Kruševo

Name

The name of the town in other languages is:

Medieval

Part of the Byzantine Empire. The area was temporarily annexed by the First Bulgarian Empire in the 9th century to be conquered again by the Byzantium. The region came shortly under the rule of the short-lived Principality of Prilep of Prince Marko (r. 1371 - 1395), a successor state of the Serbian Empire (1346–1371) where the father of Župan Vukašin Mrnjavčević (co-ruler of King Stefan Uroš V) held the region. The principality and region came under Ottoman Turkish rule in 1395.

Ottoman rule

In the 19th century, Kruševo grew as a commercial center with connections throughout the Balkans and beyond. Local merchants such as the Nitsiotas brothers and five other companies were active in Vienna. In the 1860s a Bulgarian municipality and Bulgarian school were established the city. Subsequently, a Bulgarian girls school was opened and it operated simultaneously with the Greek schools in the town. A Romanian school started functioning in Kruševo in 1876. In the early 20th century, Kruševo was a small town in Manastir Vilayet with a mixed population of 4,950 Bulgarians, 4,000 Vlachs (Aromanians) and 400 Christian Albanians, according to Bulgarian geographer Vasil Kanchov's statistics. During the Ilinden Uprising in 1903 the rebels proclaimed a short lived Kruševo Republic. Having suppressed the uprising the city was almost completely destroyed by the Ottoman army. One of the most important points in the Ilinden uprising was the declaration of the "Manifesto of Kruševo". It called for all the people of Macedonia regardless of their nationality and religion to fight together against the Ottoman Empire. In the area there is a monument called Mečkin Kamen (Bear's Stone). This was the place where Pitu Guli's band (cheta) was trying to defend the town of Kruševo from the Turkish troops coming from Bitola. The band and their leader (voivode) are remembered as heroic defenders of Kruševo and the surrounding villages.

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

From 1929 to 1941, Kruševo was part of the Vardar Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Demographics

As of the 2002 census, the town of Kruševo has 5,330 inhabitants and the ethnic composition was the following:

The most common mother tongues in the town include the following:

The religious composition of the town was the following:

Features

Kruševo is a mountainous town. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 metres (4,430 ft), Kruševo is the highest town in Macedonia. Kruševo is known for its 19th-century domestic architecture. The town has old and more recent houses built in the style of old Macedonian architecture.

It is home to Mečkin Kamen, a historical landmark which marks the spot of the uprising of 1903. On August 2 every year, it is the site of the traditional Macedonian Independence Day celebrations, which are attended by the President of Macedonia and other Macedonian political leaders.

Kruševo is also home to Makedonium monument, dedicated to the Ilinden Uprising and the Kruševo Republic and many museums of the Ilinden Uprising.

The towns galleries include an exhibit of 19th century icons and a memorial to Macedonian painting Nikola Martinovski who was born in this town.

Because of its elevation, Kruševo is one of Macedonia’s winter sports destinations.

"Ethno-Town Project"

There is a project called "Kruševo ethno-town", supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Macedonia, which was developed by a small group of enthusiasts. According to that project, Kruševo shall look like a town from the beginning of the 20th century where it was the center of the Ilinden Uprising in 1903, that lead to the creation of the first Republic on the Balkans, The Kruševo Republic. People will be dressed like Ottoman Turks and Macedonian revolutionary freedom fighters. The project aims to make Kruševo a main tourist destination in five years.

Notable people