Have you ever walked around Skopje and thought “Wow, what a mess”? Well, you’re not alone, in fact, most people that I’ve talked to seem to agree that Skopje is just an extremely messy city. But why is that? Why does Skopje have so many different architectural styles and esthetics? Does Skopje even have an identity? For the past couple of years, I’ve been enamored by the history and reasoning as to why Skopje seems to go through so many phases and so many different cultural shifts. Almost as if Skopje is going through an indefinite identity crisis. Turns out the answer is much more complex than I expected. 

Most respectable international publications call Skopje the new capital of Kitch (The Guardian) and even go as far as to compare the city to Disneyland, calling it a theme park (CNN). However, I can’t help but love the weird, out-of-place baroque buildings, or the unique combination of Japanese brutalist architecture next to an Ottoman heritage site (it’s more common than you’d think). All of these characteristics have a deeper socio-political meaning for the city and a lot can be said about the mismanagement of Skopje.  But to me, most of the buildings and attractions in Skopje just look like goofy cardboard cutouts in the best way possible. If I disassociate myself and try to look at my home city from a 3rd person perspective I can begin to find the irony in all of the messiness and call it what it is. CAMP… Skopje is a camp.  

To me, Skopje has had 3 major phases that have impacted the way it looks today. Starting from the Ottoman Empire. This is when the city first started to gain a sense of self and a sense of identity. Many of the Iconic buildings and structures that Skopje has to offer originate from this period. Most of them are located in the old part of the city and are truly beautiful. The most memorable structures to me are Suli An, Kursumli An, and the Stone Bridge (duh). This is the part of the city that has a more traditional vibe and it’s generally liked by most people. After the Ottoman empire ended Skopje didn’t change much until… 

1963… One of the worst tragedies in the history of Skopje. The earthquake killed over 1000 people and over 80% of the city was turned to rubble. A lot can be said about the catastrophe but for the sake of continuity I’ll skip to the aftermath of the earthquake. After the tragedy, Skopje had the unique opportunity to start over in a way and rebuild itself. This is when the second major phase starts. The Brutalist phase. A global initiative coordinated by the UN was announced right after the earthquake to rebuild the city. The man put in charge of drawing up a design for the city was none other than the world-renowned architect Kenzo Tange. This is when Skopje first started to experiment with brutalist and metabolism esthetics. However, only a portion of the buildings imagined by Tange and his team end up getting built and the architectural style gets ditched as soon as the project is over. Personally, this is my favorite architectural style and most of my favorite buildings are from this period. For example the Post Office or the UKIM campus. But it’s pretty common to find people who despise this style and these buildings, so generally people have a love/hate relationship with the brutalist side of the city. 

The last major phase is probably the most controversial (rightfully so) and the funniest one. Skopje 2014 is a project that sought to build a bunch of statues, monuments, and neo-classical/baroque buildings for reasons that are far too unserious for me to mention. This is the period that in my opinion solidified Skopje’s identity crisis. After this project, the city took on its final form (for now) as a messy, kitschy, migraine-inducing melting pot of so many different architectural styles that I can’t even name them all. Some of the flashier buildings from this period are Porta Macedonia, The Museum of Archeology, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. All of these buildings together with the countless statues make the city look like a wacky chess board in the most uncool way possible. And so far I have yet to meet a person who likes the way these structures look. 

All that being said, I still love every aspect of this unserious city. From the beautiful Ottoman structures to the brutalist concrete gems, and of course the questionable neo-classical statues. Skopje is an ever changing city whose identity is the fact that it doesn’t have an identity. Whether you’re a tourist on vacation, you’re stuck in traffic, or for some reason, you’re unironically walking around the city centre you are bound to be entertained. And that’s beautiful. 

Bogdan Badjukov 

Sources: 

Ottoman Heritage – HAEMUS Center for scientific research and promotion of culture

Guide to Skopje Brutalist Architecture – Kami & the rest of the world 

How Skopje’s Urban Makeover Alienated Locals – Failed architecture

Modernist Heritage: The Global Architecture Initiative that Rebuilt Post-Earthquake Skopje – architizer