Skopje 2014 () was a project financed by the government of the Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia) of the then-ruling nationalist party VMRO-DPMNE, with the official purpose of giving the capital Skopje a more classical appeal but designed more earthquake-proof.EastWest Institute (2000). Jonathan P. Stein, ed. The Politics of National Minority Participation in Post-Communist Europe: State-Building, Democracy, and Ethnic Mobilization. M.E. Sharpe. p. 91. . The project, officially announced in 2010, consisted mainly of the construction of colleges, museums and government buildings, as well as the erection of monuments depicting historical figures from the region of Macedonia. Around 20 buildings and over 40 monuments were to be constructed as part of the project.
The project was seen as politically controversial in its nature and as a nation-building endeavour, as it tried to further impose Macedonian historiography, promoting a Macedonian identity with unbroken continuity from antiquity over the Middle Ages to the modern times.Janev, G. (2015). ‘Skopje 2014’: erasing memories, building history. In M. Couroucli, & T. Marinov (Eds.), Balkan heritages: Negotiating history and culture (pp. 111-130). Taylor & Francis, 2017, . It was one of the several major initiatives taken by the VMRO-DPMNE government in accordance with the policy of antiquization. It relied on a set of nondemocratic mechanisms aiming to expand the political dominance of that party and to leave its enduring stamp on city’s urban environment.Staletović, B. (2022). Captured City: Authoritarianism, Urban Space and Project Skopje 2014. Nationalities Papers, 1-20. doi:10.1017/nps.2022.98 Skopje 2014 has also generated controversy for its cost, for which estimates range from 80 to 500 million euros.
The Skopje 2014 project encompassed the construction, from 2010 to 2014, of 136 structures built at a cost of more than US$700 million.The New York Times International Edition, October 14, 2016, pg. 19
Background The 1963 Skopje earthquake destroyed approximately 80% of the city, including most of the neoclassical buildings in the central part of Skopje.Marking the 44th anniversary of the catastrophic 1963 Skopje earthquake MRT, Thursday, 26 July 2007 The rebuilding that followed saw the construction of mostly plain modernist architecture. This is one of the reasons given by the VMRO-DPMNE government for the necessity of the project, to give Skopje a more monumental and visually pleasing image. Another reason is to restore the missing sense of national pride and create a more metropolitan atmosphere. In a speech at the opening of Porta Macedonia in January 2012, then Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski stated that Skopje 2014 was his idea.
Criticism
The Skopje 2014 project has been criticized by various groups since the time it was first announced. The cost of the project is estimated at anywhere from 80 to more than 500 million eurosIs Macedonia's capital being turned into a theme park?, CNN, October 10, 2011 Macedonian Culture Strategy: Milestone or Wish List?, BalkanInsight, 15 Nov 12 and is seen by many as a waste of resources in a country with high unemployment and poverty. The project is also believed by critics to be a distraction from these problems.
The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, the main opposition party, opposes the project and has alleged that the monuments could have cost six to ten times less than what the government paid.
The project is seen as a part of the government's "antiquisation" policy, in which the country seeks to claim ancient Macedonian figures like Alexander the Great and Philip II of Macedon for itself. The timing of the project, following the country's non-invitation to NATO due to its continued naming dispute with Greece, has led to speculation that it is retaliation or an attempt to put pressure on Greece.Ghosts of the past endanger Macedonia's future. Boris Georgievski, BalkanInsight, October 27, 2009 . Some residents see the scheme as the embodiment of nationalism by a conservative government focused as much on giving the metropolis a facelift as changing the nation's history and have described it as a mini-Las VegasThe Guardian, Macedonia statue: Alexander the Great or a warrior on a horse?, Sunday 14 August 2011 while others appreciate its classical nod to the past.The Changing Face of Skopje, Euronews.com, May 5, 2011
Sam Vaknin, a former adviser to Nikola Gruevski, has stated that the project is not anti-Greek or anti-Bulgarian, but anti-Albanian. In an interview, he said "Antiquisation has a double goal, which is to marginalise the Albanians and create an identity that will not allow Albanians to become Macedonians." To shift attention from Albanians being absent from the Skopje 2014 project, the Macedonian government agreed to fund Skanderbeg Square built around the existing Skanderbeg monument in the part of Skopje with a majority Albanian population. Later additions to the Skopje 2014 project were made that included depictions of ethnic Albanians in the monuments such as Nexhat Agolli, Josif Bageri, and Pjetër Bogdani, as well as others on the Art Bridge.
Architects have criticized the aesthetics of the project and believe the money could have been spent on constructing modern buildings. It has also been described as nationalist kitschMaria Couroucli and Tchavdar Marinov eds., Balkan Heritages: Negotiating History and Culture, British School at Athens - Modern Greek and Byzantine Studies, Taylor & Francis, 2017, , p. 218. which "brings unknown history" to the citizensBorian Jovanovski Al Jazeera, 18 March 2015, : "Talking about this project Skopje 2014, yes it's damaging to inter-ethnic relations, it's not reflecting the multi-cultural society that Macedonia is. But on the other hand you have an Albanian party in the government - and they agree - so in a way they have responsibility for what's going on too. It's obvious that it is damaging inter-ethnic relations which are anyway fragile and damaging Macedonian national identity too because it brings us to history that is unknown to us, in which we are a kind of successor to Alexander the Great. This is not true because Alexander the Great is famous because he enlarged the Hellenic culture. We are Slavs who are not Hellenic at all." and former prime minister Zoran Zaev has labeled it an "idiotic project".Zoran Zaev, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 27 December 2016, : "Mit dem idiotischen Skopje-2014-Projekt und der zusammenhängenden Pseudo-Geschichtsschreibung, die Alexander den Großen für Mazedonien reklamiert, haben wir nicht nur Griechenland provoziert, sondern auch viel internationale Unterstützung für unsere Position verloren." (English translation: With the idiotic Skopje 2014 project and the related pseudo-historiography that claims Alexander the Great for Macedonia, we have not only provoked Greece, but also lost much international support for our position.) Instead of leading to the recognition and acceptance that the country was seeking, the project produced international ridicule and scorn.Jackson, C. M., & Subotic, J. (2024). The Ontological Security-Seeking Paradox: Domestic and International Effects of Public Architecture in North Macedonia’s ‘Skopje 2014’ Project. Millennium, 53(1), 3-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298241231742
2018 In late February 2018, the government and institutions of the Republic of Macedonia announced the halt of the Skopje 2014 program and began removing its controversial monuments and statues. The Macedonian Ministry of Culture also has set up a Commission to envisage the possibility of removing the rest of them, such as the monuments of Alexander the Great and Philip II of Macedon. As a first step, the monument of Andon Kyoseto, which was one of the mostly disputed monuments of the project, was dismantled. In June 2018, the Macedonian Government announced that the monuments would be renamed and marked with inscriptions honouring Greek-Macedonian friendship. The monument of Boris Sarafov was also dismantled without explanation in 2018 by municipal authorities.
Condition of monuments
As of July 13, 2021, it was reported that some of the monuments of the “Skopje 2014” revamp were already crumbling. Cracks and crevices are visible in many of them, exposing use of poor building materials, and that the damage would be worse if an earthquake rages over Skopje again.
Plans
Bridges
New bridge constructions
Art Bridge
The Skopje 2014 project calls for two new pedestrian bridges to be built across the Vardar in the centre of the city. One is the Art Bridge, which is being constructed between the Freedom Bridge and the also under-construction Eye Bridge. It is expected to cost 2.5 million euros. The bridge will include 29 sculptures, with 14 at each end and one in the centre. It will be 83 metres (272.3 feet) in length and 9.2 m (30.2 ft) in width, while the central part of the bridge will be 12 m (39.4 ft) wide.
Eye Bridge The other bridge being constructed as part of the project is the Eye Bridge. Situated between the Stone Bridge and the under-construction Art Bridge, it began construction in 2011. The pedestrian bridge will include 28 sculptures and will cost around 1.5 million euros.
Existing bridge renovations
Freedom Bridge The project also includes plans to renovate existing bridges in central Skopje, one of which is the Freedom Bridge, which connects Vojvoda Vasil Adžilarski Street in Centar Municipality to Stiv Naumov Street in Čair Municipality. First constructed in 1936, the renovation began in 2011 and is expected to be completed in May, 2014. The total cost will be roughly 1.15 million euros.
Goce Delčev Bridge The renovation of the Goce Delčev Bridge, which connects Ilinden Boulevard in Centar to Goce Delčev Boulevard in Čair across the Vardar, began on April 11, 2011 and finished later in the year. The renovation included new gold-coloured fencing and 26 lampposts. The project cost roughly 500,000 euros, including 60,000 euros for the new lighting. Four statues depicting lions, two at each end, were also placed on the bridge in 2010. The ones on the western side were cast in Florence and cost 1.5 million euros.
Revolution Bridge The Revolution Bridge, first built in 1963 across the Vardar connecting Kočo Racin Boulevard in Centar to Krste Misirkov Boulevard in Čair, was also renovated as part of the Skopje 2014 project. It began on December 9, 2010 and was completed in May, 2011. The renovation included basic repairs as well as the installation of 22 lampposts and iron-wrought fencing. The renovation cost 450,000 euros.
Cultural buildings
Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra hall Notable in Skopje 2014 for its bold modern architecture as opposed to the usual neoclassical style seen in the project, the under-construction concert hall to house the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the first buildings to begin construction in the project, with the cornerstone having been laid in June 2009. The exterior of the building is nearing completion. The concert hall is planned to have excellent acoustics and will have a capacity of 900 seats.
Museum of Archaeology
The Museum of Archaeology began construction in 2009 and opened in September, 2014. Although the building primarily serves as a museum, it also houses the Constitutional Court and the National Archive of the Republic of North Macedonia. It is situated on the eastern bank of the Vardar, across the river from Macedonia Square. The exterior of the museum is among the more monumental buildings of the project, with its Greek Revival architecture. VMRO-DPMNE, the ruling party, states the budget for the construction as 436,000,000 denars.
Museum of the Macedonian Struggle