Kumanovo

There is also a village called Kumanovo in Varna Province, Bulgaria.

Kumanovo (Куманово / Kumanovë) is the second largest municipality city in the Republic of Macedonia after the capital Skopje and third largest town in the country. It is situated in the northeastern part of the Macedonia, near the capital city of Skopje. The coordinates of the city are approximately 42°05'N and 21°40'E. Municipal institutions include a city council, mayor and other administrative bodies. Skopje airport greatly helps Kumanovo's tourism. Although Kumanovo lies 340 m above sea level, it is surrounded by the Karadag part of Skopska Crna Gora mountain on its western side, Gradishtanska planina mountain on its southern side and Mangovica and German mountain on the eastern side. Kumanovo has a temperate climate.

Etymology

Kumanovo is believed to derive from the Cumans, a Turkic tribe who settled the area in the 12th-13th century.

Economy

The town's metal-processing, tobacco, agriculture, footwear and textile industries have made it an economic, trading and cultural center of approximately 135,529 people. Agriculture and trade developed mainly in the 19th century, but the city's modern look was established after the Second World War.

Roads

A 40 kilometre highway exists between Skopje and Kumanovo, going near Kumanovo in the north and crossing the border with Serbia. A railway also connects Skopje with Kumanovo and Serbia. Another important road goes from Kumanovo to Kriva Palanka and then to the border with Bulgaria.

Culture

The Church of St. George at the Monastery of Staro Nagoricane is the best known cultural and historical monument in Kumanovo. It was first constructed in 1071, and reconstructed between 1313 and 1318. During this reconstruction period, the church's walls were painted with frescoes by Mihailo and Evtihij.

The Church of Holy Trinity was built in 1902.

Every year Kumanovo has a “Days of comedy” festival, sponsored by the Macedonian Ministry of Culture, featuring comedies from several Macedonian theatres and also from neighbouring Serbia and Montenegro and Bulgaria.

Kumanovo has several important monuments including the church of St. George in the village of Staro Nagorichane, the monastery of Karpino, the Ascension of Holy Mother in the village of Matejce, the church of St. Petka in the village of Mlado Nagorichane, the Church of Holy Trinity, and the Eski mosque, built in 1751.

The oldest and biggest church in the town is the Church of St. Nikolas. There are icons from the XIII century in the church. The church represents a masterwork of Andreja Damjanov, an important Macedonian renaissance architect.

Kumanovo has several monuments dating back to the prehistoric period. The most important ones are: Gradishte, an archaeological place of interest that is situated near the village of Pelince and dates from the Bronze Age. Near the village of Mlado Nagorichane is another interesting site dating from the period of Neolith. Near the village of Lopate is the Drezga place that represents a Roman necropolis.

However, one of the most important sites located near the Kumanovo is the 4,000 year old megalithic astronomical observatory of Kokino, located 30 km northeast of Kumanovo and discovered in 2001. It is ranked fourth on the list of old observatories by NASA.

The oldest folklore assemble in Macedonia, KUD "Pance Pesev" is placed in Kumanovo. This year the assemble is celebrating 80 years of existence. It has represented Kumanovo and Macedonia on many international folklore festivals in Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Turkey, Croatia, Romania, Hungary, Poland, France, etc. The president is Mr. Miroslav Krstevski.

Kumanovo has a library, cultural center, museum and national theatre. Several painting colonies and exhibitions take place every year in Kumanovo or in nearby villages. Kumanovo is distinguished by its jazz festival which features bands from all over the world. In 2002 the Macedonian bands Foltin and Dragan Dautovski Kvartet, as well as bands from Croatia, Hungary, Netherlands, Slovenia and Serbia and Montenegro participated in the festival and in 2005 bands from as far as the Netherlands and Norway participated.

Kumanovo is organizing the manifestation “City of culture 2006”.

Language

Although the official language of the country is Macedonian, a long period under Ottoman rule prevented standardization of Macedonian in Macedonia. Instead, each town developed its own dialect. Kumanovo lies at one extreme of Macedonia, their Torlakian based dialect shares features with the dialect of the adjacent Preševo Valley across the border in Serbia, and northwestern Bulgaria. On the whole, apart from the locals of nearby Kratovo, most Macedonians have difficultly in understanding the speech of Kumanovans.

History

The city was first mentioned in 1519 in a document housed in a Turkish archive in Istanbul. The most comprehensive and relevant information on Kumanovo is provided by Evlija Celebija in 1660: "The colony of Kumanovo is situated on the territory of the Skopje sanjak and represents one county. The city is embellished with many rivers and 600 tile-roofs houses. The mosque in the downtown is beautiful, there are teke, madrassa (Islamic religious secondary school), caravanserai(Turkish bath), a number of shops and water mills; and the climate is pleasant and agreeable. There are many vineyards and gardens".

Kumanovo became an urban settlement and administrative center of the region at the end of the 16th century or the beginning of the 17th century. Following the turbulent events (notably, the Karposh rebellion in 1689) the city experienced a period of stagnation, and by the end of 18th century Kumanovo epitomized an Ottoman provincial town.

It developed economically in the late 19th century (agriculture, handcrafts and trade). Still, industrial development occurred only at the end of the Second World War. The rapid economic, administrative and cultural expansion of Kumanovo began in 1945. Today, it is a modern city with approximately 100,000 inhabitants.

The area boasts many pre-modern settlements; the oldest are : the Kostoperska karpa, the Bronze Age Gradiste (near the village of Pelince), the Neolithic site of Mlado Nagorichane, the Iron Age tumulus Groblje (village of Vojnik), the Roman Necropolis Drezga(village of Lopate), the Roman Settlement Vicianus(village of Klechovce), and many others.

File:The letter of Leopold I.jpg

The letter of protection sent by the Austrian Emperor Leopold I recognizing and taking under his protection the Macedonian people and Macedonia(Vienna, April 26, 1690)

A great rebel leader named Karposh was born in a village near Kumanovo called Vojnik. Initially, he was a vassal of Turks, but when the Ottoman empire began to weaken in 1689 and discontent rose concerning new higher taxation policies, Karposh became a turning point in the battle versus the Turks. In that period Austria staged an attack on the Ottoman Empire. Then the Karposh seized upon the situation and the uprising quickly spread to the rebels freeing Kratovo, Kriva Palanka, Kumanovo, Kacanik and in other towns. Then, together with the Austrian army, lead by Emperor Leopold I, they fought to liberate Skopje and Stip. Later there was a change in the military and political situation in the Balkans, which had a crucial effect on the rebellion. The Austrian army was forced to withdraw and powerful Turkish forces, reinforced by Tatar detachments belonging to the Crimean Khan Selim Giral, attacked the rebels. After fierce battles the Turks took Kriva Palanka, the rebel stronghold, and then attacked Kumanovo and its newly-constructed fortress. Karposh was captured, removed to Skopje, and put to death on the Stone Bridge across the Vardar

The anti-fascist insurrection of Macedonians and the struggle for national and social liberation began in Kumanovo and Prilep on October 11, 1941.

Contemporary turmoil

At 4:45 PM, on December 27, 2002, a bomb went off in front of Kumanovo's Goce Delcev High School while classes were still in session, killing one and injuring five bystanders. Goce Delcev is Kumanovo's biggest high school and is located near the central square. Shrapnel was found as far as 100 meters away from a trash can in front of the school where the bomb had been concealed. Shortly after the detonation, police arrived and blocked off adjacent streets. The identity of the perpetrators and their motivation is unknown.

External links

• Kumanovo FAQ
• Kokino megalithic observatory
• Kokino ancient observatory
• Kumanovo jazz festival