Po redaktohet Skopje (paragraf)

== 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.