**Geography and Topography:**
– Skopje is located in the north of North Macedonia, halfway between Belgrade and Athens.
– Positioned in the center of the Balkan peninsula, built in the Skopje valley along the Vardar river.
– Surrounded by mountain ranges to the north and south.
– Skopje valley is about 20km wide, with limited urban expansion due to surrounding mountain ranges.
– City stretches over 33km but is only 10km wide, with an elevation of approximately 245m above sea level.
– Urbanized area covers 337km with a density of 65 inhabitants per hectare.
**Hydrography and Geology:**
– Vardar river flows through Skopje, with tributaries like Treska, Lepenac, and Markova Reka.
– Serava river was diverted in the 1960s due to pollution.
– Skopje valley is bordered by mountain ranges like Šar Mountains, Jakupica range, Osogovo range hills, and Skopska Crna Gora.
– Mount Vodno, the city’s highest point, is 1066m high.
– Skopje experiences regular seismic activity due to its location near a seismic fault, with significant earthquakes in 518, 1555, and 1963.
**Climate and Environment:**
– Skopje has a humid subtropical climate with a mean annual temperature of 13.5°C.
– Summers are hot and dry, with temperatures above 30°C for 88 days annually, while winters are short, cold, and wet.
– Precipitation is evenly distributed, with heaviest periods from October to December and April to June.
– Mount Vodno is the largest protected area within Skopje, facing environmental issues like pollution from steel processing and vehicle traffic.
– Skopje has various parks and gardens totaling 4,361 hectares but is one of the most polluted cities globally.
**History and Urban Development:**
– Skopje has a rich historical background, being part of various empires and kingdoms throughout history.
– Skopje was part of the Serbian Empire, Ottoman Empire, Kingdom of Serbia, and became the capital of SR Macedonia in 1945.
– Hit by a devastating earthquake in 1963, leading to significant urban reconstruction.
– Skopje’s urban morphology and plan were influenced by the earthquake, with a focus on quick relocation, economic revival, and future urban expansion.
– Reconstruction led by architect Adolf Ciborowski divided the city into blocks for specific activities and transformed the Vardar riverbanks into natural areas and parks.
**Economy and Urban Sociology:**
– Skopje is a center for various industries like chemical and textile, with significant development in trade, logistics, and banking sectors.
– Emphasis on transportation, culture, and sports, with a population of 422,540 in the urban area.
– Industrial growth accompanied by development in other sectors, with an ethnically diverse population.
– Ethnic groups like Macedonians, Albanians, and Roma tend to reside in specific areas of the city.
– Skopje’s urban sociology reflects varying population densities across different areas, with disparities in living area per person.
This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. (October 2023) |
Skopje (/ˈskɒpjeɪ/ SKOP-yay, US also /ˈskoʊpjeɪ/ SKOHP-yay; Macedonian: Скопје [ˈskɔpjɛ] ⓘ; Albanian: Shkup, Albanian definite form: Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. Skopje lies in the Skopje Basin.
Skopje
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| City of Skopje | |
  .jpg)    Clockwise from top: view over central Skopje from Skopje Fortress (Kale); Kuršumli An; Old Bazaar with Mustafa Pasha Mosque in the background; Old Railway Station; Church of St. Clement of Ohrid; and Stone Bridge | |
  Skopje Location of Skopje in North Macedonia  Skopje Skopje (Balkans)  Skopje Skopje (Europe) | |
| Coordinates: 41°59′46″N 21°25′54″E / 41.99611°N 21.43167°E | |
| Country |  North Macedonia |
| Region | Skopje Statistical |
| Municipality | Greater Skopje |
| Government | |
| • Type | Special unit of local self-government |
| • Body | Skopje City Council |
| • Mayor | Danela Arsovska (Independent) |
| Area | |
| • Greater Skopje | 571.46 km2 (220.64 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 337.80 km2 (130.43 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 1,854.00 km2 (715.83 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 240 m (790 ft) |
| Population (2021) | |
| • Greater Skopje | 526,502 |
| • Urban | 488,103 |
| • Urban density | 1,400/km2 (3,700/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 607,007 |
| • Metro density | 330/km2 (850/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Skopjan (Macedonian: Skopjanec/Skopjanka Скопјанец/Скопјанка) (Albanian: Shkupjan/Shkupjane) |
| Official Language(s) | |
| • primary | Macedonian, Albanian |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal codes | МК-10 00 |
| Area code | +389 2 |
| ISO 3166 code | MK-85 |
| Car plates | SK |
| HDI (2021) | 0.802 very high · 1st of 8 |
| Climate | BSk |
| Website | www |
Scupi is attested for the first time in the second century CE as a city in Roman Dardania. When the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in 395 AD, Scupi came under Byzantine rule from Constantinople. During much of the early medieval period, the town was contested between the Byzantines and the Bulgarian Empire, whose capital it was between 972 and 992.
From 1282, the town was part of the Serbian Empire, and acted as its capital city from 1346 to 1371. In 1392, Skopje was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, who called it Üsküb (اسکوب). The town stayed under Ottoman control for over 500 years, serving as the capital of the pashasanjak of Üsküp and later the Vilayet of Kosovo. Its central position in the Ottoman Balkans made it a significant centre of commerce and administration during the Ottoman era. In 1912, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbia during the Balkan Wars. During World War I 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 World War II, the city was again captured by Bulgaria and in 1945 became the capital of SR Macedonia, a federated state within Yugoslavia. The city developed rapidly, but this was interrupted in 1963 when it was hit by a disastrous earthquake.
Skopje is on the upper course of the Vardar River, and is on a major north–south Balkan route between Belgrade and Athens. It is a centre for the chemical, timber, textile, leather, printing, and metal-processing 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 20 km (12 mi) away from the city itself or even border the neighbouring Kosovo.[failed verification]