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Veles (Municipality, Macedonia)

Велес

by Željko Heimer

Presentation of Veles
Municipal flag of Veles

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Presentation of Veles

Veles is a city build on the two banks of the river Vardar. The municipality of Veles has a population of 56,751 (1994 census), 44,000 living in the city of Veles sensu stricto. The area of the municipality is 1,536 sq. km and its average elevation 110 m a.s.l.

The Slavic names of Veles ("into the woods") appeared in the VIIth century when Slavic tribes settled in the area, but the settlement is much more ancient. The city of Stobi is dated 168 BC, and was successively renamed Vila Zora and Kjupurli. In the Middle Ages, Veles was one of the main cultural centers in the Balkans and was well-known for the Sveti Dimitrija monastery (XIVth century). Veles was later the center of the Macedonian culture. The first Macedonian-speaking school, gymnasium, theater, library, museum and musical school were located in Veles. Teacher Jordan Hadzi Konstantinov Dzinot from Veles wrote the first drama in Macedonian.

In 1840, the Ottoman Empire, then ruling Macedonia, set up a religious reform and allowed the building of the Sveti Pantelejmon church in Veles. The church was designed by architect Andreja Damjanov (1813-1878), who also worked in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia, and probably also in Greece, Albania and Bulgaria. The church is a complex basilica surrounded by porches and peristyles. With an area of 810 sq. m and a large volume, it is considered as one of the largest churches from the XIXth century in Macedonia. Christians were granted re