Štip

Štip (Штип in Macedonian) is a 47,796 inhabitants city (4th largest in North Macedonia) by rivers Bregalnica and Otinja in the eastern part of North Macedonia, being the largest city in this part of the counry. Štip is considered Macedonian's fashion industry capital and is home of Goce Delčev University of Štip.

How do I arrive to Štip?

  Štip is an important city in the center of North Macedonia and is well communicated. 

• Train: there are railways to Štip from Veles (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes) that reach Skopje (aprox. 2 hours) too. 
• Bus: there are buses that frequent buses to most of the main cities in North Macedonia. 
• Car: if you rented a car, from Štip you can reach Veles (aprox. 40 minutes), Kumanovo, Kratovo, Skopje and Strumica (aprox. 1 hour), Kavadartsi (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes) and Prilep (aprox. 1 hour 45 minutes). Štip can also be reached from towns in Bulgaria such as Blagoevgrad (aprox. 3 hours 20 minutes) or Sofia (aprox. 4 hours) and Thessaloniki (aprox. 2 hours 45 minutes) in Greece.

History

The Paeonians inhabited this area (around the 5th and 4th centuries BC) and the city of Astibo was where Paeonian emperors were crowned. They were absorbed into the Macedonian empire by Alexander I before 360 BC. The first mention of a settlement dates to Roman times, Estipeon, an important settlement in the province of Paeonia. In the 6th century the Slavs raided the Balkans and the Slavic tribe of Sagudats permanently settled the area, which was christianized by Cyril and Methodius in the 9th century. Štip was part of the Bulgarian Empire, in 1014 it fell again under Byzantine rule until the reestablishment of the Bulgarian Empire in 1185. By 1284, Serbian King Stefan Milutin conquered the region until it was annexed by the Ottoman Empire (1385). There is little information about the development of Štip during Ottoman rule, only that it was part of the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire (in the late 19th and early 20th century). In 1912, during the First Balkan War, Štip and the surrounding area was occupied by Bulgaria and then, with its defeat against its former allies Greece and Serbia, annexed to the Kingdom of Serbia (1913). Štip was temporaly retaken by Bulgaria during WW1 and during the interwar period, Štip was part of the Vardar Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In 1941 it was bombed by Nazi German planes that took off from Bulgaria, who occupied the city till 1944.

What can I visit in Štip?

 Štip Old Town is goes around the rivers that cross the city. Novo Selo, Štip's oldest neighborhood, was considered a separate village not so long ago and is interesting to visit it too. Štip is known because of the Feast of the Fourty Martyrs (participants gather on the streets and then hike up the Isar hill, having to greet 40 people before getting the top), celebrated on the 22nd of March, placed in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2013. On Fridays there's always a local flea market.

These are Štip's main attractions:

• Museum of Štip (8-16 Tue-Sat): local museum that shows the history of Štip and features archaeology remains (more than 1,000), works of art and objects related to the ethnology and history of Štip. The main seat of the museum is located at a historic estate with traidtional architecture, Arsovi House.
• Memorial of the Deported Jews: monument that honours the 551 Jews from Štip that were deported to Teblinka concentration camp in 1943, during the Bulgarian occupation. It's located in a park on the Otinja River. 
• Bezisten: 17th century historic covered Ottoman market located in the center of the city. It was destroyed by a fire during the Austro-Turkish War, rebuilt and today is used as an art gallery
• Štip Clock Tower: clock tower that was built in 1650 as a guard tower and later adapted into a clock tower. 
• St. Nikola Macedonian Orthodox Church: 19th century church built in the ruinas of a previous church from 1341. It's a three-nave basilica with frescoes, vaulted arches and a gallery of icons. It's the seat of the Bregalnica Diocese of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. 
• Štip Fortress: ruins of a fortress  that is thought to have been built during the Serbian Empire times because of its strategic location. Some walls and foundations still survive today and a cross was erected among the ruins (it's illuminated at night). Several churches were built on the slopes below the fortress. 
• St. Arkhangel Mikhail Macedonian Orthodox Church: 14th century Byzantine style church whose construction was promoted by protosebastos Hrelja (Serbian nobleman that ruled Štip). It's considered the most valuable medieval monument of Štip, Republic of Macedonia.
  St Michael's in Štip and in 1334 Hrelja, with consent of king Stefan Dušan, donated the church to Chilandar, the Serbian monastery in Holy Mount Athos.
• St. Bogorodica Macedonian Orthodox Church: 19th century church built by Andrej Damjanov, main one in the district of Novo Selo, with beautiful icons and frescoes. Its wood-carved iconostasis and furnishings are impressive and used to the largest church in North Macedonia until Soborna Crkva Macedonian Orthodox Church was built in Skopje.
• Museum of VMRO from Štip (8-16 Mon-Sat): museum placed in a historic house with traditional architecture once belonging to the Andonov family that exhibits documents, weapons and other artifacts from the period of the VMRO (1893-1934).

St Nikola Macedonian Orthodox Church

Bezisten of Štip

Goce Delčev Ploštad in Strumica

 Driving south from Štip like 65 km it can be found the 2nd largest town in eastern North Macedonia, Strumica (Струмица in Macedonian), 35,311 inhabitants. The town has some things to do; Strumica's main square is Goce Delčev Ploštad. To learn a bit more abou the town's history it can be visited Strumica Museum (8-16 Mon-Fri) that has objects related to the history, ethnology, and archaeology of the area; close to it can be found Orta Mosque, a former Byzantine church from the 12th century that was converted to a mosque by the Ottomans and nowadays is used as a museum and has archaeological excavations too. On the top of the town it can be seen Strumica Fortress (9-1), also known as Tsar's Towers, an 11th century fortress that was used under the Byzantine, Bulgarian and Serbian empires and abandoned by the 17th century, under Ottoman rule. There are nice views of Strumica from here. On the way to the fortress it's Kosturnica Memorial, a communist-era monument from 1979 that memorializes many of Strumica's fallen in World War 2. There are some nice churches in Strumica like St. Petnaeset Tiveriopolski Mačenici Monastery (complex of churches from 1972 with ruins from the original 4th-9th centuries church), St.Kiril & Metodij Macedonian Orthodox Church (Russian Gothic style church from 1905 that was provided by Russian missionaries on Mount Athos) or Uspenie na Presveta Bogorodica Catholic Church (20th century red-brick church with a taller central tower, part of the Greek Catholic church). 

Veljusa Monastery

Only 7 km west from Strumica is located the 1,552 people town of Veljusa (Вељуса in Macedonian), known for Veljusa Monastery, one of the most important in North Macedonia. It was built in 1080 and the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos visited and admired it. The church is cross-shaped with three multi-sided domes, including two above the church and one above the exonarthex. Its important frescoes were painted in 1085 (though the porch ones are from 1164 and most of the nave ones, from the 19th century). It remains in very good conditions.

Where can I eat in Štip?

Štip is known throughout North Macedonia for pastrmajlija (pizza-like crust in a long canoe shape topped with chicken or pork meat). The city has many restaurants that serve traditional Macedonian food as well as many pizza restaurants. There are dozens upon dozens of bistros/bars (kafani) that serve all types of alcohol at a cheap price and food with it as well.
In case of deciding to visit Strumica it can be a possibility enjoying its nightlife, one of the best in the country, located around Josif Josifovski Sveshator. It's most typical alcoholic drink is Strumica Mastika (traditional drink with anise).

Posted in: Europe,North Macedonia