Skopje - the City of Statues

Skopje is an architect’s fever dream brought to life. It’s a city that’s hard to get a measure on. The centre feels very Las Vegan but turn a corner and you could be in Paris or East Berlin. In many ways it’s reminiscent of east Germany with lots of brutalist, grey, concrete buildings but modern recreations of Grecian, neo-classical and French provincial buildings have been shoved into every conceivable space in some modern attempt to beautify the city. In the background it’s flanked by a 6th century fortress in the distance. Aesthetically, the city is completely mad in the best possible way and within a 10 minute walk I’m more than a little in love with the place.

Massive Macedonian flags pepper the skyline and there are statues everywhere. Everyone with any link to Macedonia seems to be immortalised in statue, no
matter how spurious their claim to fame (or Macedonia for that matter). On a hill overlooking the city is the World’s second biggest cross, built in the millennium to celebrate 2000 years of Christianity in Macedonia.

A red, double decker, London bus goes past and I do a double take suddenly wondering if it’s a mirage. Turns out the Yugoslavian government purchased a huge number of London buses in the 50s. An earthquake later destroyed most of the fleet but in recent years, a company has brought back the iconic buses as a flare of nostalgia for Skopje’s past.

I turn down the Stone Bridge, a pirate ship parked to my left, I’m surrounded by statues of national heroes and saints alike, a massive statue of Alexander the Great ahead (although in an Aldi vs Marks and Sparks style twist, it’s officially it’s named ‘The Great Warrior’ as the government can’t make reference to Alexander due to ongoing disputes with Greece). The town centre feels surreally modern while the domes of the old ottoman bazaar peak out just a few hundred meters over the bridge. Everything in Skopje is either 12th century or built within the past couple of decades. There doesn’t seem to be any in between.

It’s an endearingly bonkers city and my only complaint is that I don’t have more time to explore both Skopje and Macedonia more widely.Read more