What Is The Capital Of Macedonia?

Stone Bridge over the Vardar River in Skopje, Macedonia.
Stone Bridge over the Vardar River in Skopje, Macedonia.

Located in Southeastern Europe’s Balkan Peninsula, Macedonia encompasses an area of 25,713 square km. This sovereign state, a successor state of the former Yugoslavia, declared its independence in 1991. Macedonia is often referred to as FYROM or the “former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” since there is an ongoing dispute between the country and Greece over the use of the name Macedonia. A landlocked country, Macedonia is bordered by Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, and Kosovo to the north, east, south, west, and northwest, respectively. The country houses a population of around 2,103,721 inhabitants.

What Type of Government Does Macedonia Have?

Macedonia is a parliamentary representative democratic republic. Here, the political system consists of three branches. The executive power is vested in the Prime Minister and the rest of the Cabinet of Ministers who constitute the government. The legislative power is vested in both the parliament and the government. The country has a 123-member strong unicameral legislature. The judiciary functions independently of the other two branches of the government. The country also has a President who serves as the head of state.

What Is the Capital of Macedonia?

Skopje is the capital city of the Republic of Macedonia. It is also the country’s most populous city. Skopje encompasses an area of 571.46 square km and hosts a population of 544,086 individuals. The population density here is 950 persons per square km. Skopje is located on the Vardar River’s upper course in the north of the country. It is located about halfway between Athens and Belgrade in the Skopje valley in the Balkan peninsula. The urban expansion of Skopje is limited by the presence of mountain ranges to the north and south of the valley. Skopje is located at an elevation of about 245 m above sea-level.

History of Skopje

Skopje began as a tiny settlement of the Illyrians. In the 4th century, it became the capital of the Dardania district which was under the rule of the emperor Diocletian. Since then, the settlement started growing with the growth speeding up in the 9th and 10th centuries. In 1189, Skopje was captured by the Serbs. In the 14th century, the Turks made Skopje their provincial capital after conquering Macedonia. The importance of the city declined when it was razed to the ground in 1689 to contain a cholera epidemic. It was revived once more in the 19th century. In 1945, Skopje became the capital of the People’s Republic of Macedonia, a communist regime. It became the capital of the newly independent Republic of Macedonia in 1991.

Role of Skopje as the Capital of Macedonia

As the seat of the government of Macedonia, Skopje hosts the meeting place of the Parliament, the Villa Vodno (official workplace of the President of the Republic of Macedonia), the office of the Prime Minister and the other ministries, important government departments, etc. The City of Skopje and some of its neighboring municipalities contribute to 45.5% of the Macedonian GDP.

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