Veles

Veles (Велес in Macedonian, Köprülü in Turkish) is a 43,716 inhabitants city (5th largest in North Macedonia) by river Vardar in the central part of North Macedonia. It is one of the industrial centers of the country and an important trade, transport and economic center and it's one of the cradles of Macedonian culture. Veles is also characterized by its typical and old town architecture. 

How do I arrive to Veles?

  Veles is a large transportation hub within North Macedonia and its easy to reach. 

• Train: there are railways to Veles from Skopje (aprox. 50 minutes) Štip (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes) or even Bitola too. 
• Bus: there are buses that frequent buses to most of the main cities in North Macedonia. 
• Car: if you rented a car, from Veles you can reach Stobi (aprox. 25 minutes); Kavardarci, Negotino and Štip (aprox. 40 minutes), Skopje (aprox. 45 minutes), Kumanovo (aprox. 50 minutes), Tetovo (aprox. 1 hour 15 minutes) or Prilep and Strumica.

History

The first settlement in the area was the city of Paionien, going under Roman rule in 168 BC (and overshadowed by Stobi). In the 6th century the Slavic settlement of the area began and in the 9th and 10th centuries the place belonged to the Bulgarian Empire. Since 1018 again to the Byzantine Empire and when the Bulgarian Empire was restored, part of it. Serbs conquered the area in the 14th century and soon afterwards Veles was placed under Ottoman rule, being first mentioned in the 16th century. In the beginning of the 20th was connected to the railway network by Skopje-Thessaloniki line and in the First and Second Balkan Wars volunteers from Veles fought in the Bulgarian Army. Despite this Veles (and all current North Macedonia) was granted to the Kingdom of Serbia, being taken over by Bulgaria during WW1 and WW2, managed by IMRO. Tito's partisans took over Veles in 1944 and collaborators of the Bulgarian regime were mistreated and even murdered. As part of Yugoslavia the city was industrialized (leading to a social and economic change) and its name was changed to Titov Veles (in Josip Broz's honour). After the independence of North Macedonia in 1991, large companies were closed and the standard of living fell sharply. Veles became popular because of fake news speading on social networks dring 2016 US presidential campaign with residents creating websites with fake news and receiving money with website operators received money from the advertising.

 

What can I visit in Veles?

 Veles has a rich and varied cultural tradition, home to the country's first theatre, its first library, first music school and first museum. It also has a large collection of traditional architecture of North Macedonia and such buildings can be seen all over town.

These are Veles' main attractions:

• Veles Clock Tower: 18th century clock tower considered one of the finiest of its kind in North Macedonia. It was originally built as a watchtower but then turnt into a clock tower in the end of the 18th century.
• National Museum of Veles (8-16 Mon-Sat): museum located in a Neoclassical building that shows Veles' culture and history with exhibitions of  pieces related to archaeology, ethnology, art and history.
• St. Kiril i Metodij Macedonian Orthodox Church: Byzantine style church built in the beginning of the 21st century with a bell tower, placed on the Park of the Youth.
• Kosturnica-Ossuary Monument: memorial with flower's shape built in 1979 by the architect Sava Subotin, symbolizing a German WW2 helmet broken in four pieces as a symbol of the defeat of fascism. It keeps the remains of many fallen soldiers from the Veles area and large mosaics can be found painted on the walls of the memorial. There is also a museum about the history of Veles during this period.
• Kosta Solev-Racin Memorial House (8-16 Mon-Sat): memorial house that shows the life and work Ročo Racin, author and partisan considered the founder of modern Macedonian literature. The building itself was constructed in the traditional style even though Veles is home to one of the largest collections of traditional architecture in the country.
• Fazil Ahmed Pasha Mosque: mosque built in 1659 by Fazil Ahmed Pasha after the death of his daughter, the only standing mosque in Veles. 
• Uspenie na Presveta Bogorodica Macedonian Orthodox Church-Vlach Church: 19th century church with interesting details in and outside it. It's placed on a district that was once considered Vlach.
• St. Pantelejmon Macedonian Orthodox Church: 19th century church built by Andrej Damjanov and his brothers in 1840, seat of the Diocese of Povardarie. Inside the church the decoration is rich (with arches, columns and frescoes) and from here there are good views of Veles.
• St. Jovan Krstitel Macedonian Orthodox Church: 13th century small church built of stone with a portico on one side. Unfortunately its original frescoes and part of the iconostasis aren't preserved.
• St. Dimitrija Macedonian Orthodox Monastery: 14th century Byzantine style monastery church built by the Serbian king Stefan Dušan. It's believed that here stood another church since the 6th century.
• St. Nikola Macedonian Orthodox Church: small 14th century church with very little traces of the pre-Ottoman interior. It became abandoned during Ottoman times and was renovated in 1939. 

Kosturnica-Ossuary Monument

St. Pantelejmon Macedonian Orthodox Church

Mosaics at Stobi archaeological site

 Driving south 30 km from Veles, in the 2,219 people town of Gradsko (Градско in Macedonian), it can be found Stobi archaeological site (8:30-19 from Apr to Sep; 8:30-16:30 from Oct to Mar; 120 MKD/ 50 MKD/ free  adults/ retiree and students/ kids under 6), a Paeonian settlement that was later part of Macedon and it fell under the Romans (2nd century BC), being the capital of the Macedonia Salutaris province and enjoying significant growth till it was abandoned by the 6th century. Some of the most important religious buildings, dating back to the 5th century, are the northern basilica (with Slavic graves), the central basilica (built on a synagogue) and the Episcopal Basilica (Hellenistic building whose baptistery has magnificent mosaic compositions). The main streets of the town are via Axia, via Principalis Inferior and via Theodosia  As for houses  the main ones are the House of the Psalms, House of Partenius, House of Peristerius (large living complex for several families and also had rooms for shops) and the Palace of Theodosius (building where the emperor Theodosius first stayed while being in Stobi, whose floor is covered with marble blocks and the peristyle with mosaics). Other nice remains are the main town public fountian and Magnae Therma.

Popova Kula winery at Demir Kapija

Continuing south from Stobi there's the area known as Tikveš, a plain known for its wineries that, activity that was abandoned during 500 years of Ottoman control (because of them being Muslims and not drinking alcohol) and recovered after it. The main towns located in this wine-growing region are Kavadarci (Кавадарци in Macedonian), Negotino (Неготино in Macedonian) and Demir Kapija (Демир Капија in Macedonian), all of them with large Macedonian ethnic majorities. The main grape variety used in Tikveš is vranac (and in Popova Kula it's used the local Macedonian variety of stanušina crna). Some of the most popular wineries are Tikveš Winery (10-18 Mon-Sat; booking on advance) and Popova Kula (winery-hotel). In Kavadarci (38,741 inhabitants), the wine capital of North Macedonia, there are other things to do such as visiting Marko's Tower (18th century defensive tower), enjoying the architecture and the views of Tikveš from Kosturnica Memorial or going to Lake Tikveš, the largest man-made lake of the country. As for Negotino (13,284 people) here it can be visited Negotino Town Museum (8-16), museum that shows the history and culture of the region with archaeological, ethnological, fine arts and historical pieces, maintaining a wine gallery at the St. Ǵorǵi Monastery; St. Ǵorǵi Monastery, monastery built in 1860 with three cupolas that during WW2 was home of Baba Mitra, a local grandmother that freed 20 partisan detained by Nazi Germans and who died when the Germans set fire to the monastery with Baba Mitra inside it or St. Atanasij Veliki Macedonian Orthodox Church, the main church in the town that dates back to 1837.

Where can I eat in Veles?

Veles culinary scene is quite average and there are some nice restaurants such as the winery Chateau Sopot, the Irish pub Da Vinci's Pub (Blagoj Gjorev 99) or the restaurant of Hotel Romantik [Хотел Романтик].
A part from the wineries previous recommended, other choices within Tikveš are Stobi Winery (Gradsko) or Bovin (Negotino).

Posted in: Europe,North Macedonia