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SOMETHING ABOUT :::..
Kratovo is located on the western
slopes of the mountains of Osogovo, at an altitude of 600 meters above the
sea level. It's located on 93 km from the capital
Skopje and from the nearby city
Kumanovo, is just 53 away, while from
Štip is 52 km away. The location
itself present an attraction. The city is located in the crater of an
extinguished volcano. The city of the bridges and towers, as Kratovo is
called, is one of the oldest cities in Macedonia. Its name has been
mentioned since the time of the Romans who called it Kratiskara.
Exploiting the wealthy mineral treasuries and processing the gold and
silver in the famous Kratovo mints as coins, the Romans left numerous
traces of their presence on this this area.
"Kratovo, panoramic view"
 Under the name Koritos or Koriton, the
city continued its life during the Byzantine Reign. The Arabian traveler
Idrizi from the 12th century mentions the city by his ancient
name and claims that it is one of the larger in the area. In the documents
of the Byzantine ruler Alexius 3rd, from 1199, the city is
mentioned as "Episkopus Koriton". The golden age of it's development
started in 13th century, parallel with the development of the
mining. The Serbian ruler Mulitun ruled the city and during his reign the
German Sasa tribes settled in the mines. The gold, silver and
other mineral reserves attracted the attention of the Turkish conquerors,
too. When the Turkish sultan Murat, went to conquer Kosovo, his passed
through Kratovo. But before the big battle for Kosovo, he prayed to Allah
in an orthodox temple of St. Archangel Michael. He was killed during the
battle, and his son Bajazit, who later occupied Kratovo (14th
century), in his honor turned the church into a wonderful mosque. The trading of craft products, the processing of coins, and the
mining continued, followed by the construction of about 20 mosques, tekes,
Turkish baths (amams), fountains, medresi and impressive stone bridges.
In the 19th century, there used to be 350 merchants stores,
that traded with goods from Dubrovnik and Carigrad (Istanbul). The Turkish
writer Evlija Čeleblija, mentions that 20 churches, 2
baths existed in the year of
1660. During the period of the
Karpoš Uprising in 1689, the miners from Kratovo did stand in
the line of the rebels. Additionally both of the river banks were built up amphitheatrically with
two-floor houses. However, according to the writer Ami Bue, in 1836, the
city had 56,000 citizens, and only two furnaces smelters which were in a
poor condition. The beautiful city, famous for
its goldsmith workshops and vibrant bazaar, has started to stagnate in its
development. The population naturally started to leave the city, and by
the end of the 19th century, there were only 1,900 Macedonians.
In the vicinity of the city there is the famous and well known monastery
of Lesnovo. Today Kratovo is a modern, typical small mountanious city.
There is a shopping center Sileks. |
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:: MONUMENTS :::..
 The rich cultural-historical past of
Kratovo left numerous bridges and towers. Only 6 medieval towers of the
city have been preserved to the present day, of total 12. The time of the
construction of those towers has not been established yet, but their
architectural style and the ornamentation used, indicate that those
construction originate from the period of the
Turkish
rule. The more significant towers in Kratovo, are the Simiceva tower,
Emin-Bey tower and the Hadzi-Kostova tower. The bridges which unite both
parts of the city, extend as lances between the two shores of Tavacka
river, and are a special feature of the city. |
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