Modernist Architecture: an architectural movement based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that form should follow function; an embrace of minimalism; and a rejection of ornament. It emerged in the first half of the 20th century and became dominant after World War II until the 1980s.
Brutalist Architecture: a style that emerged in the 1950s and grew out of the early-20th century modernist movement. Brutalist buildings are characterised by their massive, monolithic and ‘blocky’ appearance with a rigid geometric style and large-scale use of poured concrete.
After the devastating earthquake of 1963 that took place in Skopje, a lot of new buildings were erected in modernist and brutalist style. This walking tour consists of two parts, part one of 7-9 km and part two of about 3 km and together they take you along many of these interesting buildings.
Part 1: Skopje City Center
Part 1 starts at the (paid) outdoor parking in front of the St Cyril and Methodius University (named “Parking UKIM”), which is very convenient if you get to Skopje by car.
You’re immediately at one of the most impressive brutalist complexes, the University of St Cyril and Methodius (1970-74). We were warned several times by guards that taking pictures is forbidden at the campus. So obviously the pictures posted here are not mine. Take your time to walk around the campus and admire the architecture!
You can already get a good glimpse of the 25-floors high Macedonian Radio & Television building (1974-84) from here, before you pass the Macedonian Courthouse.
Next, the National and University Library St Clement of Ohrid (1967-72) can be visited and you’ll pass the white National Opera and Ballet (1972-76) as well.
If it is your first visit to Skopje, it may be a bit difficult to keep your focus on the modernist architecture tour, as you pass the older part of Skopje with e.g. the beautiful Daut-Pasha Aman which currently houses an art gallery. While you make your way over the old Stone Bridge to cross the river Vardar, the fountains and statues on the main square Makedonija scream for your attention as well.
However, after the Stone bridge you directly make a right turn and walk along the river Vardar towards the Telecommunication Center and Post Office (1979-82), while you also try to ignore the ancient Kale Fortress on top of the hill on the other side of the river.
The Telecommunication Center and Post Office is another one of the highlights of this part of the tour, especially when it comes to weird looking brutalist buildings. The original post office was at the same location before the 1963 earthquake. The building was damaged by a fire in 2013.
On your way to the modernist style St Clement of Ohrid Church (1972-90) you can already see the City Wall Towers (1966). The City Wall are residential blocks with green areas and play-grounds shielded off from the busy Skopje traffic.
You pass the City Wall Towers through this quiet area on your way to the Josip Broz Tito high school.
After “Gradski Trgovski Centar” or GTC (1969-73), a shopping center with a lot of shops and restaurants you can choose to shorten the tour with about 2 km if you directly cross the river Vardar again.
However, you’ll miss out on the building of Macedonian Tobacco, the brutalist Transportation Center (1971-81) and the National Bank of Macedonia (1971-75) if you do the shortcut.
On the other side of the river Varder, the first building you’ll see is the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Art (1973-76), which may remind you of the traditional Macedonian architecture with balconies.
If you look back to the other side of the river, you can see the other side of the National Bank of Macedonia
A bit further ahead on a stretch of grass is an orange/red brutalist World War II monument. The fact that you can see the tall building of the Macedonian Radio and Television from the beginning of the tour in the background means that we’re almost at the end of part 1.
But before the end, there’s still the rather boring building of the State Archive to see.
Part 2: Goce Delchev Dormitory
We drove with our car to the free but busy parking at Blvd. Partizanski Odredi for the start of this second part of the tour.
The first interesting building is the Nikola Karev secondary school (1968-70), one of the first buildings made out of solid construction material after the 1963 earthquake.
Then the walk continuous to the best part of the tour, the Goce Delchev Student Dormitory (1969-71, 1973-77). There are 4 blocks with over 1300 beds. Hanging bridges connect the towers. This is really an amazing place even if you’re not really interested in architecture.
The picture above was taken from the hills leading up the the village of Gorno Nerezi, during a hike to the famous Monastery of St Pantelejmon.
The last stop on this part of the tour is the Historic Archive of the City of Skopje (1966-68).
If you’re short in time, skip the Nikola Karev school and Historic Archive, but absolutely make sure you see the student dormitory!
Hydro-Meteorological Institute
The State Hydro-Meteorological Institute (1972) is quite out of the way but can easily be reached by car. Its location is indicated on the map. We drove up to the building and made some pictures, until somebody told us we were not allowed on the premises and that a permit is required to make pictures.
Well, too bad, the gate was open and it was nowhere indicated that taking pictures was not allowed. The building unfortunately is a bit overgrown with large trees and you may want to skip this visit because of all the above reasons.
This tour showed you several but certainly not all modernist buildings in Skopje.
If you like to see more, the guidebook “The Modernist Architecture of Skopje” by Vasilka Dimitrovska (2020, HAEMUS Center for Scientific Research and Promotion of Culture https://haemus.org.mk/) is a great source of information and provides more background info on all these buildings, including opening times. In addition, the guidebook describes five other walking tours based on the following themes: Solidarity, Cute Brute Skopje, Edu Culture, Spiritual and Urban axis. The guidebook costs only 6 euros.
Also, the Modernist Skopje Map can help you get a good overview of the locations of all these buildings and contains additional building that are not mentioned in the guidebook above: https://bluecrowmedia.com/products/modernist-skopje-map
You can view and download the GPS tracks of the Skopje City Walks here:
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