In order to avoid disappointments, inform yourself ahead of opening times of museums in Skopje and the rest of Macedonia. Most of the museums are closed on Mondays and some on Sundays as well.
The City Museum of Skopje is housed in the Old Railway Station, built in 1940. The earthquake of July 26 1963 destroyed a large portion of the Old Railway Station, and stopped the station clock at 05.17 in the morning. The clock, on the front of the museum, still displays this time. The museum is about the history of Skopje through the centuries. Address: Mito Hadzivasilev Jasmin bb.
The Museum of Macedonia is situated in Carsija, the old part of Skopje north of the Stone Bridge. It is located between the Mustafa Pasha Mosque and the Kursumli An.
One of the highlights of the museum is a small statue of the Goddess of Fertility, known as the Great Mother. Permanent exhibitions include archeology, history, ethnology, art history, and an icon gallery with icons from 14th – 19th century.
There is also an exhibition about Macedonia in WWII. Unfortunately, most if not all descriptions are only in Macedonian. Nevertheless, I found the museum very interesting, as it covers different sections and does not focus on one subject. It is quite big, so take at least 2-3 hours to visit. Address : Kjurchiska bb.
The Kursumli An is part of the Museum of Macedonia complex. It is usually closed, so ask to have it opened in the museum. There is an exhibition of stone monuments in the Kursumli An, but this building from the 16th century alone is worth a visit. The Kursumli An is one of the three old trading inns in Skopje, the other ones being the Kapan An and the Suli An. The Kapan An houses several bars and restaurants.
The Museum of the Old Skopje Bazaar is housed in the other old trading inn in Carsija, called Suli An. The Suli An was built in the 15th century. Nowadays, the museum is upstairs, while the university´s Department of Applied Arts is downstairs. The museum has an exhibition of the trading life in Skopje.
The Bey’s Tower (or Feudal Tower) can be found at Makedonija Street, which connects Makedonija Square with the City Museum of Skopje in the old railway station. The Feudal Tower is next to the statue of Mother Theresa and houses a small Museum of Mother Theresa, as well as the museum shop of the Museum of Macedonia. The Bey’s Tower belongs to a particular type of residential architecture that served at the same time as a defense structure. Because of the defense character there are few windows at the lower part and special type of openings for rifles (One wonders if this really is the right location for a museum for Mother Theresa…)
The Macedonian Museum of Natural History has, among other objects, a large collection of stuffed animals. The museum is which is right next to the Skopje Zoo. We kiddingly said that these stuffed animals were probably better off than their neglected and sometimes barely alive colleagues in the Skopje Zoo. Address: Boulevard Ilinden 86.
Just after the Stone Bridge, in the old part of Skopje, you will find the Daut Pasha Amam, now housing the National Gallery. The National Gallery mainly shows contemporary art, but if you are not into that the building alone is worth a visit.
The Daut Pasha Amam was built under Turkish rule in the 15th century as a bathhouse.
The water for the bath-house probably was provided by the Old Stone Aqueduct that can be found near Skopje.
The story goes that the amam was built by Daut Pasha as a sign for his love for an unknown girl, the two domes symbolizing the perfection of her breasts. At night candles were burned under the transparent alabaster nipples, sending their light into the sky as a sign of the love that should burst like a flame from the girls chest. Address: Krusevska 1
The Chifte Amam is the second largest old Turkish Bath in Skopje, after the Daut Pasha Amam. It lies in the old part of Skopje (Carsija) close to the Suli An. The Chifte Amam was built at the second half of the 15th century. Chifte means “pair”, referring to the fact that men and women were bathing separated, but under the same roof. The Chifte Amam is now a National Art Gallery.
The Museum of Contemporary Art is located on the same hill as the Kale Fortress. See their website for up-to-date information: https://msu.mk/home/
Address: Samoilova bb
Officially this museum is called “Museum of the Macedonian struggle for sovereignty and independence – Museum of VMRO and Museum of the victims of the communist regime“…Really!?
It was build for the infamous Skopje 2014 project and opened September 2011.
As its ridiculously long name might give away, it tells the story of the Macedonian struggle for sovereignty and independence (etc). This is mainly done in a Madame Tussaud-like style, with wax sculptures of all the Macedonian revolutionaries you can think of. It is a huge building, with high ceilings and dimmed lights.
We got a tour by a guide whose English was very bad. If you would have no prior knowledge about the Macedonian history, it would have been impossible to follow the story he was telling. While impressive at first, after a while the wax sculptures became boring, especially in combination with the increasingly annoying guide who did not gave the group sufficient time to examine the items on display. He kept yelling “Follow me please, follow me please”, the one sentence that he actually mastered very well.
The entrance fee for the museum was 300 denars (5 euros) in 2012, which is quite expensive for Macedonian standards. The entrance fee for Macedonians was only 100 denar , therefore the museum is also known as the Macedonian struggle to scare away tourists… Address: 11-ti Mart Street, next to the Stone Bridge.
The Holocaust Memorial Center is a memorial for the 7148 Jews from Macedonia who were killed in WWII. It opened in 2011. Located close to the Stone Bridge and the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle.
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