The Skopje Fortress is a historic fortress located in the old town of Skopje

admin ♦ August 5, 2010 ♦ 2 Comments

The Skopje Fortress is a historic fortress located in the old town of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of Macedonia. It is situated on the highest point in the city overlooking the Vardar River. The fortress is depicted on the coat of arms of Skopje, which in turn is incorporated in the city’s flag.
The first fortress, according to research and available data, is believed to have been built amidst the 6th century A.D., on land that had been inhabited during the Neolithic  and Bronze ages or roughly 4000 B.C. It was constructed with yellow limestone  and travertine and along with fragments of Latin inscriptions, assert the idea that the fortress originated from the Roman city of Skupi, which was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 518.

The fortress is thought to have been reconstructed during the rule of emperor Justinian I and constructed further during the 10th and 11th centuries over the remains of emperor Justinian’s Byzantine fortress which may have been destroyed due to a number of wars and battles in the region, such as that of the uprising of the Bulgarian Empire against the Byzantine Empire under the rule of Peter Delyan. Not much is known about the Medieval fortress apart from a few documents which outline minor characteristics in the fortress’ appearance.
Kale fortress Skopje … Kale fortress has the dominant place in Skopje. It was built of stone blocks from the ruins of the city of Scupi, during the rule of the Byzantium Emperor Justinijan the 1st.
The ramparts of the Skopsko Kale are 121 meter long and today one square, one rectangular and one round tower are saved. It originates from the 6th century, while it’s presents appearance is from the Ottoman period.
The great complex since 1392 was stationary of the Turkish army until 1913, when Skopje falls under Serbian authority. And in the period from 1913 to 1953 here was settled the Yugoslav army.
Today in the space of the fortress is an arranged park, which serves for recreation and fun, and in the evening hours besides the sounds of the Macedonian folks music, the visitors have a wonderful view on the city and the river Vardar from there.

Stands on the highest hill in the Skopje valley and offers great views over the city. The oldest section of the fortress is within the presentday fortifications. It is 121m long and is built in opus qvadrum style (huge stone blocks on the outside and small stones inside) by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian who was born in the village of Taorion near Skopje. After the great earthquake of 518 when ancient Skupi was destroyed, Justinian decided to do something for his birthtown and built Justinijana Prima on the site of presentday Skopje. Unfortunately no major archeological work has been done for discovering the remains of Justinijana Prima. Most of the presentday fortifications originate from the 10th century (the square tower) and 13th century (the round tower). It was reinforced during them turkish rule when the number of towers was up to 70 (today there are just 3 standing) and the fortress went down to river Vardar and up on the hill where today the Museum of Conteporary Art stands. The small gate from the side of the old bazaar is the only gate still standing and it was built in 1446. The fortress was badly damaged in the fire in 1689 and even more during the eartquake of 1963.Error processing request