Sveti Nikole (Macedonian: Свети Николе) is a city in the east-central area of North Macedonia. It is a major settlement of the Ovče Pole, a relatively large plain in this mountainous country.

Understand

History

The Sveti Nikole area is home to the ruins of Bylazora, a Paonian city from early classical antiquity. It was perhaps the most important town of Paonia, until it was captured by the Macedonians in 217 BC. In 1923, the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, unhappy with Serbian rule carried out an attack on 23 colonizing Serbs in the village of Kadrifakovo near Sveti Nikole. A retaliatory attack was carried out by Serb forces near Radoviš soon after.

Get in

Sveti Nikole sits between Skopje and Štip on a modern expressway built in 2019. The area is also connected by rail with a train station located in the village of Amzabegovo, south of Sveti Nikole.

See

The National Museum of Sveti Nikole

Frescoes at the Church of Saint George in Gjuzemelci

• 1 National Museum (Народен Музеј), ☏ +389 32 443 610. The Municipality of Sveti Nikole maintains a museum housed in a neoclassical building. Among its objects are findings from the most important archaeological site in this area, Bylazora. (updated Jan 2020)
• 2 Clock Tower (Саат-кула). Sveti Nikole's clock tower was erected in 1903, financed by a wealthy local merchant. It is located beside the Church of Saint Nicholas. The tower consists of three square sections, with the top capped by a pyramid. (updated Jan 2020)
• 3 Church of Saint Nicholas` (Црква „Св. Никола“). The main church of Sveti Nikole is, of course, dedicated to Saint Nicholas. The church, built in the 1980s, is capped by multiple cupolas. (updated Jan 2020)

Neighboring villages

The Macedonian geoglyph

• 4 Church of Saint George (Црква „Св. Ѓорѓи“), village of Gjuzemelci. This church, built in 1584, is the oldest existing structure in Lozovo Municipality. It is considered significant for its interior frescoes. (updated May 2019)
• 5 Bylazora (Билазора), village of Knežje. This was the most important city of Paionia in early antiquity. Unfortunately, not a whole lot remains today, though serious archaeological excavations only began in 2008. (updated Jan 2020)
• 6 Govedar Rock (Говедар камен), between Peširovo and Erdželija. On the Ovče Pole plain between two villages is this massive megalithic rock. It is believed to have been used as a religious site in ancient times and is still today regarded as a curative location. (updated Jan 2020)
• 7 Gjurški Monastery (Ѓуришки манастир), village of Krušica. Founded in the 11th century, this monastery's current church was built in 1880. It was the site of a couple important events during the 20th century including hosting a congress of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization in 1907 and hosting anti-fascist soldiers during World War II. (updated Jan 2020)
• 8 Church of Saint Nicholas (Црква „Св. Никола“), village of Burilovci. The oldest preserved church in Ovče Pole, built in the 14th century atop foundations of an older church built in the 9th century. Its frescoes are particularly distinguished. Some of its icons are now on display at the museum in Sveti Nikole. (updated Jan 2020)
• 9 Devil's Wall (Ѓаволски ѕид), 15 km south of Sveti Nikole. This natural phenomenon consists of a rock formation that forms a wall 500 m (1,640 ft) long, with smaller traces of it extending 5 km (3 mi). Its average height varies between 10 and 12 m (32 to 39 ft). The formation sits in a hardly accessible mountainous area. Local legend states that the devil built the wall with the intention of flooding the Bregalnica River and sinking Ovce Pole, but God sent a rooster to thwart completion of the wall. (updated Jan 2020)
• 10 Macedonian geoglyph (Македонски геоглиф), village of Gorno Crnilište. This unique site contains a geoglyph which extends 90 m (295 ft) long and 45 m (148 ft) wide. Research on the site only really began in 2014. Findings indicate that the soil composition here is indeed different than the surrounding area which suggests artificial origin. (updated Jan 2020)
• 11 Bekirlija village (Бекирлија). This village gained fame in 2019 as the setting for the critically acclaimed Macedonian documentary Honeyland. The film follows one of Europe's last wild beekeepers, Hatidze Muratova, who lives in this village once populated by Turks but ultimately abandoned by almost all of them. Bekirljia is in Lozovo Municipality. Muratova has reportedly been moved into a new house in a nearby village where some friends and family live but if you want to see the beautiful scenery from the film for yourself, Bekirlija awaits you. (updated Jan 2020)

Learn

Sveti Nikole is home to the main campus of the International Slavic University, established in 2004 as a private university. It maintains affiliations with other universities in Russia and other parts of Europe.