic |publisher=Balkan Insight |access-date=19 October 2012}}</ref> Skopje remains one of the most polluted cities in the world, topping the ranks in December 2017.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Can urban environmental problems be overcome? The case of Skopje–world's most polluted city |first1=Slobodan |last1=Arsovski |first2=Michał |last2=Kwiatkowski |first3=Aleksandra |last3=Lewandowska |first4=Dimitrinka Jordanova |last4=Peshevska |first5=Emilija |last5=Sofeska |first6=Mirek |last6=Dymitrow |date=1 June 2018 |journal=Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series |volume=40 |issue=40 |pages=17–39 |doi=10.2478/bog-2018-0012 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Steel processing, which a crucial activity for the local economy, is responsible for [[soil pollution]] with heavy metals such as lead, [[zinc]] and [[cadmium]], and air pollution with [[nitrogen oxide]] and [[carbon monoxide]].<ref name="nature"/> Vehicle traffic and [[district heating]] plants are also responsible for air pollution. The highest pollution levels usually occur in autumn and winter.<ref name="pol"/>

Water treatment plants are being built, but much polluted water is still discharged untreated into the [[Vardar]].<ref name="nature"/> Waste is disposed of in the open-air municipal landfill site, {{cvt|15|km|abbr=off}} north of the city. Every day, it receives 1,500 m<sup>3</sup> of domestic waste and 400 m<sup>3</sup> of industrial waste. Health levels are better in Skopje than in the rest of North Macedonia, and no link has been found between the low environmental quality and the health of the residents.<ref name="security">{{cite web |url=http://www.arab-hdr.org/publications/other/undp/hdr/2001/macedonia-e.pdf |title=National Report on Human Development |year=2001 |publisher=UNDR |access-date=13 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226090232/http://www.arab-hdr.org/publications/other/undp/hdr/2001/macedonia-e.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2013}}</ref>

== Urbanism ==

=== Urban morphology ===
[[File:GUP Skopje 2002 mal.jpg|thumb|Skopje urban plan for 2002–2020:
<div>
{{Legend|#A42424|City centre}}
{{Legend|#FFA500|Collective housing}}
{{Legend|#FFF48D|Individual housing}}
{{Legend|#5472AE|Industrial areas}}
</div>]]

The urban morphology of Skopje was deeply impacted by the [[1963 Skopje earthquake|26 July 1963 earthquake]], which destroyed 80% of the city, and by the reconstruction that followed.<ref name=damages/> For instance, neighbourhoods were rebuilt in such a way that the demographic density remains low to limit the impact of potential future earthquakes.<ref name=post/>

Reconstruction following the 1963 earthquake was mainly conducted by the Polish architect [[Adolf Ciborowski]], who had already planned the reconstruction of [[Warsaw]] after [[World War II]]. Ciborowski divided the city in blocks dedicated to specific activities. The banks of the [[Vardar]] river became natural areas and parks, areas between the main boulevards were built with highrise housing and shopping centres, and the suburbs were left to individual housing and industry.<ref name="reconstruction">{{cite web |url=http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ruskin/en/home/faculties/alss/deps/law/staff0/home.Maincontent.0014.file.tmp/No7-Skopje.pdf |archive-url=https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20121217074412/http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ruskin/en/home/faculties/alss/deps/law/staff0/home.Maincontent.0014.file.tmp/No7-Skopje.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 December 2012 |title=Rebuilding Skopje |author=Robert Homes |publisher=Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge and Chelmsford |access-date=26 February 2011}}</ref> Reconstruction had to be quick to relocate families and to relaunch the local economy. To stimulate economic development, the number of thoroughfares was increased and future urban extension was anticipated.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kocaeli2007.kocaeli.edu.tr/kocaeli2007/TAM_METIN_NUMARALI-SIRALI-PDF/645-649.pdf |title=Urbanistic aspects of post earthquake reconstruction and renewal – experiences of Skopje following earthquake of July 26, 1963 |year=2007 |publisher=International Earthquake Symposium Kocaeli 2007 |author=Zoran Milutinovic |access-date=24 March 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Skopje SPOT 1114.jpg|thumb|left|Skopje as seen by the [[SPOT (satellite)|SPOT satellite]]. Mount Vodno is visible on the bottom left of the picture.]]
The south bank of the Vardar river generally comprises highrise tower blocks, including the vast Karpoš neighbourhood which was built in the 1970s west of the centre. Towards the East, the new municipality of [[Aerodrom Municipality (Skopje)|Aerodrom]] was planned in the 1980s to house 80,000 inhabitants on the site of the old airport. Between Karpoš and Aerodrom lies the city centre, rebuilt according to plans by Japanese architect [[Kenzo Tange]]. The centre is surrounded by a row of long buildings suggesting a wall ("Gradski Zid").<ref name=post/>

On the north bank, where the most ancient parts of the city lie, the [[Old Bazaar, Skopje|Old Bazaar]] was restored and its surroundings were rebuilt with low-rise buildings, so as not to spoil views of the [[Skopje Fortress]]. Several institutions, including the university and the Macedonian academy, were also relocated on the north bank to reduce borders between the ethnic communities. Indeed, the north bank is mostly inhabited by Muslim Albanians, Turks and Roma, whereas Christian ethnic Macedonians predominantly reside on the south bank.<ref name=reconstruction/>

The earthquake left the city with few historical monuments, apart from the Ottoman [[Old Bazaar, Skopje|Old Bazaar]], and the reconstruction, conducted between the 1960s and 1980s, turned Skopje into a [[modernist architecture|modernist]] but grey city. At the end of the 2000s, the city centre experienced profound changes. A highly controversial<ref>{{cite news |title=The makeover that's divided a nation |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-28951171 |access-date=6 February 2017 |work=BBC News |date=30 August 2014 |last1=Launey |first1=Guy De}}</ref> urban project, "[[Skopje 2014]]", was adopted by the municipal authorities to give the city a more monumental and historical aspect, and thus to transform it into a proper national capital. Several neoclassical buildings destroyed in the 1963 earthquake were rebuilt, including the national theatre, and streets and squares were refurbished. Many other elements were also built, including fountains, statues, hotels, government buildings and bridges. The project has been criticized because of its cost and its historicist aesthetics.<ref name="objections">{{cite web |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/do-not-enter-yet-media-philip-of-macedon-also-in-skopje-s-center |title=Philip of Macedon Statute 'Planned' for Skopje Downtown |year=2010 |publisher=BalkanInsight |access-date=15 March 2011}}</ref> The large Albanian minority felt it was not represented in the new monuments,<ref name="Albanian objections">{{cite web |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/albanian-monuments-to-complement-skopje-2-aa4-project |title=Skopje: Controversy Over Albanian Monuments Continues |year=2010 |publisher=BalkanInsight |access-date=15 March 2011}}</ref> and launched side projects, including a new square over the boulevard that separate the city centre from the [[Old Bazaar, Skopje|Old Bazaar]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dnevnik.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=95A31B3469C5F944B1B1494BF41F31AE |title=Поставен камен-темелник на плоштадот Скендер-бег во Скопје |date=17 January 2012 |publisher=Dnevnik |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119203107/http://www.dnevnik.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=95A31B3469C5F944B1B1494BF41F31AE |archive-date=19 January 2012}}</ref>

Some areas of Skopje suffer from a certain anarchy because many houses and buildings were built without consent from the local authorities.<ref name="eco">{{cite web |url=http://www.skopje.gov.mk/en/images/File/Strategijata%20za%20LER%20na%20angliski.pdf |title=Local Economic Development Strategy of the City of Skopje, period 2006–2009 |year=2006 |publisher=City of Skopje |access-date=26 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414235529/http://www.skopje.gov.mk/en/images/File/Strategijata%20za%20LER%20na%20angliski.pdf |archive-date=14 April 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Skopje X48.JPG|Vapcarov Street, in the city centre.
File:Skopje - Old City (9454038410).jpg|A street in the [[Old Bazaar, Skopje|Old Bazaar]].
File:Towers Karpos4 Skopje.jpg|Highrise housing in Karpoš.
File:Park Aerodrom vo Novo Lisiče 03.JPG|The newly developed neighbourhood of Novo Lisiče, in Aerodrom.
File:Skopje 2014 - Archeological Museum of Macedonia (by Pudelek).JPG|The archeological museum, one of the elements of "[[Skopje 2014]]".
</gallery>

=== Urban sociology ===
[[File:Kapistec.jpg|thumb|Kapištec neighbourhood, developed during the 1970s. Some post-earthquake prefabricated houses can be seen in the foreground.]]

Skopje is an ethnically diverse city, and its urban sociology primarily depends on ethnic and religious belonging. [[Macedonians (ethnic group)|Macedonians]] form 66% of the city population, while [[Albanians in North Macedonia|Albanians]] and [[Roma in North Macedonia|Roma]] account respectively for 20% and 6%.<ref name="stats1"/> Each ethnic group generally restrict itself to certain areas of the city. Macedonians live south of the [[Vardar]], in areas massively rebuilt after 1963, and Muslims live on the northern side, in the oldest neighbourhoods of the city. These neighbourhoods are considered more traditional, whereas the south side evokes to Macedonians modernity and rupture from rural life.<ref name="thiesen57">{{Cite book |author=Ilká Thiessen |title=Waiting for Macedonia: Identity in a Changing World |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2007 |isbn=9781551117195 |page=57}}</ref>

The northern areas are the poorest. This is especially true for [[Topaana]], in [[Čair municipality]], and for [[Šuto Orizari municipality]], which are the two main Roma neighbourhoods. They are made of many illegal constructions not connected to electricity and water supply, which are passed from a generation to the other. Topaana, close to the [[Old Bazaar, Skopje|Old Bazaar]], is a very old area: it was first mentioned as a Roma neighbourhood in the beginning of the 14th century. It has between 3,000 and 5,000 inhabitants. Šuto Orizari, on the northern edge of the city, is a municipality of its own, with [[Romani language|Romani]] as its local official language. It was developed after the [[1963 Skopje earthquake|1963 earthquake]] to accommodate Roma who had lost their house.<ref name="roma"/>

The population density varies greatly from an area to the other. So does the size of the living area per person. The city average was at {{cvt|19.41|m2|2|abbr=off}} per person {{As of|2002|lc=y}}, but at {{cvt|24|m2|0|abbr=off}} in [[Centar municipality (Skopje)|Centar]] on the south bank, and only {{cvt|14|m2|0|abbr=off}} in [[Čair municipality|Čair]] on the north bank. In [[Šuto Orizari municipality|Šuto Orizari]], the average was at {{cvt|13|m2|0|abbr=off}}.<ref name="stats1"/>

=== Localities and villages ===
[[File:Gorno Nerezi 2013 (1).JPG|thumb|[[Gorno Nerezi]], a village on the northern side of Mount Vodno.]]

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, Skopje|Dračevo]], which has almost 20,000 inhabitants.<ref name="dwelling">{{cite web |url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/Publikacii/knigaX.pdf |title=Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Macedonia |year=2002 |publisher=State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia |access-date=16 October 2012}}</ref> Other large settlements are north of the city, such as Radišani, with 9,000 inhabitants,<ref name="dwelling"/> 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.<ref name="region"/>

Some localities outside the city limits are also becoming outer suburbs, particularly in [[Ilinden municipality|Ilinden]] and [[Petrovec municipality]]. They benefit from the presence of major roads, railways and the [[Skopje "Alexander the Great" Airport|airport]], in Petrovec.<ref name="region"/>

=== Pollution ===
[[File:Urban pollution ,Градско загадување.jpg|thumb|Pollution contributors in the area of Skopje]]

Air pollution is a serious problem in Skopje, especially in winter. Concentrations of certain types of [[Particulates|particulate matter]] (PM2 and PM10) are regularly over twelve times the [[World Health Organization|WHO]] recommended maximum levels. In winter, smoke regularly obscures vision and can lead to problems for drivers. Together with India and [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[North Macedonia]] is one of the most polluted places in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/india/articles/delhi-most-polluted-city-in-the-world/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/asia/india/articles/delhi-most-polluted-city-in-the-world/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Delhi the most polluted city in the world |last=Smith |first=Oliver |date=5 November 2019 |website=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Skopje's high levels of pollution are caused by a combination of smoke from houses, emissions from the industry, from buses and other forms of public transport, as well as from cars, and a lack of interest in caring for the environment. Central heating is often not affordable, and so households often burn firewood, as well as used car tyres, various plastic garbage, petroleum and other possible flammable waste, which emits toxic chemicals harmful to the population, especially to children and the elderly.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/skopje-europe-polluted-capital-city-190312092012504.html |title=Inside Skopje, Europe's most polluted capital city |last=Lee and Mickute |first=Joi and Viktorija |date=19 March 2019 |website=Al Jazeera}}</ref>

The city's smog has reduced its air quality and affected the health of many of its citizens, many of which have died from pollution-related illnesses.

An [[Application software|application]] called ''AirCare'' ('MojVozduh') has been launched by local eco activist [[Gorjan Jovanovski]] to help citizens track pollution levels. It uses a [[Traffic light]] system, with purple for heavily polluted air, red for high levels detected, amber for moderate levels detected, and green for when the air is safe to inhale.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://news.itu.int/how-skopje-north-macedonia-is-using-innovative-tech-to-clean-up-air-pollution/ |title=How Skopje is using innovative tech to clean up air pollution |last=ITU |date=5 June 2019 |website=ITU News |language=en |access-date=2 December 2019 |archive-date=2 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202214232/https://news.itu.int/how-skopje-north-macedonia-is-using-innovative-tech-to-clean-up-air-pollution/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> The application relies on both government and volunteer [[sensor]]s to track hourly air pollution. Unfortunately, government sensors are frequently inoperable and malfunctioning, causing the need for more low-cost, but less accurate, volunteer sensors to be put up by citizens. Faults on government sensors are especially frequent when the pollution is measured is extremely high, according to the AQILHC (Air Quality Index Levels of Health Concern).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://aqicn.org/city/macedonia/centar/ |title=Centar, Skopje, Macedonia Air Pollution: Real time Air Quality Index (AQI) |date=2 December 2019 |website=AQICN}}</ref>

On 29 November 2019, a march, organized by the Skopje Smog Alarm [[Activism|activist community]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/skopjesmogalarm/ |title=Skopje Smog Alarm |website=www.facebook.com |language=en |access-date=2 December 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://meta.mk/en/skopje-smog-alarm-asks-for-1-of-the-gdp-for-2018-for-the-protection-of-the-environment/?upm_export=html&lang=en |title=Skopje Smog Alarm asks for 1% of the GDP of 2018 for the protection of the environment |date=7 November 2017 |website=META Mk}}</ref> attracted thousands of people who opposed the government's lack of action in dealing with the city's pollution, which has worsened since 2017, contributing to around 1300 deaths annually.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.telegraf.rs/english/2606068-beijing-is-nothing-compared-to-skopje-air-pollution-is-too-high-four-men-die-each-day-photo |title=Beijing is nothing compared to Skopje – Air pollution is too high, four men die each day |last=J. |first=D. |date=7 February 2017 |website=Telegraf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://meta.mk/en/skopje-smog-alarm-asks-for-1-of-the-gdp-for-2018-for-the-protection-of-the-environment/?upm_export=html&lang=en |title=Skopje Smog Alarm asks for 1% of the GDP for 2018 for the protection of the environment &#124; Meta.mk}}</ref>{{wide image|Скопски смог - photo by Giotto Скопје, Р. Македонија , Skopje, R. Macedonia - panoramio.jpg|1291px|alt=|A panoramic view of the smog in the central area of Skopje}}

== History ==
{{main|History of Skopje}}
{{For timeline}}

{{Quote box |width=25em |align=right |title_bg=#B0C4DE
 |title=Timeline of Skopje <br><small>Historical affiliations</small>
|fontsize=80% |quote={{Noflag|[[Kingdom of Paeonia]]}}, 350–230 BC<br />
{{Noflag|[[Dardanian Kingdom]]}}, 230–28 BC<br />
{{Noflag|[[Roman Empire]]}}, 28–518 AD<br />
{{Noflag|[[Byzantine Empire]]}}, 518–830<br />
{{Noflag|[[First Bulgarian Empire]]}}, 830–1004<br />
{{Noflag|[[Byzantine Empire]]}}, 1004–1093<br />
{{Noflag|[[Grand Principality of Serbia]]}}, 1093–1097<br />
{{Noflag|[[Byzantine Empire]]}}, 1098–1203<br />
{{Noflag|[[Second Bulgarian Empire]]}}, 1203–1246<br />
{{Noflag|[[Empire of Nicaea]]}}, 1246–1255<br />
{{Noflag|[[Second Bulgarian Empire]]}}, 1255–1256<br />
{{Noflag|[[Empire of Nicaea]]}}, 1256–1261<br />
{{Noflag|[[Byzantine Empire]]}}, 1261–1282<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Serbian Empire, reconstruction.svg}} [[Kingdom of Serbia (medieval)|Kingdom of Serbia]], 1282–1346<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Serbian Empire, reconstruction.svg}} [[Serbian Empire]], 1346–1371<br />
{{flagicon image|Royal banner of Branković family.svg}} [[District of Branković]], 1371–1392<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of the_Ottoman_Empire.svg}} [[Ottoman Empire]], 1392–1912<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Serbia (1882–1918).svg}} [[Kingdom of Serbia]] 1912–1915<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Bulgaria.svg}} [[Bulgarian occupation of Serbia (World War I)|Tsardom of Bulgaria]] 1915–1918<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Yugoslavia (1918–1941).svg}} [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]{{refn|group=Note|Officially known as the ''Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes'' until 1929}} 1918–1941<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Bulgaria.svg}} [[Bulgaria during World War II|Tsardom of Bulgaria]] 1941–1944<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Yugoslavia (1943–1946).svg}} [[Democratic Federal Yugoslavia]] ([[Socialist Republic of Macedonia|Democratic Federal Macedonia]]) 1944–1946<br/>
{{flagicon image|Flag of Yugoslavia (1946-1992).svg}} [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] ([[Socialist Republic of Macedonia]]) 1946–1992<br/>
{{flag|North Macedonia}}{{refn|group=Note|See [[Macedonia naming dispute]]}} 1992–present
}}

=== Origins ===

The rocky promontory on which stands the [[Skopje Fortress|Fortress]] was the first site to be settled in Skopje. The earliest vestiges of human occupation found on this site date from the [[Chalcolithic]] ([[4th millennium BC]]).<ref name="kalepre">{{cite web |url=http://www.skopskokale.com.mk/en/prehistory.php |title=Prehistoric Kale |publisher=Archaeological exavations Skopsko Kale |year=2007 |access-date=6 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304134515/http://www.skopskokale.com.mk/en/prehistory.php |archive-date=4 March 2012}}</ref>

Although the Chalcolithic settlement must have been of some significance, it declined during the [[Bronze Age]]. Archeological research suggest that the settlement always belonged to a same culture, which progressively evolved thanks to contacts with [[Balkan]] and [[Danube]] cultures, and later with the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]]. The locality eventually disappeared during the [[Iron Age]]<ref name="kaleant">{{cite web |url=http://www.skopskokale.com.mk/en/antiquty.php |title=Kale in the antiquity |publisher=Archaeological exavations Skopsko Kale |year=2007 |access-date=6 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212053952/http://www.skopskokale.com.mk/en/antiquty.php |archive-date=12 February 2012}}</ref> when [[Scupi]] emerged. It was on Zajčev Rid hill, some {{cvt|5|km}} west of the fortress promontory. At the centre of the Balkan peninsula and on the road between [[Danube]] and [[Aegean Sea]],<ref name="provincial">{{Cite book |title=Provincial at Rome: and Rome and the Balkans 80BC-AD14 |author=Ronald Syme |publisher=Anthony Birley, University of Exeter Press |year=2000 |isbn=9780859896320 |page=130}}</ref> it was a prosperous locality, although its history is not well known.<ref name="provincial"/>

The earliest people in Skopje Valley were probably the [[Triballi]]. Later the area was populated by the [[Paionians]]. Scupi was originally a [[Paionians|Paionian]] settlement, but it became afterwards [[Dardani]]an town.<ref name="history"/><ref>{{Cite book |title=World and Its Peoples: Europe |volume=12 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish Corporation |isbn=9780761478836 |page=1682 |date=September 2009}}</ref> [[Dardani]]ans, who lived in present-day [[Kosovo]], invaded the region around Skopje during the 3rd century BC. ''[[Scupi]]'', the ancient name for Skopje, became the capital of Dardania, which extended from [[Naissus]] to [[Bylazora]] in the second century BC.<ref>''Macedonia yesterday and today'', Giorgio Nurigiani, Publisher: Teleurope, 1967 p. 77.</ref> The Dardanians had remained independent after the Roman conquest of [[Macedon]], and it seems most likely that Dardania lost independence in 28 BC.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-7653/2006/0350-76530637007P.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006211424/http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-7653/2006/0350-76530637007P.pdf |url-status=dead |title=Vladimir P. Petrović, Pre-Roman and Roman Dardania Historical and Geographical Considerations, Balcanica XXXVII, p 10. |archivedate=6 October 2011}}</ref>

=== Roman Scupi ===
[[File:Shy venus statue skopje.jpg|thumb|150px|A "Venus Pudica" found in Scupi, dated from the 2nd century AD<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Folia Archaeologica Balkanica |volume=II |year=2011 |first=Marina Ončevska |last=Todorovska |title=The Status of Venus from Skupi |url=http://periodica.fzf.ukim.edu.mk/fab/FAB_02_(2012)/FAB%2002.22.%20On%C4%8Devska%20Todorovska,%20M.%20-%20The%20Statue%20of%20Venus%20Pudica%20from%20Scupi.pdf |page=355}}</ref>]]

Roman expansion east brought Scupi under Roman rule as a colony of legionnaires, mainly veterans of the [[Legio VII Claudia]] in the time of [[Domitian]] (81–96 AD). However, several legions from the [[Roman province of Macedonia]] of [[Crassus]]' army may already have been stationed in there around 29–28 BC, before the official imperial command was instituted.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1OTgAAAAMAAJ&q=scupi%20dardania |title=The Cambridge Ancient History: The Augustan Empire, 43 B.C.-A.D. 69, 2nd ed., 1996 |last2=Cook |first2=Stanley Arthur |date=1 January 1996 |publisher=University Press |last3=Adcock |first3=Frank Ezra |first1=John Bagnell |last1=Bury |isbn=9780521264303 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Nv6SPRKqs8C&q=scupi |title=The Illyrians |last=Wilkes |first=John |date=9 January 1996 |publisher=Wiley |via=Google Books |isbn=9780631198079}}</ref> The first mention of the city was made at that period by [[Livy]], who died in 17 AD.<ref name="history"/> Scupi first served as a military base to maintain peace in the region<ref name="provincial"/> and was officially named "Colonia Flavia Scupinorum", ''Flavia'' being the name of the [[Flavian dynasty|emperor's dynasty]].<ref name="archeology">{{cite web |url=http://www.archaeology.org/1209/features/scupi_macedonia_roman_colony_bronze_age.html |title=Burial Customs, Death on the Roman Empire's eastern frontier |author=Matthew Brunwasser |publisher=Archaeological Institute of America |year=2012 |access-date=6 October 2012}}</ref> Shortly afterwards it became part of the province of [[Moesia]] during [[Augustus]]'s rule.<ref>''Macedonia – Bradt Travel Guide'', Thammy Evans, Bradt Travel Guides, 2010, {{ISBN|1-84162-297-4}}, p. 117.</ref> After the division of the province by [[Domitian]] in 86 AD, Scupi was elevated to colonial status, and became a seat of government within the new province of [[Moesia Superior]]. The district called [[Dardania (Roman province)|Dardania]] (within Moesia Superior) was formed into a special province by Diocletian, with the capital at [[Naissus]]. In Roman times the eastern part of Dardania, from Scupi to Naissus, remained inhabited mostly by a local population, mainly from [[Thracian]] origin.{{sfn|Papazoglu|1978|p=242}}

The city population was very diverse. Engravings on tombstones suggest that only a minority of the population came from Italy, while many veterans were from [[Dalmatia]], South [[Gaul]] and [[Syria]]. Because of the ethnic diversity of the population, [[Latin language|Latin]] maintained itself as the main language in the city at the expense of [[Ancient Greek|Greek]], which was spoken in most of the Moesian and Macedonian cities.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Pannonia and Upper Moesia |volume=4 |author=András Mócsy |publisher=Routledge |year=1974 |isbn=9780710077141 |page=117}}</ref> During the following centuries, Scupi experienced prosperity. The period from the end of the 3rd century to the end of the 4th century was particularly flourishing.<ref name="archeology"/> A first church was founded under the reign of [[Constantine the Great]] and Scupi became the seat of a diocese. In 395, following the division of the [[Roman Empire]] in two, Scupi became part of the [[Eastern Roman Empire]].<ref name="history"/>

An ancient funeral inscription of the [[Illyrians|Illyrian]] tribe [[Albanoi]] was found in [[Scupi]].<ref>[https://books.google.no/books?id=z0lmAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y Dragojević-Josifovska 1982] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221111171931/https://books.google.no/books?id=z0lmAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y |date=11 November 2022 }}, p. 32</ref>

In its heyday, Scupi covered 40 hectares and was closed by a {{cvt|3.5|m|ft|adj=on}} wide wall.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=5231293251&id=9&prilog=0&setIzdanie=22587 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120525200751/http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=5231293251&id=9&prilog=0&setIzdanie=22587 |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 May 2012 |title=Жителите на Скупи уживале во спа-центри |publisher=[[Nova Makedonija]] |author=Mimoza Petrevska Georgieva |access-date=6 October 2012}}</ref> It had many monuments, including four necropoles, a theatre, thermae,<ref name="archeology"/> and a large Christian basilica.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dnevnik.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=91D0ED79D1994545B51D56D4677B3F81 |title=Откриена ранохристијанска базилика во Скупи |date=30 July 2008 |publisher=Dnevnik |author=Vesna Ivanovsa |access-date=6 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428173510/http://www.dnevnik.com.mk/default.asp?ItemID=91D0ED79D1994545B51D56D4677B3F81 |archive-date=28 April 2014}}</ref>

=== Middle Ages ===
[[File:Tvrdina vo Skopje-Makedonija 79 (5).JPG|thumb|left|[[Skopje Fortress]].]]
[[File:Prvomajska proslava vo Skopje, 1909.jpg|thumb|right|First May Day celebration of the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman period]] in Skopje, 1909]]

In 518, Scupi was destroyed by a violent earthquake,<ref name=damages/> possibly the most devastating the town had ever experienced.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kurir.mk/en/2012/07/26/49-years-after-the-disastrous-skopje-earthquake/ |title=49 Years after the Disastrous Skopje Earthquake |publisher=Kurir |year=2012 |access-date=6 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031145850/http://kurir.mk/en/2012/07/26/49-years-after-the-disastrous-skopje-earthquake/ |archive-date=31 October 2012}}</ref> At that time, the region was threatened by the [[Barbarian invasions]], and the city inhabitants had already fled in forests and mountains before the disaster occurred.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Ancient Illyria: An Archaeological Exploration |author=Arthur Evans |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=2007 |isbn=9781845111670 |page=234}}</ref> The city was eventually rebuilt by [[Justinian I]]. During his reign, many Byzantine towns were relocated on hills and other easily defendable places to face invasions. It was thus transferred on another site: the promontory on which the [[Skopje Fortress|fortress]] stands.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Pannonia and Upper Moesia |author=András Mócsy |publisher=Routledge |year=1974 |isbn=9780710077141 |page=356}}</ref> However, Scupi was sacked by [[Slavs]] at the end of the 6th century and the city seems to have fallen under Slavic rule in 595.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Ancient Illyria: An Archaeological Exploration |author=Arthur Evans |publisher=I.B.Tauris |year=2007 |isbn=9781845111670 |page=241}}</ref> The Slavic tribe which sacked Scupi were probably the [[Berziti]],<ref name="history"/> who had invaded the entire [[Vardar]] valley.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Andrew Rossos |title=Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History |publisher=Hoover Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8179-4882-5 |page=25}}</ref> However the Slavs did not settle permanently in the region that had been already plundered and depopulated, but continued south to the Mediterranean coast.<ref>Ivan Mikulčiḱ, Medieval towns and castles in the Republic of Macedonia, Book 5 of Makroproekt "Istorija na kulturata na Makedonija", [[Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts]], 1996, p. 27.</ref> After the Slavic invasion it was deserted for some time and is not mentioned during the following centuries.<ref name="history"/> Perhaps in the late 7th or the early 8th century the Byzantines again settled at this strategic location. Along with the rest of Upper Vardar valley it became part of the expanding [[First Bulgarian Empire]] in the 830s.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=svPkt-TIHK0C&pg=PA371 |title=History of the Eastern Empire from the Fall of Irene to the Accession of Basil: A.D. 802–867 |publisher=London Macmillan |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-60520-421-5 |pages=371–372 |author=J. B. Bury}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=History of the First Bulgarian Empire |author=Steven Runciman |publisher=LG. Bell & Sons |location=London |year=1930 |page=87 |url=http://www.kroraina.com/knigi/en/sr/sr_2_2.htm |access-date=17 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130709081226/http://www.kroraina.com/knigi/en/sr/sr_2_2.htm |archive-date=9 July 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Coronation of Emperor Dušan, in "The Slavonic Epic" (1926).jpg|thumb|[[Coronation of the Serbian monarch|The coronation]] of emperor [[Stefan Dušan|Dušan]] in Skopje, [[Alfons Mucha]], 1926.]]

Starting from the end of the 10th century Skopje experienced a period of wars and political troubles. It served as Bulgarian capital from 972 to 992, and [[Samuel of Bulgaria|Samuil]] ruled it from 976<ref name="kalemed">{{cite web |url=http://www.skopskokale.com.mk/en/mediaeval.php |title=Medieval Kale |publisher=Archaeological exavations Skopsko Kale |year=2007 |access-date=6 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219235728/http://www.skopskokale.com.mk/en/mediaeval.php |archive-date=19 February 2012}}</ref> until 1004 when its governor Roman surrendered it to Byzantine Emperor [[Basil II|Basil the Bulgar Slayer]] in 1004 in exchange for the titles of patrician and strategos.<ref>([[John Skylitzes|Skylitzes]]-Cedr. II, 455, 13)</ref> It became a centre of a new Byzantine [[Theme (Byzantine district)|province]] called [[Theme of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]].<ref>Byzantine Military Organization on the Danube, 10th–12th Centuries, Alexandru Madgearu, BRILL, 2013, {{ISBN|9004252495}}</ref> Later Skopje was briefly seized twice by Slavic insurgents who wanted to restore the Bulgarian state. At first in 1040 under [[Peter Delyan]]'s command,<ref>{{Cite book |title=A Concise History of Bulgaria |author=R. J. Crampton |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2005 |isbn=9780521616379 |page=22}}</ref> and in 1072 under the orders of [[Georgi Voyteh]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History |publisher=Hoover Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8179-4882-5 |pages=36–37 |author=Andrew Rossos}}</ref> In 1081, Skopje was captured by [[Normans|Norman]] troops led by [[Robert Guiscard]] and the city remained in their hands until 1088. Skopje was subsequently conquered by the Serbian Grand Prince [[Vukan, Grand Prince of Serbia|Vukan]] in 1093, and again by the Normans four years later. However, because of epidemics and food shortage, Normans quickly surrendered to the Byzantines.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cosmovisions.com/Bohemond.htm |title=Bohémond (Marc) |author=Serge Jodra |year=2006 |publisher=Imago Mundi |access-date=24 March 2011}}</ref>

During the 12th and 13th centuries, Bulgarians and Serbs took advantage of Byzantine decline to create large kingdoms stretching from [[Danube]] to the [[Aegean Sea]]. [[Kaloyan of Bulgaria|Kaloyan]] brought Skopje back into [[Second Bulgarian Empire|reestablished Bulgaria]] in 1203<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p_mazcfdpVIC&pg=PA102 |title=Identities and Allegiances in the Eastern Mediterranean After 1204 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |year=2011 |isbn=9781409410980 |editor=Judith Herrin |editor2=Guillaume Saint-Guillain |page=102}}</ref><ref name="John Van Antwerp Fine 1994 175–184">{{Cite book |title=The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-472-08260-5 |pages=175–184 |author=John Van Antwerp Fine}}</ref> until his nephew [[Strez]] declared autonomy along the Upper Vardar with Serbian help only five years later.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-521-81539-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/southeasterneuro0000curt/page/385 385] |author=Florin Curta |url=https://archive.org/details/southeasterneuro0000curt/page/385}}</ref> In 1209, Strez switched allegiances and recognized [[Boril of Bulgaria]] with whom he led a successful joint campaign against Serbia's first internationally recognized king [[Stefan the First-Crowned|Stefan Nemanjić]].<ref name="John Van Antwerp Fine 1994 175–184"/> From 1214 to 1230, Skopje was a part of Byzantine successor state [[Despotate of Epirus|Epirus]] before being recaptured by [[Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria|Ivan Asen II]] and held by Bulgaria until 1246 when the Upper Vardar valley was incorporated once more into a Byzantine state – the [[Empire of Nicaea]].<ref>{{Cite book |author=John Van Antwerp Fine |title=The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-472-08260-5 |page=156 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LvVbRrH1QBgC&pg=PA156}}</ref> Byzantine conquest was briefly reversed in 1255 by the regents of the young [[Michael Asen I of Bulgaria]].<ref>{{Cite book |author=John Van Antwerp Fine |title=The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-472-08260-5 |page=159 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LvVbRrH1QBgC&pg=PA159}}</ref> Meanwhile, in the parallel civil war for the Crown in [[Veliko Tarnovo|Tarnovo]] Skopje [[boyar]] and grandson to [[Stefan Nemanja]] [[Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria|Constantine Tikh]] gained the upper hand and ruled until Europe's only successful peasant revolt the [[Uprising of Ivaylo]] deposed him.

In 1282, Skopje was captured by Serbian king [[Stefan Uroš II Milutin of Serbia|Stefan Milutin]].<ref>{{Cite book |author1=Valentina Georgieva |author2=Sasha Konechni|name-list-style=amp |title=Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia |publisher=Scarecrow Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0810833364 |page=[https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000geor/page/9 9] |url=https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000geor/page/9}}</ref> Under the political stability of the [[Nemanjić]] rule, settlement has spread outside the walls of the fortress, towards Gazi Baba hill.<ref name="kalemed"/> Churches, monasteries and markets were built and tradesmen from [[Venice]] and [[Dubrovnik]] opened shops. The town greatly benefited from its location near European, Middle Eastern, and African market. In the 14th century, Skopje became such an important city that king [[Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia|Stefan Dušan]] made it the capital of the [[Serbian Empire]]. In 1346, he was crowned "Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks" in Skopje.<ref name="history"/> After his death the Serbian Empire collapsed into several principalities which were unable to defend themselves against the Turks. Skopje was first inherited by the [[Lordship of Prilep]] and finally taken by [[Vuk Branković]] in the wake of the [[Battle of Maritsa]] (1371)<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Serbs |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2004 |isbn=978-0631204718 |page=79 |author=Sima M. Ćirković |author2=Vuk Tošić}}</ref> before becoming part of the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1392.<ref name="history"/>

In 1330, Serbian king [[Stefan Dečanski]] mentioned Albanians as being in the district of Skopje and regularly going to the Fair of [[Saint George]] which convened near the city.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Iseni |first1=Bashkim |title=La question nationale en Europe du Sud-Est : genèse, émergence et développement de l'indentité nationale albanaise au Kosovo et en Macédoine |date=25 January 2008 |publisher=P. Lang |location=Bern |isbn=978-3039113200 |page=77 |url=https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/La_question_nationale_en_Europe_du_Sud_E/gAdlqwCm_9sC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=La+question+nationale+en+Europe+du+Sud-Est+:+gen%C3%A8se,+%C3%A9mergence+et+d%C3%A9veloppement+de+l%27indentit%C3%A9+nationale+albanaise+au+Kosovo+et+en+Mac%C3%A9doine&printsec=frontcover}}</ref>

=== Ottoman period ===
Skopje economic life greatly benefited from its position in the middle of [[Rumelia]], the European province of the Ottomans. The [[Stone Bridge (Skopje)|Stone Bridge]], "one of the most imposing stone bridges to be found in Yugoslavia", was reconstructed under the patronage of [[Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror]] between 1451 and 1469.<ref name="jpm">{{cite book |last1=Popovski |first1=Jovan |title=Macedonia |date=1969 |publisher=Turistička štampa |page=66 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=elk9AAAAMAAJ}}</ref> [[Mustafa Pasha Mosque]], built in 1492, is reputed to be "undoubtedly one of the most resplendent sacral Islamic buildings in the Balkans."<ref name="haemus">{{cite news |title=Mustafa Pasha Mosque |url=http://haemus.org.mk/mustafa-pasha-mosque/ |access-date=3 April 2021 |publisher=HAEMUS : Center for scientific research and promotion of culture}}</ref> However all was not rosy, for "in 1535 all churches were demolished by decree of the (Ottoman) governor."<ref name="oao">{{cite encyclopedia |doi=10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.T079129 |entry=Skopje [Lat. Skupi; formerly Turk. Uskup] |encyclopedia=Grove Art Online |year=2003 |title=Skopje}}</ref> Until the 17th century, Skopje experienced a long golden age. Around 1650, the number of inhabitants in Skopje was between 30,000 and 60,000, and the city contained more than 10,000 houses. It was then one of the only big cities on the territory of future [[Yugoslavia]], together with [[Belgrade]] and [[Sarajevo]]. At that time, [[Dubrovnik]], which was a busy harbour, had not even 7,000 inhabitants.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Yugoslavia as History: Twice there was a Country |author=John R. Lampe |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2000 |isbn=9780521774017 |page=34}}</ref> Following the Ottoman conquest, the city population changed. Christians were forcibly converted to [[Islam]] or were replaced by [[Turkish people|Turks]] and [[Jewish people|Jews]].<ref>{{Cite book |author=Andrew Rossos |title=Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History |publisher=Hoover Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8179-4882-5 |page=52}}</ref> At that time, Christians of Skopje were mostly non-converted [[Slavs]] and [[Albanian people|Albanians]], but also [[Republic of Ragusa|Ragusan]] and [[Armenian people|Armenian]] tradesmen.<ref name="demographic">{{cite web |url=http://www.ibu.edu.mk/Skopje%20and%20its%20demograhic%20structure.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200129002827/http://www.ibu.edu.mk/Skopje%20and%20its%20demograhic%20structure.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 January 2020 |title=The City of Skopje and its Demographic Structure in the 19th Century |publisher=International Balkan University |author=Mehmet İnbaşi}}</ref> The Ottomans drastically changed the appearance of the city. They organized the [[Old Bazaar, Skopje|Bazaar]] with its [[caravanserai]]s, mosques and [[Turkish bath|baths]].<ref name="ottoman">{{cite web |url=http://www.see-heritage-download.org/Ottoman_Monuments_EN.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104181001/http://www.see-heritage-download.org/Ottoman_Monuments_EN.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 November 2020 |title=Macedonian Cultural Heritage – Ottoman Monuments |year=2008 |publisher=Unesco Venice|name-list-style=amp |author1=Zoran Pavlov M.A. |author2=Radmila Petkova |access-date=7 October 2012}}</ref> In the cadastral register of 1451-52, the Skopje neighborhood Gjin-ko - (Gjinaj), is mentioned, being named after the medieval Albanian Gjini family. Gjinko and Todori are considered the founders of the neighbourhood, where a mixed Christian Slavic-Albanian anthroponomy was present, with cases of Slavicisation (e.g Paliq'; Pal + Slavic suffix iq).<ref name="Rexha 178">{{cite journal |last=Rexha |first=Iljaz |year=2011 |title=Vendbanimet dhe popullsia albane gjatë mesjetës në hapësirën e Maqedonisë së sotme: Sipas burimeve sllave dhe osmane |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=70066 |journal=Gjurmime Albanologjike: Seria e Shkencave Historike |issue=41–42 |pages=167–218 |postscript=Në defterin kadastral të vitit 1451-52 për Rumelinë, në Shkup ishte regjistruar lagjeja Gjin-ko –(Gjinaj), me emrin e familjes fisnike mesjetare albane, ku në dokumente sllave të shek.XIV, por edhe në defterët osmanë të shek.XV-XIV, permenden 5 vendbanime me emrin Gjinofc në rrthinat e Shtipt, të Kriva Pallankes, të Gostivarit, Tetovës dhe të Dibres si dhe 2 tjera me emrin Gjinofc janë regjitruar në hapësirën në mes Radomirit dhe të Qystendilit në Bullgari,vendbanime këto qe në mesjetë i themeluan vëllezritë e Gjinajve. Në lagjen e sipërpërmendur Gjinko, në radhë të parë ishte regjistruar kryefamiljari Gjin-ko, me profesion (këpuctarë),dhe Todori,i vëllai i tij (Gjinit), siç shihet themelues i kësaj lagje, ndersa më vonë, në këtë lagjë, në vitin 1467 ishte regjistruar djali i tij Marko, i biri i Gjinit, pastaj në mesin e banorëve të tjerë, ishin regjistruar edhe banorë me antroponimi simbiotike krishtere tradicionale arbane: Milesh-a, bostanxhi, Dimitri, i biri i Prençes, Dragati, i biri i Male-s (Malja), Nikolla, i biri i Naneçit (Nano), Jovan i vëllai i tij, Jako i biri i Dodanit (Doda), Stepan, i biri i Andreas, Paliq (Pali) i biri i Stepanit, Nikolla i biri i Drralla, Roza , e vejë.}}</ref>

In 1555, the city was hit by another severe earthquake, collapsing much of the city. The [[Old Bazaar, Skopje|Old Bazaar of Skopje]], the columns of the [[Stone Bridge (Skopje)|Stone Bridge]], and the murals in the upper parts of the [[Church of Saint Panteleimon, Gorno Nerezi]] were all severely damaged.<ref name="Гергова 100">{{cite book |last=Гергова |first=Яна |title=Култът към светци безсребърници в България: образи, вярвания и ритуални практики |publisher=ИК „Гутенберг“ |year=2015 |isbn=978-619-176-046-6 |location=София |pages=100}}</ref> Some modern sources estimate this earthquake to have been a category XII (Extreme) on the [[Modified Mercalli intensity scale]], although others believe this is an overestimate.<ref name="damages" />

The city severely suffered from the [[Great Turkish War]] at the end of the 17th century and consequently experienced recession until the 19th century. In 1689, the [[Hapsburgs]] seized Skopje which was already weakened by a [[cholera]] epidemic.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skopskokale.com.mk/en/turkish.php |title=Kale in the Turkish period |publisher=Archaeological exavations Skopsko Kale |year=2007 |access-date=6 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212054253/http://www.skopskokale.com.mk/en/turkish.php |archive-date=12 February 2012}}</ref> The same day, general [[Enea Silvio Piccolomini (general)|Silvio Piccolomini]] set [[Skopje fire of 1689|fire to the city]] to end the epidemic.<ref name="history" /> It is however possible that he wanted to avenge damages that Ottomans caused in [[Vienna]] [[Battle of Vienna|in 1683]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=10249102423&id=14&setIzdanie=21819 |title=Денот што го турна Скопје во двовековен мрак |publisher=[[Nova Makedonija]] |author=Ognen Čančareviḱ et Goce Trpkovski |access-date=12 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219224633/http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=10249102423&id=14&setIzdanie=21819 |archive-date=19 December 2014}}</ref> Skopje burned during two days but the general himself perished of the plague and his leaderless army was routed.<ref name="Mark Avrum Ehrlich 2009 980">{{Cite book |title=Encyclopedia of the Jewish Diaspora: Origins, Experiences, and Culture |author=Mark Avrum Ehrlich |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2009 |isbn=978-1851098736 |page=980}}</ref><ref name="judah09">{{cite book |last=Judah |title=The Serbs: History, Myth and the Destruction of Yugoslavia |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-15826-7 |page=46 |date=2009}}</ref> The Austrian presence in Macedonia motivated Slav uprisings. Nevertheless, the Austrians left the country within the year and the [[Hajduk]]s, leaders of the uprisings, had to follow them in their retreat north of the Balkans.<ref name="history" /> Some were arrested by the Ottomans, such as [[Karposh's Rebellion|Petar Karposh]], who was impaled on Skopje [[Stone Bridge (Skopje)|Stone Bridge]].<ref>{{Cite book |author=Andrew Rossos |title=Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History |publisher=Hoover Press |year=2008 |page=54 |isbn=978-0-8179-4882-5}}</ref>

After the war, Skopje was in ruins. Most of the official buildings were restored or rebuilt, but the city experienced new [[plague (disease)|plague]] and [[cholera]] epidemics and many inhabitants emigrated.<ref name="demographic"/> [[Ottoman Turkish Empire|The Ottoman Turkish Empire]] as a whole entered in recession and political decline. Many rebellions and pillages occurred in Macedonia during the 18th century, either led by Turkish outlaws, [[Janissaries]] or [[Hajduk]]s.<ref name=rossos08>{{Cite book |author=Andrew Rossos |title=Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History |publisher=Hoover Press |year=2008 |page=55 |isbn=978-0-8179-4882-5}}</ref> An estimation conducted by French officers around 1836 revealed that at that time Skopje only had around 10,000 inhabitants. It was surpassed by two other towns of present-day North Macedonia: [[Bitola]] (40,000) and [[Štip]] (15–20,000).<ref name="population1">{{Cite book |author=Andrew Rossos |title=Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History |publisher=Hoover Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8179-4882-5 |page=70}}</ref>

Skopje began to recover from decades of decline after 1850. At that time, the city experienced a slow but steady demographic growth, mainly due to the rural exodus of Slav Macedonians. It was also fuelled by the exodus of Muslims from [[Serbia]] and [[Bulgaria]], which were gaining autonomy and independence from the Empire at that time.<ref name="history"/><ref name="demographic"/> During the [[Tanzimat]] reforms, [[nationalism]] arose in the Empire and in 1870 a new [[Bulgarian Exarchate|Bulgarian Church]] was established and its separate diocese was created, based on [[ethnic identity]], rather than religious principles.<ref>{{cite book |title=For the Peace from Above: an Orthodox Resource Book on War, Peace and Nationalism |editor=Hildo Bos |editor2=Jim Forest |publisher=Syndesmos |year=1999 |pages=52–53}}</ref> The Slavic population of the bishopric of Skopje voted in 1874 overwhelmingly, by 91% in favour of joining the Exarchate and became part of the [[Bulgarian Millet]].<ref>Църква и църковен живот в Македония, Петър Петров, Христо Темелски, Македонски Научен Институт, София, 2003 г., стр. 105.</ref> Economic growth was permitted by the construction of the Skopje-[[Salonica]] railway in 1873.<ref name="history"/> The train station was built south of the [[Vardar]] and this contributed to the relocation of economic activities on this side of the river, which had never been urbanized before.<ref name="reconstruction"/> Because of the rural exodus, the share of Christians in the city population arose. Some of the newcomers became part of the local elite and helped to spread nationalist ideas<ref name="demographic"/> Skopje was one of the five main centres of the [[Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization]] when it organized the 1903 [[Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising|Ilinden uprising]]. Its revolutionary network in Skopje region was not well-developed and the lack of weapons was a serious problem. At the outbreak of the uprising the rebel forces derailed a military train.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.promacedonia.org/ilpr1968/ilpr1968_6.html#2 |title=Илинденско-Преображенското въстание 1903–1968 – 6 |last=Karloukovski |first=Vassil |website=promacedonia.org}}</ref> On 3 and 5 August respectively, they attacked an Ottoman unit guarding the bridge on the Vardar river and gave a battle in the "St. Jovan" monastery. In the next few days the band was pursued by numerous [[Bashibozuk]]s and moved to Bulgaria.

In 1877, Skopje was chosen as the capital city of the new [[Kosovo Vilayet]], which encompassed present-day [[Kosovo]], northwestern Macedonia and the [[Sanjak of Novi Pazar]]. In 1905, the city had 32,000 inhabitants, making it the largest of the vilayet, although closely followed by [[Prizren]] with its 30,000 inhabitants.<ref name="britannica"/> German linguist [[Gustav Weigand]] described that the Skopje Muslim population of "Turks" or Ottomans (Osmanli) during the late Ottoman period were mainly Albanians that spoke Turkish in public and Albanian at home.<ref name=Hart214>{{citation |last=Hart |first=Laurie Kain |title=Culture, Civilization, and Demarcation at the Northwest Borders of Greece |journal=American Ethnologist |volume=26 |issue=1 |date=February 1999 |page=214 |doi=10.1525/ae.1999.26.1.196 |jstor=647505}} "Aarbakke notes that Weigand says of Skopje that the "Turks" are mostly Albanians who speak Turkish in public and Albanian at home, "but should be regarded as Osmanli" (Aarbakke 1992:10)."</ref> At the beginning of the 20th century, local economy was focused on [[dyeing]], [[weaving]], [[Tanning (leather)|tanning]], [[ironworks]] and wine and flour processing.<ref name="britannica"/>

Following the [[Young Turk Revolution]] in 1908, the Ottoman Empire experienced democracy and several political parties were created.<ref name="history"/> However, some of the policies implemented by the [[Young Turks]], such as a tax rise and the interdiction of ethnic-based political parties, discontented minorities. Albanians opposed the nationalist character of the movement and led local uprisings in 1910 and 1912. During the latter they managed to seize most of Kosovo and took Skopje on 11 August.{{citation needed|date=April 2020}} On 18 August, the insurgents signed the Üsküb agreement which provided for the creation of an autonomous Albanian province{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} and they were amnestied the day later.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Hugh Poulton |title=Who are the Macedonians? |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers Ltd |year=2000 |isbn=978-1850655343 |page=109}}</ref>
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Mustafa Paşa Mosque, Skopje.jpg|The 15th-century [[Mustafa Pasha Mosque]].
File:Shkup1912.jpg|Skopje after being captured by Albanian revolutionaries in August 1912 after defeating the Ottoman forces holding the city
File:Ottoman Postcard of Huriet in Skopie2.jpg|[[Macedonian Bulgarians|Bulgarian]] manifestation in support of the [[Young Turk Revolution]]
File:Sv. Bogorodica Skopje 01.jpg|The [[Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos, Skopje|Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos]], seat of the Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of Skopje, built in the 19th century.
File:Skopje-couteliers 1919.jpg|Cutlers in the [[Old Bazaar, Skopje|Old Bazaar]] around 1900.
</gallery>

=== Balkan Wars to present day ===
[[File:PedroIEnUskub11031v.jpg|thumb|[[Peter I of Serbia]] visiting Skopje in 1914]]

Following an alliance contracted in 1912, [[Bulgaria]], [[Greece]] and [[Serbia]] declared war on the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Their goal was to definitively expel the Ottomans from Europe. The [[First Balkan War]] started on 8 October 1912 and lasted six weeks. Serbians reached Skopje on 26 October. Ottoman forces had left the city the day before.<ref name="history" /> During the conflict, [[Chetniks]], a Serb irregular force razed the Albanian quarter of Skopje and [[Massacres of Albanians in the Balkan Wars|killed numerous Albanian inhabitants from the city]].<ref name="Michailidis330">{{cite book |last=Michailidis |first=Iakovos D. |chapter=Cleansing the Nation: War related Demographic Changes in Macedonia |editor1-last=Boeckh |editor1-first=Katrin |editor2-last=Rutar |editor2-first=Sabine |title=The Wars of Yesterday: The Balkan Wars and the Emergence of Modern Military Conflict, 1912–13 |year=2018 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=9781785337758 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=okMtDwAAQBAJ&q=burned |pages=330}}</ref> The Serbian annexation led to the exodus of 725 Muslim families which left the city on 27 January 1913. The same year, the city population was evaluated at 37,000 by the Serbian authorities.<ref name="demographic" />[[File:Centarot na Skopje pred zemjotresot.jpg|thumb|right|A view of the centre of Skopje in the 1930s.]]
[[File:Nanev Skopje 1941.jpg|thumb|A Bulgarian officer looking at Skopje's centre, April 1941]]

In 1915, during the [[First World War]], Serbian Macedonia was invaded by Bulgaria, which captured Skopje on 22 October 1915. Serbia, allied to the [[Triple Entente]], was helped by France, [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]], [[Greece]], and Italy, which formed the [[Macedonian front]]. Following a great Allied offensive in 1918, the [[Armée française d'Orient]] reached Skopje 29 September and took the city by surprise.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://crbn-mk.courriers.info/IMG/pdf/_Orient_et_campagne_Macedoine.pdf |title=L'Armée d'Orient et la Macédoine |publisher=Basse-Normandie Macédoine, la coopération au service de la gouvernance locale |access-date=25 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100331081809/http://crbn-mk.courriers.info/IMG/pdf/_Orient_et_campagne_Macedoine.pdf |archive-date=31 March 2010}}</ref> After the end of the World War, Vardar Macedonia became part of the new [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes]], which became "Kingdom of Yugoslavia" in 1929.<ref name="history"/> A mostly foreign [[Serbs|ethnic Serb]] ruling class gained control, imposing a large-scale repression.<ref>Rossos, Andrew (2008) ''Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History'' Hoover Institution Press, Stanford, California, [https://archive.org/details/macedoniamacedon0000ross/page/135 page 135], {{ISBN|978-0-8179-4881-8}}</ref> The policies of de-Bulgarization and assimilation were pursued.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CHlpAAAAMAAJ&q=de%20bulgarisation%201941 |title=Balkans: A Mirror of the New International Order |last2=Saybaşılı |first2=Kemâli |date=1 January 1995 |publisher=EREN Yayıncılık ve Kitap, cılık |first1=Günay Göksu |last1=Özdoğan |via=Google Books |isbn=9789757622369}}</ref> At that time part of the young locals, repressed by the Serbs, tried to find a separate way of ethnic Macedonian development.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bNvbHCUs3tUC&pg=PA229 |title=Politics, Power and the Struggle for Democracy in South-East Europe |first1=Karen |last1=Dawisha |first2=Bruce |last2=Parrott |date=13 June 1997 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |via=Google Books |isbn=9780521597333}}</ref> In 1931, in a move to formally decentralize the country, Skopje was named the capital of the [[Vardar Banovina]] of the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]. Until the [[Second World War]], Skopje experienced strong economic growth, and its population increased. The city had 41,066 inhabitants in 1921, 64,807 in 1931, and 80,000 in 1941.<ref name="demographic"/> Although in an underdeveloped region, it attracted wealthy Serbs who opened businesses and contributed to the modernization of the city.<ref name="colophon">{{cite web |url=http://www.eahn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Newsletter_2010-4_lowres.pdf |title=eahn Newsletter, number 4/10 |publisher=European Architectural History Network |year=2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215001825/http://www.eahn.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Newsletter_2010-4_lowres.pdf |archive-date=15 December 2014}}</ref> In 1941, Skopje had 45 factories, half of the industry in the whole of Socialist Macedonia.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Skopje between the past and the future |author=Ivan Tomovski |publisher=Macedonian Review Editions |year=1978 |page=17}}</ref>
[[File:Skopsko Kale, stara.jpg|thumb|left|The national theatre and the fortress around 1920.]]

In 1941, during the Second World War, Yugoslavia was invaded by [[Nazi Germany]]. Germans seized Skopje 8 April<ref name="history"/> and left it to their Bulgarian allies on 22 April 1941.{{sfn|Ramet|2006|p=139}} To ensure bulgarization of the society, authorities closed Serbian schools and churches and opened new schools and a higher education institute, the King Boris University.<ref>{{Cite book |title=A Concise History of Bulgaria |author=R. J. Crampton |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2005 |isbn=9780521616379 |page=168}}</ref> The 4,000 Jews of Skopje were all deported in 1943 to [[Treblinka]] where almost all of them died.<ref name="jews p. 47">{{Cite book |title=The Expulsion of the Jews: Five Hundred Years of Exodus |author=Yale Strom |publisher=SP Books |year=1992 |isbn=9781561710812 |page=47}}</ref> Local Partisan detachments started a widespread guerrilla after the proclamation of the "Popular Republic of Macedonia" by the [[Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia|ASNOM]] on 2 August 1944.

[[Capture of Skopje (1944)|Skopje was liberated]] on 13 November 1944 by units of the [[Bulgarian People's Army]] (Bulgaria having switched sides in the war [[Bulgarian coup d'état of 1944|in September]]) aided by [[Yugoslav Partisans]] of the [[Macedonian National Liberation Army]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://books.stonebooks.com/wardiary/19441113/ |title=Stone & Stone: War Diary for 13 November 1944 |website=stonebooks.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HDQn3tJkyUcC&pg=PA560 |title=История на българите |last=Зафиров |first=Димитър |date=1 January 2007 |publisher=TRUD Publishers |via=Google Books |isbn=9789545287527}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EeYhAQAAIAAJ |title=The SS Hunter Battalions: The Hidden History of the Nazi Resistance Movement 1944–45 |last=Biddiscombe |first=Alexander Perry |date=1 January 2006 |publisher=Tempus |via=Google Books |isbn=9780752439389}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PLoeAAAAMAAJ |title=Bŭlgaro-I͡U︡goslavski politicheski otnoshenii͡a︡, 1944–1945 |last=Daskalov |first=Georgi |date=1 January 1989 |publisher=Universitetsko izd-vo "Kliment Okhridski" |via=Google Books}}</ref>

After [[World War II]], Skopje greatly benefited from [[SFR Yugoslavia|Socialist Yugoslav]] policies which encouraged industry and the development of Macedonian cultural institutions. Consequently, Skopje became home to a national library, a national philharmonic orchestra, a university and the Macedonian Academy. However, its post-war development was altered by the [[1963 Skopje earthquake|1963 earthquake]] which occurred 26 July. Although relatively weak in magnitude, it caused enormous damage in the city and can be compared to the [[1960 Agadir earthquake]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Earthquake Engineering: Mechanism, Damage Assessment and Structural Design |author=Sidney F. Borg |publisher=World Scientific |year=1988 |isbn=9789971504359 |page=77}}</ref> The disaster killed 1,070 people, injuring 3,300 others. 16,000 people were buried alive in ruins and 70% of the population lost their home.<ref name="post">{{cite web |url=http://desastres.usac.edu.gt/documentos/pdf/eng/doc13793/doc13793-1.pdf |title=Post 1963 earthquake reconstruction: Long term effects |author=Vladimir B. Ladinski |publisher=Biblioteca Virtual en Salud y Desastres Guatemala}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Many educational facilities, factories and historical buildings were destroyed.<ref name="reconstruction"/>
[[File:US army in Skopje 1963.jpg|thumb|American soldiers in Skopje after the [[1963 Skopje earthquake|1963 earthquake]].]]
[[File:Centar, Skopje 1000, Macedonia (FYROM) - panoramio (151).jpg|alt=|left|thumb|Monument to the Macedonian partisans – Liberators of Skopje, next to the Government building.]]
After the [[1963 Skopje earthquake|earthquake]], reconstruction was quick. It had a deep psychological impact on the population because neighbourhoods were split and people were relocated to new houses and buildings they were not familiar with.<ref name="post"/> Many Albanians, some from Kosovo participated in the reconstruction effort.<ref name="Ragaru535"/> Reconstruction was finished by 1980, even if many elements were never built because funds were exhausted.<ref name="reconstruction"/> Skopje cityscape was drastically changed and the city became a true example of [[modernist architecture]]. Demographic growth was very important after 1963, and Skopje had 408,100 inhabitants in 1981.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Georges Castellan |year=2003 |title=La Macédoine : un pays inconnu |isbn=978-2910878245 |publisher=Ed. Armeline |page=17}}</ref> After 1963, rural youth migrated to Skopje and were involved in the reconstruction process resulting in a large growth of the urban Macedonian population.<ref name="Neofotistos893"/><ref name="Thiessen10">{{cite journal |last=Thiessen |first=Ilka |title='Leb I Sol'(Bread And Salt): The Meanings of Work in the Changing Society of Macedonia |url=https://is.muni.cz/el/1490/podzim2014/CZS05/re/Thiessen--Meanings-of-Work-Macedonia-AWR-2002.pdf |journal=Anthropology of Work Review |volume=23 |issue=1‐2 |year=2002 |pages=10 |doi=10.1525/awr.2002.23.1-2.8}}</ref><ref name="Brown417442">{{cite journal |last=Brown |first=Keith S. |title=Beyond ethnicity: The politics of urban nostalgia in modern Macedonia |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/670307/summary |journal=Journal of Mediterranean Studies |volume=11 |issue=2 |year=2001 |pages=417–442}}</ref> The Albanian population of Skopje also increased as people from the northern villages migrated to the city and others came from Kosovo either to provide manpower for reconstruction or fled the deteriorating political situation, especially during the 1990s.<ref name="Ragaru535"/> However, during the 1980s and the 1990s, the country experienced inflation and recession and the local economy heavily suffered. The situation became better during the 2000s thanks to new investments. Many landmarks were restored and the "[[Skopje 2014]]" project renewed the appearance of the city centre.

==Emblems==
{{Main|Flag of Skopje|Coat of arms of Skopje}}
The [[Flag of Skopje]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skopje.gov.mk/EN/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=34 |title=City symbols |publisher=skopje.gov.mk |author=Град Скопје |access-date=16 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140929172138/http://www.skopje.gov.mk/EN/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=34 |archive-date=29 September 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> is a red banner in proportions 1:2 with a gold-coloured [[Coat of arms of Skopje|coat of arms of the city]] positioned in the upper-left corner. It is either vertical or horizontal, but the vertical version was the first to be used.<ref name="Flag of Skopje">{{cite web |author=Flagspot |url=http://flagspot.net/flags/mk-skop.html |title=Skopje (Capital city, Macedonia) |publisher=flagspot.net |access-date=16 July 2010}}</ref>

The coat of arms of the city was adopted in the 1950s. It depicts the [[Stone Bridge (Skopje)|Stone Bridge]] with the [[Vardar]] river, the [[Skopje Fortress|Kale Fortress]] and the snow-capped peaks of the [[Šar mountains]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skopje.gov.mk/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=35 |title=City of Skopje |access-date=25 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121129224528/http://www.skopje.gov.mk/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=35 |archive-date=29 November 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Administration==

===Status===
[[File:MKD muni nonn(Skopje).png|thumb|Greater Skopje among the [[municipalities of North Macedonia]]]]
Being the capital and largest city of North Macedonia, Skopje enjoys a particular status granted by law. The last revision of its status was made in 2004. Since then, the City of Skopje has been divided into 10 municipalities which all have a council and a mayor, like all of the country's municipalities. Municipalities only deal with matters specific of their territory, and the City of Skopje deals with matters that concern all of them, or that cannot be divided between two or more municipalities.<ref name="local">{{cite web |url=http://lgi.osi.hu/cimg/0/1/3/4/3/Skopje_s_final.doc |title=The City of Skopje, Case Study in the Project Financing Metropolitan Cities in Transitional Countries |author=Aleksandra Maksimovska Veljanovski |publisher=[[Open Society Institute]], Local Government and Public Service Reform Initiative, Budapest |year=2008 |access-date=13 October 2012}}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>

The City of Skopje is part of the [[Skopje Statistical Region]], which has no political or administrative power.<ref name="local"/>

===City Council===
The City Council consists of 45 members who serve a four-year term. It primarily deals with budget, global orientations and relations between the city and the government. Several commissions exist to treat more specific topics, such as urbanism, finances, environment of local development.<ref name="council">{{cite web |url=http://www.skopje.gov.mk/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=601 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730023325/http://www.skopje.gov.mk/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=601 |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 July 2013 |title=Совет на Град Скопје, Мандат 2013–2017 |year=2013 |publisher=City of Skopje |access-date=4 July 2013}}</ref> The President of the council is elected by the Council Members. Since 2017 the president has been Ljubica Jancheva, member of [[SDSM]].<ref name="council"/>

Following the 2017 local elections, the City Council is constituted as follows:<ref name="council"/>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Party / List'''
! '''Seats'''
| rowspan="10" |[[File:Skopje City Council 2017.svg|My Parliament2323]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Social Democratic Union of Macedonia|SDSM]]|| 21
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="text-align:left;"| [[VMRO-DPMNE]] || 17
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Democratic Union for Integration|DUI]] || 3
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Besa Movement|BESA]] || 2
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="text-align:left;"| [[Alliance for Albanians|AA]] || 1
|- style="text-align:center;"
| style="text-align:left;"| [[The Left (North Macedonia)|The Left]] || 1
|-
||'''Total''' || style="text-align:center;" |'''45'''
|}

===Mayor===

The Mayor of Skopje is elected every four years.
The mayor represents the City of Skopje and can submit ideas to the council, manages the administrative bodies and their officials.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skopje.gov.mk/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=70 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927220722/http://www.skopje.gov.mk/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=70 |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 September 2007 |title=Competencies of the mayor |year=2009 |publisher=City of Skopje |access-date=15 March 2011}}</ref>

===Municipalities===
Skopje was first divided into administrative units in 1945, but the first municipalities were created in 1976. They were five: [[Centar Municipality (Skopje)|Centar]], [[Čair municipality|Čair]], [[Karpoš municipality|Karpoš]], [[Gazi Baba municipality|Gazi Baba]] and [[Kisela Voda municipality|Kisela Voda]]. After the 1991 independence of the country, power was centralized and municipalities lost much of their competences. A 1996 law restored them and created two new municipalities: [[Ǵorče Petrov municipality|Ǵorče Petrov]] and [[Šuto Orizari municipality|Šuto Orizari]]. After the [[2001 insurgency in Macedonia|insurgency between Albanian rebels and Macedonian forces]] in 2001, a new law was enacted in 2004 to incorporate [[Saraj Municipality]] into the City of Skopje. Saraj is mostly populated by Albanians and, since then, Albanians represent more than 20% of the city population. Thus Albanian became the second official language of the city administration, something which was one of the claims of the Albanian rebels. The same year, [[Aerodrom Municipality (Skopje)|Aerodrom Municipality]] separated itself from Kisela Voda, and [[Butel Municipality]] from Čair.<ref name="local"/>

Municipalities are administered by a council of 23 members elected every four years. They also have a mayor and several departments (education, culture, finances...). The mayor primarily deals with these departments.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.opstinacentar.gov.mk/administracija.aspx |title=Administration |publisher=Centar Municipality |access-date=15 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307064559/http://www.opstinacentar.gov.mk/administracija.aspx |archive-date=7 March 2011}}</ref>
{|
|
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|-
! style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;" | Name
! style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;" | Size<br />(km<sup>2</sup>)<ref name="drisla">{{cite web |url=http://drisla.mk/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Drisla-Landfill-Project-Feasibiity-Study.pdf |title=Drisla Landfill Feasibility Study, Volume 1 of 2 – Main Findings – Final Report |year=2011 |publisher=Mott MacDonald Ltd |access-date=24 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226212124/http://drisla.mk/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Drisla-Landfill-Project-Feasibiity-Study.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2013}}</ref>
! style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;" | Population 2002<ref name="stats1">{{cite web |url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/Publikacii/knigaXIII.pdf |title=Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2002, Book XIII:Total population, households and dwellings, According to the territorial organization of The Republic of Macedonia, 2004, 2002 |publisher=State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia |access-date=14 October 2012}}</ref>
! style="background: #efefef; border-bottom: 2px solid gray;" | Population 2021<ref name="stats2">{{Cite web |date=2022-03-30 |title=Попис на населението, домаќинствата и становите во Република Северна Македонија, 2021 - прв сет на податоци, 2021 |url=https://www.stat.gov.mk/PrikaziSoopstenie.aspx?rbrtxt=146 |access-date=2022-03-31 |website=www.stat.gov.mk |publisher=Republic of North Macedonia State Statistical Office |language=mk}}</ref>
|-
| [[Aerodrom Municipality (Skopje)|Aerodrom]] || 20 || 72,009 || 77,735
|-
| [[Butel municipality|Butel]] || 54.79 || 36,144 || 37,968
|-
| [[Centar Municipality (Skopje)|Centar]] || 7.52 || 45,412 || 43,893
|-
| [[Čair municipality|Čair]] || 3.52 || 64,773 || 62,586
|-
| [[Gazi Baba municipality|Gazi Baba]] || 110.86 || 72,617 || 69,626
|-
| [[Ǵorče Petrov Municipality|Ǵorče Petrov]] || 66.93 || 41,634 || 44,844
|-
| [[Karpoš municipality|Karpoš]] || 35.21 || 59,666 || 63,760
|-
| [[Kisela Voda municipality|Kisela Voda]] || 34.24 || 57,236 || 61,965
|-
| [[Saraj municipality|Saraj]] || 229.06 || 35,408 || 38,399
|-
| [[Šuto Orizari municipality|Šuto Orizari]] || 7.48 || 22,017 || 25,726
|- style="background: #E9E9E9;" 
|| '''City of Skopje''' || style="background: #E9E9E9;" | 571.46 || style="background: #E9E9E9;" | 506,926 || style="background: #E9E9E9;" | 526,502
|}
| [[File:Skopje administrative division numbered1.png|right]]
|
#[[File:Coat of arms of Centar Municipality, Macedonia.svg|20px]] [[Centar Municipality (Skopje)|Centar]] (''Центар'')
#[[File:Coat of arms of Gazi Baba Municipality.svg|20px]] [[Gazi Baba municipality|Gazi Baba]] (''Гази Баба'')
#[[File:Coat of arms of Aerodrom Municipality, 2012-present.svg|20px]] [[Aerodrom Municipality (Skopje)|Aerodrom]] (''Аеродром'')
#[[File:Coat of arms of Čair Municipality.svg|20px]] [[Čair municipality|Čair]] (''Чаир'')
#[[File:Coat of arms of Kisela Voda Municipality (2015).svg|20px]] [[Kisela Voda municipality|Kisela Voda]] (''Кисела Вода'')
#[[File:Coat of arms of Butel Municipality.svg|20px]] [[Butel municipality|Butel]] (''Бутел'')
#[[File:Coat of arms of Šuto Orizari Municipality.svg|20px]] [[Šuto Orizari municipality|Šuto Orizari]] (''Шуто Оризари'')
#[[File:Coat of arms of Karpoš Municipality.svg|20px]] [[Karpoš municipality|Karpoš]] (''Карпош'')
#[[File:Coat of arms of Ǵorče Petrov Municipality.svg|20px]] [[Ǵorče Petrov municipality|Ǵorče Petrov]] (''Ѓорче Петров'')
#[[File:Coat of arms of Saraj Municipality.svg|20px]] [[Saraj municipality|Saraj]] (''Сарај'')
|}

==Economy==

===Economic weight===
[[File:Skopje X9.JPG|thumb|The small business district.]]
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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/pdf/2011/3.1.11.03.pdf |title=Gross domestic product and gross fixed capital formation, by regions, 2009 |publisher=State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia |access-date=19 March 2012}}</ref> In 2009, the regional GDP per capita amounted to US$6,565, or 155% of the Macedonian GDP per capita.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/pdf/2011/3.1.11.03.pdf |title=Gross domestic product and gross fixed capital formation, by regions |publisher=State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia |year=2009 |access-date=14 October 2012}}</ref> This figure is, however, smaller than the one of neighboring [[Sofia]] (US$10,106),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/825 |title=Bulgaria – Regional Differences |year=2012 |publisher=LM Legal Services |access-date=14 October 2012}}</ref> [[Sarajevo]] (US$10,048)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/ECAEXT/Resources/258598-1279117170185/7247167-1279119399516/7247361-1279119430793/sarajevo.pdf |title=Resouyrce data |date=21 May 2010 |website=siteresources.worldbank.org}}</ref> or [[Belgrade]] (US$7,983),<ref>{{Cite book |title=Serbia on the Road to Eu Accession: Consequences for Agricultural Policy and the Agri-Food Chain |author=Siemen Van Berkum et Natalija Bogdanov |publisher=CABI |year=2012 |isbn=9781780641454 |page=40}}</ref> but higher than the one of [[Tirana]] (US$4,126).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.top-channel.tv/english/artikull.php?id=2632 |title=Albanian economy concentrated in Tirana |publisher=Top Channel |year=2011 |access-date=14 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016020348/http://www.top-channel.tv/english/artikull.php?id=2632 |archive-date=16 October 2013}}</ref>

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]].<ref name="quality">{{cite web |url=http://hrcak.srce.hr/file/80214 |title=The Quality of Life and Regional Development in FYR Macedonia |year=2010 |publisher=Hrčak, Portal znanstvenih časopisa Republike Hrvatske |author=William Bartlett |author2=Hristina Cipusheva |author3=Marjan Nikolov |author4=Miroljub Shukarov |access-date=19 March 2012}}</ref>

===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).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/PXWeb2007bazi/Dialog/Saveshow.asp |title=Firms by size and municipality |year=2009 |publisher=State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia |access-date=4 March 2011}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/PXWeb2007bazi/Dialog/Saveshow.asp |title=Firms by activity sector |publisher=State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia |access-date=4 March 2011}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Although few in number, large firms account for 51% of the local production outside finance.<ref name="region"/>
[[File:Skopje X132.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Imperial Tobacco]] plant.]]The city industry is dominated by food processing, textile, printing and metal processing. In 2012, it accounted for 30% of the city GDP.<ref name="region">{{cite web |url=http://rdc.mk/skopje/images/InvestmentPotentials.pdf |title=Investment Potentials of Skopje Region |publisher=Skopje Region |year=2012 |access-date=15 October 2012}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Most of the industrial areas are in [[Gazi Baba municipality]], on the major routes and rail lines to [[Belgrade]] and [[Thessaloniki]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gazibaba.gov.mk/profil-na-opstinata.html |title=За Гаѕи Баба |year=2010 |publisher=Gazi Baba municipality |access-date=14 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904101934/http://www.gazibaba.gov.mk/profil-na-opstinata.html |archive-date=4 September 2012}}</ref> 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 zone]]s also exist, around the airport and the Okta refinery. They have attracted several foreign companies, such as [[Johnson Controls]], [[Johnson Matthey]] and [[Van Hool]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fez.gov.mk/interactive-map.html |title=TIDZ Skopje 1 |publisher=Directorate for Technological Industrial Development Zones |access-date=14 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024003817/http://fez.gov.mk/interactive-map.html |archive-date=24 October 2012}}</ref>

As the country's financial capital, Skopje is the seat of the [[Macedonian Stock Exchange]], of the [[National Bank of North Macedonia|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.<ref name="region"/>
[[File:Zeleno pazarce - Flickr - ImogenX (9).jpg|thumb|The Zelen Pazar ("green market")]]
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.<ref name="thiesen57"/> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://finchannel.com/Main_News/Banks/117152_Macedonian_shoppers_set_for_retail_revolution_with_EBRD_support/ |title=Macedonian shoppers set for retail revolution with EBRD support |publisher=The Financial |year=2012 |access-date=14 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006072101/http://finchannel.com/Main_News/Banks/117152_Macedonian_shoppers_set_for_retail_revolution_with_EBRD_support/ |archive-date=6 October 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Vero Center.jpg|thumb|Mall in Skopje]]

===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.<ref name="region"/>

The unemployment rate for the [[Skopje Statistical Region]] was at 27% in 2009, three points under the national rate (30%). The neighbouring [[Polog Statistical Region|Polog Region]] had a similar rate, but the less affected region was the [[Southwestern Statistical Region|South-West]], with 22%.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Quality of Life and Regional Development in FYR Macedonia |publisher=Croatian Economic Survey |year=2010 |pages=121–162 |author=William Bartlett |author2=Hristina Cipusheva |author3=Marjan Nikolov |author4=Miroljub Shukarov}}</ref> 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%).<ref name="region"/> Unemployment also concerns [[Roma people]], who represent 4.63% of the city population but affects 70% of the active population in the community.<ref name="roma">{{cite web |url=http://upcommons.upc.edu/revistes/bitstream/2099/12139/1/C_27_2.pdf |title=Revisiting Topaana: touring a neighborhood where the other 1% lives |author=Jasna Stefanovska |access-date=15 October 2012}}</ref>

The average net monthly wage in Skopje was at €400 in October 2010, which represented 120% of the national figure.<ref name="brutno">{{cite web |url=http://www.mkd.mk/35313/makedonija/prosek-bruto-plata-makedonija-skopje/ |title=Скопска просечна бруто плата 593 евра, 20 отсто над државниот просек |year=2012 |publisher=MKD.mk |access-date=15 October 2012}}</ref> The average wage in Skopje was then lower than in [[Sarajevo]] (€522),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fzs.ba/BiltenKanton/BiltenK0415.pdf |title=MJESEČNI STATISTIČKI PREGLED FEDERACIJE BOSNE I HERCEGOVINE PO KANTONIMA |access-date=2 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106165018/https://www.fzs.ba/BiltenKanton/BiltenK0415.pdf |archive-date=6 November 2015}}</ref> [[Sofia]] (€436),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sofia.bg/en/display.asp?ime=today |title=Sofia in figures – 2010 |access-date=15 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004121251/http://sofia.bg/en/display.asp?ime=today |archive-date=4 October 2012}}</ref> and in [[Belgrade]] (€440).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.b92.net/biz/vesti/srbija.php?yyyy=2011&mm=04&dd=27&nav_id=508518 |title=Plata 353 evra, u Beogradu 440 evra |publisher=B92 |year=2011 |access-date=15 October 2011}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations
| percentages = pagr
| source =<ref name="stats1"/><ref name="jasna"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stat.gov.mk/pdf/2022/2.1.22.10-mk-en.pdf |title=Попис на населението, домаќинствата и становите во Република Северна Македонија, 2021 - прв сет на податоци |website=stat.gov.mk |access-date=22 July 2022}}</ref>
| 1921|41,000
| 1931|68,880
| 1948|88,355
| 1953|120,130
| 1961|166,870
| 1971|314,552
| 1981|448,200
| 1991|444,760
| 2002|506,926
| 2021|526,502
}}

===Population===
[[File:Ulica Makedonija.JPG|thumb|People on Macedonia street, the main pedestrian axis of the city.]]
According to the results of the 2002 census, the City of Skopje itself had 428,988 in its urban area and 506,926 inhabitants within administrative limits that encompass many villages and other settlements, including [[Dračevo, Skopje|Dračevo]], [[Bardovci]], [[Kondovo, Saraj|Kondovo]], [[Radišani]], [[Gorno Nerezi]] etc.<ref name="stats1"/> Skopje's employment area covers a large part of the country, including [[Veles (city)|Veles]], [[Kumanovo]] and [[Tetovo]], and totaling more than one million inhabitants.<ref name="trace">{{cite web |url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTMACEDONIA/Resources/SkopjeTRACEReport.pdf |title=Improving Energy Sufficiency in Skopje, TRACE Study |publisher=World Bank |year=2012 |access-date=25 October 2012}}</ref>

Skopje contains roughly a quarter of North Macedonia's population. The second most populous municipality, [[Kumanovo]], had 107,632 inhabitants in 2011,<ref name="stats">{{cite web |year=2012 |title=Estimations of the Population by Sex and Age, by Municipalities and by Statistical Regions, 30.06. 2011 and 31.12. 2011, 2011 |url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/Publikacii/2.4.12.08.pdf |access-date=15 October 2012 |publisher=State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia}}</ref> and an [[urban unit]] of 76,272 inhabitants in 2002.<ref name="stats1"/>

Before the [[Ottoman–Habsburg wars|Austro-Turkish war]] and the [[Fire of Skopje 1689|1698 Great Fire]], Skopje was one of the biggest cities in the [[Balkans]], with a population estimated between 30,000 and 60,000 inhabitants.<ref name="history"/> After the fire, it experienced a long period of decline and only had 10,000 inhabitants in 1836.<ref name="population1"/> However, the population started to rise again after 1850 and reached 32,000 inhabitants in 1905.<ref name="britannica"/> In the 20th century, Skopje was one of the fastest-growing cities in [[Yugoslavia]], and it had 448,200 inhabitants in 1971. Since then, the demographic growth has continued at a steady pace.<ref name="jasna">{{Cite book |title=Urban planning and transitional development issues: The case of Skopje, Macedonia |publisher=Urbani izziv |year=2012 |page=94 |author=Jasna Stefanovska et Janez Koželj}}</ref>

===Ethnic groups===

Ethnic groups in the Greater Skopje include:

{| class="wikitable"
| 
| colspan="2" |2002
| colspan="2" |2021
|-
|
|<small>Number</small>
|<small>%</small>
|Number
|%
|-
|'''TOTAL'''
|506,926
|100
|526,502
|100
|-
|[[Macedonians (ethnic group)|Macedonians]]
|338,358
|66.75
|309,107
|58.71
|-
|[[Albanians]]
|103,891
|20.49
|120,293
|22.85
|-
|[[Turkish people|Turks]]
|8,595
|1.70
|8,524
|1.62
|-
|[[Romani people|Roma]]
|23,475
|4.63
|18.498
|3.51
|-
|[[Vlachs]]
|2,557
|0.50
|2,778
|0.53
|-
|[[Serbs]]
|14,298
|2.82
|9,478
|1.80
|-
|[[Bosniaks]]
|7,585
|1.50
|7,365
|1.50
|-
|others
|8,167
|1.61
|6,284
|1.19
|-
|Persons for whom data are taken from administrative sources
|n/a
|n/a
|44,175
|8.39
|}

Skopje, just like North Macedonia as a whole, is characterized by a large ethnic diversity. The city is in a region where Macedonians and Albanians meet, and it welcomed Romani, Turks, Jews and Serbs throughout its history. Skopje was mainly a Muslim city until the 19th century, when large numbers of Christians started to settle there. According to the 2021 census, Macedonians were the largest ethnic group in Skopje, with 309,107 inhabitants, or 58.71% of the population. Then came Albanians with 120,293 inhabitants (22.85%), Roma people with 18,498 (3.51%), Serbs (9,478 inhabitants), Turks (8,524), Bosniaks (7,365) and [[Aromanians]] (also known as "Vlachs", 2,778). 6,284 people did not belong to any of these groups.<ref name="stats1"/>

Macedonians form an overwhelming majority of the population in the municipalities of [[Aerodrom Municipality (Skopje)|Aerodrom]], [[Centar Municipality (Skopje)|Centar]], [[Ǵorče Petrov municipality|Ǵorče Petrov]], [[Karpoš municipality|Karpoš]] and [[Kisela Voda municipality|Kisela Voda]], which are all south of the [[Vardar]].<ref name="Ragaru536">{{harvnb|Ragaru|2008|p=536.}}</ref> They also form a majority in [[Butel municipality|Butel]]<ref name="Ragaru536537"/> and [[Gazi Baba municipality|Gazi Baba]] which are north of the river. Albanians form a majority in [[Čair municipality|Čair]] which roughly corresponds to the [[Old Bazaar, Skopje|Old Bazaar]], and in [[Saraj municipality|Saraj]].<ref name="Ragaru535537">{{cite journal |last=Ragaru |first=Nadege |title=The Political Uses and Social Lives of "National Heroes": Controversies over Skanderbeg's Statue in Skopje |url=https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00682663/document |journal=Südosteuropa |volume=56 |issue=4 |year=2008 |pages=535–537 |access-date=22 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222210307/https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00682663/document |archive-date=22 February 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> They form a large minority in Butel<ref name="Ragaru536537">{{harvnb|Ragaru|2008|pp=536–537.}}</ref> and Gazi Baba. [[Šuto Orizari municipality|Šuto Orizari]], on the northern edge of the city, is predominantly Roma.<ref name="stats1"/> When an ethnic minority forms at least 20% of the population in a municipality, its language can become official on the local level. Thus, in Čair and Saraj schools and administration use Albanian, and Romani in Šuto Orizari.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fes.org.mk/pdf/SVETOMIR%20SKARIC%20-%20OHRID%20AGREEMENT%20AND%20MINORITY%20COMMUNITIES.pdf |title=Ohrid Agreement and Minority Communities in Macedonia |publisher=Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in Macedonia |author=Svetomir Skaric |access-date=29 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101226145850/http://www.fes.org.mk/pdf/SVETOMIR%20SKARIC%20-%20OHRID%20AGREEMENT%20AND%20MINORITY%20COMMUNITIES.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The latter is the only municipality in the world where Romani is an official language.<ref name="roma"/>

Relations between the two largest groups, Macedonians and Albanians, are sometimes difficult, as in the rest of the country. Each group tolerate the other but they tend to avoid each other and live in what can appear as two parallel worlds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Regions-and-countries/Macedonia/Skopje-the-carsija-of-the-Albanians-85910 |title=Skopje, the čaršija of the Albanians |date=12 January 2011 |publisher=[[Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso]] |author=Marjola Rukaj |access-date=26 October 2012}}</ref> Both Macedonians and Albanians view themselves each as the original population of Skopje and the other as newcomers.<ref name="StefoskaStojanov363">{{cite journal |last1=Stefoska |first1=Irena |last2=Stojanov |first2=Darko |title=A tale in stone and bronze: old/new strategies for political mobilization in the Republic of Macedonia |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/29F560037E1931D083C10F7B56D96893/S0090599200032141a.pdf/tale_in_stone_and_bronze_oldnew_strategies_for_political_mobilization_in_the_republic_of_macedonia.pdf |journal=Nationalities Papers |volume=45 |issue=3 |year=2017 |pages=363 |doi=10.1080/00905992.2017.1308346 |s2cid=157988163 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Ragaru535">{{harvnb|Ragaru|2008|p=535.}}</ref><ref name="Neofotistos893">{{cite journal |last=Neofotistos |first=Vasiliki P. |title=Postsocialism, Social Value, and Identity Politics among Albanians in Macedonia |journal=Slavic Review |volume=69 |issue=4 |year=2010 |pages=893 |jstor=27896141 |doi=10.1017/S003767790000989X |s2cid=165104213}}</ref> The Roma minority is on its side very deprived. Its exact size is not known because many Macedonian Roma declare themselves as belonging to other ethnic groups or simply avoid censuses. However, even if official figures are underestimated, Skopje is the city in the world with the largest Roma population.<ref name="roma"/>

===Religion===
[[File:Presveta Bogordica od Skopje 4.JPG|thumb|The church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.]]
Religious affiliation is diverse: Macedonians, Serbs, and Aromanians are mainly Orthodox, with the majority affiliated to the [[Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric|Macedonian Orthodox Church]]; Turks are almost entirely Muslim; those of Albanian ethnicity are largely Muslim, although Skopje also has a sizeable [[Roman Catholic]] Albanian minority, into which [[Mother Teresa]] was born; the Roma (Gypsies) represent a mixture (in almost equal numbers) of Muslim and Orthodox religious heritage.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Hugh Poulton |title=Who are the Macedonians? |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers Ltd |year=2000 |isbn=978-1850655343 |page=130}}</ref>

According to the 2002 census, 68.5% of the population of Skopje belonged to the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], while 28.6% belonged to [[Islam]]. The city also had Catholic (0.5%) and [[Protestant]] (0.04%) minorities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/Publikacii/knigaX.pdf |title=Census |year=2002 |publisher=State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia |access-date=26 October 2012}}</ref> The Catholics are served by the Latin [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Skopje|bishopric of Skopje]], in which is also vested the [[Byzantine Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Macedonia]].

Until [[World War II]], Skopje had a significant Jewish minority which mainly descended from Spanish [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardis]] who had escaped the [[Inquisition]]. The community comprised 2,424 members in 1939 (representing about 3% of the city population), but most of them were deported and killed by [[Nazis]]. After the war, most of the survivors settled in Israel.<ref name="Mark Avrum Ehrlich 2009 980"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.europeanjewishfund.org/index.php?/communities/macedonia/ |title=Jewish Community in Macedonia |publisher=European Jewish Fund |access-date=28 February 2011}}</ref> Today the city has around 200 Jewish inhabitants (about 0.04% of the population).

Because of its 520-year Ottoman past, and the fact that many of its inhabitants today are Muslims, Skopje has more mosques than churches. Religious communities often complain about the lack of infrastructure and new places of worship are often built.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=92612947288&id=14&setIzdanie=22689 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228024309/http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=92612947288&id=14&setIzdanie=22689 |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 December 2013 |title=Во Скопје има 27 џамии и 15 цркви |date=26 September 2012 |publisher=Nova Makedonija |author=Sanja Jancevska |access-date=26 October 2012}}</ref> Skopje is the seat of many Macedonian religious organizations, such as the [[Macedonian Orthodox Church]] and the Islamic Religious Union of Macedonia. It has an Orthodox cathedral and seminary, several [[madrasah]]s, a Roman Catholic cathedral and a synagogue.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mcms.powweb.com/MSM/eng/pdf/adresar-na-verski-zaednici-ENGL.pdf |title=Address Book of the Religious Communities |publisher=Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation |access-date=26 October 2012}}</ref>

===Health===
Skopje has several public and private hospitals and specialized medical institutions, such as the [[Filip II Hospital, Skopje|Filip II Hospital]], a psychiatric hospital, two obstetric hospitals, a gerontology hospital and institutes for respiratory and ocular diseases.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iph.mk/images/stories/PDF%20statistika/IZVESTAJ%202011.pdf |title=Здрабјето и здравствената заштита на населенето во Република Македонија |year=2011 |publisher=Public Health Institute of the Republic of Macedonia |access-date=18 November 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref name="health">{{cite web |url=http://www.iph.mk/images/stories/PDF%20statistika/PDF2010/zk%20en%20prv%20del%202010.pdf |publisher=Public Health Institute of the Republic of Macedonia |year=2012 |title=Health Map of the Republic of Macedonia, Part I |access-date=18 November 2012}}</ref> 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.<ref name="health"/>

===Education===
[[File:НУБСК-Поглед.jpg|thumb|[[National and University Library "St. Kliment of Ohrid"|St Clement of Ohrid National and University Library]].]]
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.<ref name="strategija">{{cite web |url=http://www.skopje.gov.mk/en/images/File/Strategijata%20za%20LER%20na%20angliski.pdf |title=Strategy for Local Economic Development of the City of Skopje for the period 2006 – 2009 |year=2006 |publisher=City of Skopje |access-date=12 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414235529/http://www.skopje.gov.mk/en/images/File/Strategijata%20za%20LER%20na%20angliski.pdf |archive-date=14 April 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Skopje has 21 secondary schools; 5 of which serve as general high-school gymnasiums and 16 vocational schools.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skopje.gov.mk/EN/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=31 |title=Средни училишта |year=2009 |publisher=City of Skopje |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090512232454/http://www.skopje.gov.mk/EN/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=31 |archive-date=12 May 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The city is also host to several higher education institutions, the most notable of which is [[Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ukim.edu.mk/en_content.php?meni=10&glavno=10 |title=Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje |publisher=Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje |year=2008 |access-date=18 November 2012}}</ref> 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<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurm.edu.mk/faculties.html |title=Faculties |year=2009 |publisher=European University |access-date=18 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318232150/http://www.eurm.edu.mk/faculties.html |archive-date=18 March 2013}}</ref> and [[FON University]] with 9 departments respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fon.edu.mk/?ln=en |title=FON University |publisher=FON University |year=2012 |access-date=18 November 2012}}</ref>

==Media==
[[File:Skopje X127.JPG|thumb|200px|The [[MRT Center|Macedonian Radio-Television headquarters]].]]
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 (Skopje)|Dnevnik]], founded in 1996, with 60 000 runs per day is the most printed in the country. Also based in Skopje, [[Večer (Macedonia)|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 (newspaper)|Vreme]] (15,000 copies). Magazines Fokus (12,000 copies), Start (10,000 copies), and Denes (7,500 copies) also have their headquarters in Skopje.<ref name="media">{{cite web |url=http://www.pressreference.com/Ky-Ma/Macedonia.html |title=Macedonia Press, Media, TV, Radios, Newspapers |author=Christopher D. Karadjov |publisher=Press Reference |access-date=13 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldpress.org/newspapers/EUROPE/Macedonia.cfm |title=Macedonia Newspapers and Magazines Online |publisher=World Press.org |access-date=13 March 2011}}</ref>

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 (TV channel)|Sitel]], [[Kanal 5 (Macedonia)|Kanal 5]], Telma, Alfa TV and AlsatM are another major private television companies.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abyznewslinks.com/maced.htm |title=Macedonia Newspapers and News Media Guide |publisher=ABYZ News Links |access-date=13 March 2011}}</ref> 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 FM|Antenna 5]] and Metropolis are two other major private stations that have their headquarters in Skopje.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/1067125.stm |title=Macedonia country profile |work=BBC News |access-date=13 March 2011}}</ref>

Also, the city boasts big news agencies in the country, both public, as the [[Media Information Agency]], and private, such as the [[Makfax]].<ref name="media"/>

==Sports==
{{Main|Sports in Skopje}}

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldstadiums.com/europe/countries/macedonia.shtml |title=Stadiums in the FYR Macedonia |publisher=World Stadiums |access-date=13 March 2011 |archive-date=24 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924071028/http://www.worldstadiums.com/europe/countries/macedonia.shtml |url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:Skopje X126.JPG|thumb|left|The [[Toše Proeski Arena]]]]
The largest stadium remains [[Toše Proeski Arena]]. The stadium, built in 1947 and named until 2008, City Stadium Skopje<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vecer.com.mk/?ItemID=BF8801930BF6C344B62A5418CCC2853D |title=Избрани имиња на спортските објекти |year=2010 |publisher=Večer |access-date=13 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928155235/http://www.vecer.com.mk/?ItemID=BF8801930BF6C344B62A5418CCC2853D |archive-date=28 September 2011}}</ref> experienced a total renovation, begun in 2009 to meet the standards of FIFA. Fully renovated the stadium contains 33,460 seats,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kurir.mk/makedonija/vesti/28430-Ekskluzivno-Nadvoresniot-izgled-na-Filip-Vtori |title=Ексклузивно: Надворешниот изглед на "Филип Втори" |publisher=Kurir.mk |access-date=15 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714012203/http://kurir.mk/makedonija/vesti/28430-Ekskluzivno-Nadvoresniot-izgled-na-Filip-Vtori |archive-date=14 July 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ehf-euro.com/Boris-Trajkovski.861.0.html |title=Boris Trajkovski Sports Hall |year=2008 |publisher=European Handball Federation |access-date=13 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906155639/http://www.ehf-euro.com/Boris-Trajkovski.861.0.html |archive-date=6 September 2011}}</ref>

[[FK Vardar]] and [[FK Rabotnički]] are the two most popular football teams in the city, Vardar plays in the [[Macedonian Second Football League|second division]], while Rabotnicki plays in the [[Macedonian First Football League|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 [[KK MZT Skopje|MZT Skopje]] and [[KK Rabotnički|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]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ehf-euro.com/Women-s-EURO-2008.915.0.html |title=Women's Euro 2008 |year=2008 |publisher=European Handball Federation |access-date=13 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101117000320/http://www.ehf-euro.com/Women-s-EURO-2008.915.0.html |archive-date=17 November 2010}}</ref> and hosted the [[2017 UEFA Super Cup]], the match between the two giants of the European football [[Real Madrid]] and [[Manchester United]]

==Transport==

===Main connections===
[[File:E65 Skopje Northern Bypass 1.jpg|thumb|Skopje bypass.]]
Skopje is near three other capital cities, [[Prishtina]] ({{cvt|87|km|abbr=off}} away), [[Tirana]] (291&nbsp;km) and [[Sofia]] (245&nbsp;km). [[Thessaloniki]] is {{cvt|233|km|abbr=off}} south and [[Belgrade]] is {{cvt|433|km|abbr=off}} north.<ref name="rimed">{{cite web |url=http://www.seedcenter.gr/rimed/texts/Published%20Reports-Final/WP3-Published%20report%2015.pdf |title=Comparative Swot Analysis of the Four Metropolitan Regions, Transportation, Interaction, Relations and Networks among Skopje, Sofia, Tirana, and Thessaloniki |publisher=University of Thessaly |access-date=24 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100119233709/http://www.seedcenter.gr/rimed/texts/Published%20Reports-Final/WP3-Published%20report%2015.pdf |archive-date=19 January 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Skopje is also at the crossroad of two [[Pan-European corridors]]: [[Pan-European Corridor X|Corridor X]], which runs between [[Austria]] and [[Greece]], and [[Pan-European Corridor VIII|Corridor VIII]], which runs from the [[Adriatic sea|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 (North Macedonia)|M-1 motorway]] ([[European route E75|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 {{cvt|20|km|abbr=off}} 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.<ref name="rimed"/>

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.

===Rail and coach stations===
[[File:Skopje Train Station from Mount Vodno.JPG|thumb|[[Transportation Center Skopje|Main railway station]] as seen from Mount [[Vodno]].]]
The main railway station in Skopje is serviced by the [[Belgrade]]-[[Thessaloniki]] and Skopje-[[Prishtina]] international lines.<ref name="mz">{{cite web |url=http://mztransportad.com.mk/dokumenti/RED%20NA%20VOZENJE%20DZEPEN%202011-2012.pdf |title=Возен ред 2011–2012 |publisher=Makedonski Železnici |access-date=24 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018225259/http://www.mztransportad.com.mk/dokumenti/RED%20NA%20VOZENJE%20DZEPEN%202011-2012.pdf |archive-date=18 October 2012}}</ref> After the completion of the [[Pan-European Corridor VIII|Corridor VIII]] railway project, currently scheduled for 2030, the city will also be linked to [[Tirana]] and [[Sofia]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mzi.mk/news-info.php?id=45&&cat=3 |title=Проекти предвидени за реализација во 2012 г |year=2012 |publisher=Makedonski Železnici |access-date=25 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808093138/http://www.mzi.mk/news-info.php?id=45&&cat=3 |archive-date=8 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wbif-ipf.eu/?p=1629 |title=Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski kicks off reconstruction work on railway Corridor 8 |publisher=Western Balkans Investment Framework |access-date=10 December 2014 |archive-date=14 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214221850/http://www.wbif-ipf.eu/?p=1629 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Petrushevska |first=Dragana |date=Oct 20, 2021 |title=Bulgaria, Albania, N. Macedonia pledge to finish Corridor VIII by 2030 |url=https://seenews.com/news/bulgaria-albania-n-macedonia-pledge-to-finish-corridor-viii-by-2030-758055 |access-date=Jan 19, 2022 |website=SeeNews}}</ref> Daily trains also link Skopje with other towns of North Macedonia, such as [[Kumanovo]], [[Kičevo]], [[Štip]], [[Bitola]] or [[Veles (city)|Veles]].<ref name="mz"/>

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 [[Transportation Center Skopje|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.<ref name="stations">{{cite web |url=http://bankwatch.org/documents/AnnexII_Macedonian_rail_case_study.pdf |title=Macedonian Rails – a potential that must be seized |publisher=Bankwatch |access-date=25 October 2012 |archive-date=4 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004232408/http://bankwatch.org/documents/AnnexII_Macedonian_rail_case_study.pdf |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Skopje coach station opened in 2005 and is built right under the main railway station. It can host 450 coaches in a day.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sas.com.mk/selectedarticle.aspx?cid=1058&l=34 |title=SAS историјат |year=2012 |publisher=Skopje Bus Station |access-date=25 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028073207/http://www.sas.com.mk/selectedarticle.aspx?cid=1058&l=34 |archive-date=28 October 2012}}</ref> Coach connections reach more destinations than train connections, connecting Skopje to many domestic and foreign destinations including [[Istanbul]], [[Sofia]], Prague, Hamburg and [[Stockholm]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sas.com.mk/schedule.aspx?cid=1055&l=34 |title=Возен ред |year=2012 |publisher=Skopje Bus Station |access-date=25 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027024303/http://www.sas.com.mk/schedule.aspx?cid=1055&l=34 |archive-date=27 October 2012}}</ref>

===Public transport===
[[File:Yutong City Master (SK 9734-AC) JSP (1).jpg|thumb|A red [[Yutong City Master]] double-decker bus in Skopje.]]
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.<ref name="transpower">{{cite web |url=http://www.transport-research.info/Upload/Documents/201203/20120321_103401_38196_City%20Implementation%20Reportx.pdf |title=City Implementation report |publisher=Transpower |year=2010 |access-date=25 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226045923/http://www.transport-research.info/Upload/Documents/201203/20120321_103401_38196_City%20Implementation%20Reportx.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2013}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/skopje-prepares-for-double-decker-busses |title=Skopje prepares for Double-Decker Buses |author=Sinisa Jakov Marusic |publisher=BalkanInsight |year=2011 |access-date=24 October 2012}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonian-capital-readies-for-long-awaited-trams |title=Macedonia Capital Readies for Long-Awaited Trams |author=Sinisa Jakov Marusic |publisher=BalkanInsight |year=2012 |access-date=24 October 2012}}</ref>

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.

===Airport===
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]].<ref name="aeroput">[http://www.europeanairlines.no/drustvo-za-vazdusni-saobracaj-a-d-aeroput-1927-1948/ Drustvo za Vazdusni Saobracaj A D – Aeroput (1927–1948)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210523020505/https://www.europeanairlines.no/drustvo-za-vazdusni-saobracaj-a-d-aeroput-1927-1948/ |date=23 May 2021 }} at europeanairlines.no</ref> A year later the route was extended to [[Thessaloniki]] in Greece, and further extended to Greek capital [[Athens]] in 1933.<ref name="aeroput"/> 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.<ref name="aeroput"/> After the Second World War, Aeroput was replaced by [[JAT Airways|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 {{cvt|20|km|abbr=off}} 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.<ref name="tav">{{cite web |url=http://www.tavhavalimanlari.com.tr/en-EN/Pages/Announcements.aspx?aID=87 |title=TAV Airports puts the New Skopje Airport into service |year=2011 |publisher=TAV Airports |access-date=25 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226111850/http://www.tavhavalimanlari.com.tr/en-EN/Pages/Announcements.aspx?aID=87 |archive-date=26 December 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The annual traffic has constantly risen since 2008, reaching one million passengers in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.balkans.com/open-news.php?uniquenumber=198675 |title=FYR Macedonian airports anticipate busy 2015 |publisher=Balkans.com |access-date=10 December 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403142152/http://balkans.com/open-news.php?uniquenumber=198675 |archive-date=3 April 2015}}</ref>

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]].

==Culture==

===Cultural institutions===
[[File:Skopje, Daut Pasuv hamam (turecke lazne) ve Skopji, bila budova v.jpg|thumb|Macedonian Opera and Ballet.]]
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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skopje.gov.mk/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031031413/http://www.skopje.gov.mk/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=31 |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 October 2007 |title=Културни институции |year=2009 |publisher=City of Skopje |access-date=22 November 2012}}</ref>

Skopje has also several foreign cultural centres, such as a [[Goethe-Institut]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.goethe.de/ins/mk/sko/deindex.htm |title=Goethe Institut Skopje |year=2011 |publisher=Goethe Institut |access-date=8 March 2011}}</ref> a [[British Council]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishcouncil.org/new/articles/maps/#Macedonia |title=Locations |publisher=British Council |access-date=8 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110326180749/http://www.britishcouncil.org/new/articles/maps/ |archive-date=26 March 2011}}</ref> an [[Alliance française]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fondation-alliancefr.org/spip.php?rubrique228 |title=États généraux d'Europe |year=2010 |publisher=Alliance française |access-date=8 March 2011}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> an [[American Corner]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://macedonia.usembassy.gov/american-corner-skopje.html |title=American Corner Skopje |publisher=Embassy of the United States in Macedonia |access-date=29 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216121015/http://macedonia.usembassy.gov/american-corner-skopje.html |archive-date=16 February 2013}}</ref>

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).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://seebiz.net.mk/?ItemID=349D09B35BB23D44A4D1C1F31C673D1C |title=Саеми |publisher=SEEbiz |access-date=22 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428173634/http://seebiz.net.mk/?ItemID=349D09B35BB23D44A4D1C1F31C673D1C |archive-date=28 April 2014}}</ref> Other smaller venues exist, such as the Albanian Theatre and the Youth Theatre. A Turkish Theatre and a Philharmonic hall are under construction.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=62812915547&id=16&setIzdanie=22616 |title=Македонската филхармонија конечно доби сала, ама сувенир! |year=2012 |publisher=Nova Makedonija |author=Vesna Damcevska |access-date=22 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219221619/http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=62812915547&id=16&setIzdanie=22616 |archive-date=19 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=6711714403&id=16&setIzdanie=22299 |title=Новиот турски театар во август, на спорно земјиште |year=2011 |publisher=Nova Makedonija |author=Vesna Damcevska |access-date=22 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219214605/http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=6711714403&id=16&setIzdanie=22299 |archive-date=19 December 2014}}</ref>

===Museums===
[[File:Museum of the Macedonian Struggle.jpg|thumb|[[Museum of the Macedonian Struggle (Skopje)|Museum of the Macedonian Struggle]].]]
The largest museum in Skopje is the [[Museum of the Republic of North Macedonia]] which details the history of the country. Its [[icon]]s and lapidary collections are particularly rich.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musmk.org.mk/en/2008-06-11-22-36-46.html |title=Introduction |publisher=Museum of Macedonia |access-date=8 March 2011}}</ref> 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, Skopje|Old Bazaar]]. The [[Contemporary Art Museum (North Macedonia)|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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.msuskopje.org.mk/ |title=Home |publisher=Contemporary Art Museum of Macedonia |access-date=8 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110907003922/http://www.msuskopje.org.mk/ |archive-date=7 September 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://travel2macedonia.com.mk/tourist-attraction/skopje-city-museum |title=Skopje City Museum |publisher=Travel 2 Macedonia |access-date=8 March 2011}}</ref> The [[Memorial House of Mother Teresa]] was built in 2009 on the original site of the church in which the saint had been baptized.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.memorialhouseofmotherteresa.org/the-museum/introduction#|title=Introduction |year=2011 |publisher=Memorial House of Mother Teresa |access-date=8 March 2011}}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> The [[Museum of the Macedonian Struggle (Skopje)|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<ref>{{cite web |url=http://members.vienna.at/shrew/skopje-museum.html |title=Macedonian Museum of Natural History |year=1998 |publisher=The Second International Congress on "Biodiversity, Ecological Aspects and Conservation of the Balkan Fauna" |access-date=8 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110309050632/http://members.vienna.at/shrew/skopje-museum.html |archive-date=9 March 2011}}</ref> while the 12-ha [[Skopje Zoo]] is home to 300 animals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zooskopje.com.mk/zanas.asp |title=Skopje Zoo |year=2009 |publisher=Skopje Zoo |access-date=26 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230213452/http://www.zooskopje.com.mk/zanas.asp |archive-date=30 December 2011}}</ref>

===Architecture===
[[File:Skupi (Colonia Flavia Scupinorum) - by Pudelek 1.JPG|thumb|Ruins of Roman [[Scupi]].]]
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 architecture|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.<ref name="colophon"/>

[[File:Skopje (Скопје, Shkupi) - aqueduct.JPG|thumb|left|[[Skopje Aqueduct]].]]
Skopje has some remains of Prehistorical architecture which can be seen on the [[Tumba Madžari]] Neolithic site.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tumbamadzari.org.mk/en/open-air-museum/open-air-museum.php |title=Neolithic Settlement Tumba Madzhari in Skopje |publisher=Tumba Madžari |access-date=22 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130717075413/http://www.tumbamadzari.org.mk/en/open-air-museum/open-air-museum.php |archive-date=17 July 2013}}</ref> On the other side of the city lie the remains of the ancient [[Scupi]], with ruins of a theatre, thermae and a basilica.<ref name="archeology"/> 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.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Le voyage du Levant |publisher=Slatkine |year=1897 |isbn=9782051001632 |pages=33–34 |author1=Philippe Canaye |author2=sieur de Fresne}}</ref> It consists of 50 arches, worked in cloisonné masonry.<ref name="strategic">{{cite web |url=http://www.aqueductskopje.net/attachments/Strategic_vision_Report_summary_ENG.pdf |title=Strategic Plan for the Preservation and Rehabilitation of the Skopje Aqueduct and Environment |author=Thérese Steenberghen |publisher=Skopje Aqueduct |year=2011 |access-date=22 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127211943/http://www.aqueductskopje.net/attachments/Strategic_vision_Report_summary_ENG.pdf |archive-date=27 January 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Manastir sveti Pantelejmon vo selo Nerezi.jpg|thumb|[[Church of Saint Panteleimon, Gorno Nerezi|Church of Saint Panteleimon]].]]
[[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 [[Serbo-Byzantine architecture|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 St. Panteleimon (Gorno Nerezi)|church of St. Panteleimon]] in [[Gorno Nerezi]] dates from the 12th century. Its expressive frescoes anticipate the [[Italian primitives]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=History of art: the Western tradition |author1=Horst Woldemar Janson |author2=Anthony F. Janson |name-list-style=amp |publisher=Prentice Hall Professional |year=2004 |page=263 |isbn=9780131828957}}</ref>
[[File:Isak Bey Turbe Aladja Mosque Skopje.JPG|thumb|left|Aladža Mosque and its türbe.]]
Examples of [[Ottoman architecture|Ottoman Turkish architecture]] are in the [[Old Bazaar, Skopje|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 Mosque|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 [[caravanserai]]s, two [[Turkish baths]] and the [[Stone Bridge (Skopje)|Stone Bridge]], first mentioned in 1469.<ref name="ottoman"/><ref name="oldskopje">{{cite web |url=http://www.oldskopje.net/Monuments |title=Monuments |publisher=OldSkopje |access-date=8 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110410230911/http://www.oldskopje.net/Monuments/ |archive-date=10 April 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The oldest churches in the city centre, the [[Church of the Ascension of Jesus, Skopje|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oldskopje.net/mk/news/29.html |title=Црква Св. Спас |year=2007 |publisher=Old Skopje |access-date=23 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226054010/http://www.oldskopje.net/mk/news/29.html |archive-date=26 December 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.culture.in.mk/story.asp?id=1465 |title=Renaissance Architect Andreja Damjanov- New Ray of Light on a Valuable Work |publisher=Utrinski Vesnik |year=2001 |access-date=2 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226081004/http://www.culture.in.mk/story.asp?id=1465 |archive-date=26 December 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Pošta vo Skopje, Macedonia.jpg|thumb|Main post office and the Communication Centre.]]
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 [[Moorish Revival architecture|Neo-Moorish]] Arab House and the [[Byzantine Revival architecture|Neo-Byzantine]] train station, both built in 1938.<ref name="colophon"/> [[Modernist architecture|Modernism]] appeared as early as 1933 with the former Ethnographic Museum (today the City Gallery), designed by [[Milan Zloković]].<ref name="colophon"/> 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.<ref name="colophon"/> 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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.macedonia.co.uk/client/index1.aspx?page=388 |title=Macedonian Cities – Skopje Churches |website=macedonia.co.uk}}</ref> These two buildings are noted for their originality although they are directly inspired by [[brutalist architecture|brutalism]].<ref name="colophon"/>

[[File:Archäologisches Museum von Mazedonien (Skopje).jpg|thumb|left|National Archeological Museum.]]
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.<ref>[http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/20045/45/ PM Gruevski: Yes, Skopje 2014 was my Idea] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111042343/http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/20045/45 |date=11 January 2012}}, Macedonian International News Agency, Saturday, 7 January 2012</ref><ref>[http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/gallery/skopje-2014 Skopje 2014: The new face of Macedonia] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213192754/http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/gallery/skopje-2014 |date=13 December 2012}}, BalkanInsight</ref> It made plans to erect a large number of statues, fountains, bridges, and museums at a cost of about €500&nbsp;million.<ref>[http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/weddings-planned-inside-macedonian-triumphal-arch Macedonian Arch May Be Wedding Scene] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725060156/http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/weddings-planned-inside-macedonian-triumphal-arch |date=25 July 2012}}, BalkanInsight</ref>

The project has generated controversy: critics have described the new landmark buildings as signs of reactionary [[Historicism (art)|historicist]] aesthetics.<ref name="Skopje2014">{{cite web |url=http://old.balkaninsight.com/en/main/analysis/29030/?tpl=299&ST1=Text&ST_T1=Article&ST_AS1=1&ST_max=1 |title=Critics Lash 'Dated' Aesthetics of Skopje 2014 |date=24 June 2010 |publisher=balkaninsight.com |author=Balkan Insight |access-date=29 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707205713/http://old.balkaninsight.com/en/main/analysis/29030/?tpl=299&ST1=Text&ST_T1=Article&ST_AS1=1&ST_max=1 |archive-date=7 July 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Skopje2014"/> However, representations of minorities have since been included among the monuments. The scheme is accused of turning Skopje to a [[theme park]],<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/04/world/europe/macedonia-skopje-2014/index.html Is Macedonia's capital being turned into a theme park?] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121218025251/http://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/04/world/europe/macedonia-skopje-2014/index.html |date=18 December 2012}} CNN International, 10 October 2011</ref> which is viewed as nationalistic kitsch,<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/14/alexander-great-macedonia-warrior-horse Macedonia statue: Alexander the Great or a warrior on a horse?] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803123552/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/14/alexander-great-macedonia-warrior-horse |date=3 August 2020}} ''The Guardian'', 14 August 2011</ref> and has made Skopje an example to see how national identities are constructed and how this construction is mirrored in the urban space.{{sfn|Herold|Langer|Lechler|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=sgfc1TosZGYC&pg=PA43&dq=antiquization&hl=en&sa=X&ei=aW0VT52IIJHXsgbZ6vgX&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=antiquization&f=false 43]}}
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Meister von Nerezi 001.jpg|Fresco in the [[Church of St. Panteleimon (Gorno Nerezi)|church of St. Panteleimon]].
File:Mustafa Paşa Mosque, Skopje - interior.jpg|[[Mustafa Pasha Mosque]].
File:Daut-pasin amam, Skopje.jpg|Daut Pasha Turkish bath.
File:Saat Kula-Sultan Muratova Dzamija -Skopje (27).JPG|The clock tower.
File:Skopje X8.JPG|The Arab House.
File:Porta Macedonia, Skopie, Macedonia, 2014-04-16, DD 105.JPG|Porta Macedonia.
</gallery>

===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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.barikada.com/svastara/2007/2007-06-26_blues_and_soul_2007.php |title=Barikada – World of Music |publisher=Barikada.com |author=Barikada – World of Music – Svastara – 2007 |access-date=26 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208070513/http://www.barikada.com/svastara/2007/2007-06-26_blues_and_soul_2007.php |archive-date=8 December 2008}}</ref> 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 [[Dave Burgess (musician)|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mot.com.mk |title=41. MOT – international theatre festival |website=mot.com.mk}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ietm.org/ |title=IETM |website=ietm.org |access-date=18 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206075809/http://ietm.org/ |archive-date=6 December 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.

===Nightlife===
[[File:Skopije at night.jpg|thumb|Panorama of Skopje at night]]
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.<ref name="Nightlife">{{cite web |title=Skopje: Nightlife |author=Trip Advisor |url=http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g295110-c17456/Skopje:Republic-Of-Macedonia:Nightlife.html |publisher=tripadvisor.com |access-date=2 May 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.likealocalguide.com/skopje/nightclubs |title=Top Skopje Nightclubs: 9 Best Local Nightclubs in Skopje |website=www.likealocalguide.com}}</ref> In 2010, the Colosseum club was named fifth on a list of the best clubs in Southeastern Europe. [[Armin van Buuren]], [[Above and Beyond (band)|Above and Beyond]], [[Shapeshifters (music act)|The Shapeshifters]] are just some of the many musicians that have visited the club.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://daily.mk/cluster⅜5f8c795814c87a8cbb24041466d94c8/368735 |title="Колосеум" меѓу најдобрите пет клуба во Југоисточна Европа |publisher=daily.mk |author=[[Nova Makedonija]] Online |access-date=2 May 2011}}</ref> Nighttime concerts in local, regional and global music are often held at the [[Toše Proeski Arena]] and [[Boris Trajkovski Sports Center]].<ref name="Nightlife"/> For middle-aged people, places for having fun are also the ''[[Kafana|kafeanas]]'' where traditional [[Cuisine of North Macedonia|Macedonian food]] is served and traditional [[Music of North Macedonia|Macedonian music]] (''[[Starogradska muzika]]'') is played, but [[Balkan music|music from all the Balkans]], particularly [[Music of Serbia|Serbian folk music]] is also popular. Apart from the traditional Macedonian restaurants, there are restaurants featuring international cuisines.<ref name="Nightlife"/> Some of the most popular cafés in Skopje are Café Trend, Izlet, Ljubov, Vinyl, Public Room, Kino Karposh, Krug, Sindkat.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.likealocalguide.com/skopje/bars |title=Top Skopje Bars: 18 Best Local Bars in Skopje |website=www.likealocalguide.com}}</ref> The [[Old Bazaar, Skopje|Old Bazaar]] was a popular nightlife destination in the past. The [[Government of North Macedonia|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vest.com.mk/?ItemID=F602DD424FAD5E4B8771B653206B91FE&arc=1 |title=Нов живот на старата скопска чаршија |publisher=vest.com.mk |author=Vest Online |access-date=2 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928131711/http://www.vest.com.mk/?ItemID=F602DD424FAD5E4B8771B653206B91FE&arc=1 |archive-date=28 September 2011}}</ref>

==People from Skopje==
{{main|List of people from Skopje}}

==International relations==
[[File:SoraviaCenter1.JPG|thumb|170px|Soravia Center Skopje]]
{{see also|List of twin towns and sister cities in North Macedonia}}

===Twin towns – sister cities===
Skopje is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Збратимени градови |url=https://starportal.skopje.gov.mk/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=172 |website=starportal.skopje.gov.mk |publisher=Skopje |access-date=23 December 2019 |language=mk}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*{{flagicon|UK}} [[City of Bradford|Bradford]], United Kingdom <small>(since 1961)</small>
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Dijon]], France <small>(since 1961)</small>
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Dresden]], Germany <small>(since 1967)</small>
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Tempe, Arizona|Tempe]], United States <small>(since 1971)</small>
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Roubaix]], France <small>(since 1973)</small>
*{{flagicon|BEL}} [[Waremme]], Belgium <small>(since 1974)</small>
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Nuremberg]], Germany <small>(since 1982)</small>
*{{flagicon|ALG}} [[Chlef]], Algeria <small>(since 1983)</small>
*{{flagicon|CHN}} [[Nanchang]], China <small>(since 1985)</small>
*{{flagicon|TUR}} [[Manisa]], Turkey <small>(since 1985)</small>
*{{flagicon|EGY}} [[Suez]], Egypt <small>(since 1985)</small>
*{{flagicon|USA}} [[Pittsburgh]], United States <small>(since 2002)</small>
*{{flagicon|TUR}} [[Istanbul]], Turkey <small>(since 2003)</small>
*{{flagicon|SVN}} [[Ljubljana]], Slovenia <small>(since 2007)</small>
*{{flagicon|MNE}} [[Podgorica]], Montenegro <small>(since 2007)</small>
*{{flagicon|ESP}} [[Zaragoza]], Spain <small>(since 2008)</small>
*{{flagicon|CRO}} [[Zagreb]], Croatia <small>(since 2011)</small>
*{{flagicon|ALB}} [[Tirana]], Albania <small>(since 2016)</small>
*{{flagicon|BIH}} [[Sarajevo]], Bosnia and Herzegovina <small>(since 2017)</small>
{{div col end}}

===Partnerships===
*{{flagicon|TUR}} [[Ankara]], Turkey <small>(since 1995)</small><ref>{{cite web |title=Sister Cities of Ankara |url=https://www.ankara.bel.tr/en/foreign-relations-department/sister-cities-of-ankara |website=ankara.bel.tr |publisher=Ankara |access-date=23 December 2019 |archive-date=28 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130428004055/https://www.ankara.bel.tr/en/foreign-relations-department/sister-cities-of-ankara |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|SRB}} [[Belgrade]], Serbia <small>(since 2012)</small><ref>{{cite web |title=Belgrade has five twin cities in the world |url=https://www.ekapija.com/en/news/2162335/belgrade-has-five-twin-cities-in-the-world |website=ekapija.com |publisher=Belgrade |date=18 June 2018 |access-date=6 January 2020}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Europe|North Macedonia}}
*[[History of Skopje]]
*[[List of honorary citizens of Skopje]]
*[[List of people from Skopje]]
*[[Old Bazaar, Skopje]]
*[[Sports in Skopje]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group=Note}}

== Citations ==
{{reflist}}

== General sources ==
*{{cite book |title=The Three Yugoslavias: State-Building and Legitimation, 1918–2005 |author-link=Sabrina P. Ramet |first=Sabrina P. |last=Ramet |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780253346568}}
*{{cite book |last=Papazoglu |first=Fanula |author-link=Fanula Papazoglu |title=The Central Balkan Tribes in pre-Roman Times: Triballi, Autariatae, Dardanians, Scordisci and Moesians |year=1978 |location=Amsterdam |publisher=Hakkert |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Up4JAQAAIAAJ |isbn=9789025607937}}
*{{cite book |first1=Stephanie |last1=Herold |first2=Benjamin |last2=Langer |first3=Julia |last3=Lechler |name-list-style=amp |title=Reading the city: Urban Space and Memory in Skopje |publisher=Universitätsverlag der Technischen Universität Berlin |year=2010 |isbn=9783798321298}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |author=Ilká Thiessen |title=Waiting for Macedonia: Identity in a Changing World |publisher=University of Toronto Press |year=2007 |isbn=9781551117195}}
*{{cite book |title=Skopje between the past and the future |author=Ivan Tomovski |publisher=Macedonian Review Editions |year=1978}}
*{{cite book |title=This Was Skopje |author=Jovan Šćekić |publisher=Yugoslav Federal Secretariat for Information |year=1963}}
*{{cite book |title=100 години модерна архитектура |author=M. Tokarev |publisher=Pridonesot na Makedonija i Jugoslavija |year=2006}}
*{{cite book |title=Чај од јужните мориња |author=Danilo Kocevski |publisher=Маgor |year=2008 |isbn=9789989183447}}
*{{cite book |title=Скопје од турското освојување до крајот на XVIII vek |author=D. Gjorgiev |publisher=Institut za nacionalna istorija |year=1997}}
*{{cite book |title=Üsküp'te osmanlı mimarî eserleri |author=L. Kumbaracı-Bogoyeviç |publisher=ENKA |year=2008}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Skopje}}
{{Wikivoyage|Skopje}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130524191452/https://discoverskopje.net.ms/ Discover Skopje]
*[http://www.skopje.gov.mk/en City of Skopje Official Portal]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110426114127/http://vecer.com.mk/galerii/skopje/index.html Skopje at night], picture gallery.
*[http://advisortravelguide.com/skopje-between-byzantine-and-ottomans/ Skopje |Between Byzantine and Ottomans]

{{Geographic location
|North=[[Čučer-Sandevo Municipality|Čučer-Sandevo]],
|Northeast=[[Lipkovo Municipality|Lipkovo]]
|Center=Greater Skopje
|East=[[Aračinovo Municipality|Aračinovo]], [[Ilinden Municipality|Ilinden]]
|Southeast=[[Petrovec Municipality|Petrovec]]
|South=[[Studeničani Municipality|Studeničani]], [[Sopište municipality|Sopište]]
|West=[[Želino Municipality|Želino]], [[Jegunovce municipality|Jegunovce]]
}}

{{Skopje}}
{{Skopje (close area)}}
{{Towns in North Macedonia}}
{{List of European capitals by region}}
{{Capital cities of the European Union candidates}}
{{Historical capitals of Serbia}}
{{Capitals of Bulgaria}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Skopje| ]]<!--leave the empty space as standard-->
[[Category:Former capitals of Bulgaria]]
[[Category:Former capitals of Serbia]]
[[Category:Cities in ancient Illyria]]
[[Category:Capitals in Europe]]
[[Category:Cities in North Macedonia]]