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Bitola (Macedonian: Битола) is the second largest city in the Republic of Macedonia after the capital Skopje and third largest municipality after Kumanovo. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, close to the border with Greece.

Name

The name Bitola originates from the old Slavic word Obitel, meaning monastery, monastery place, Christian community or family. Bulgarian (Битоля) and Serbian (Bitolj/Битољ) are merely phonetic variations of the same name, which was mentioned in one of the treaties of Tzar Samuil in 1014. It is mentioned in different variants in various Byzantine sources: Obitelj, Botela, Butela, Butelion etc. The archbishop of Tyre William (1130 - 1185) mentioned in one old writing the town for the first time under the name Butela. In the 12th century, the Arab traveller Idrisi wrote: "It takes two days to travel from Ahrida (Ohrid) to Butili (Bitola) to the east. Butili is a wonderful, nice town".

When the Turks conquered the city in the 14th century, they gave it the name Monastir (from the Greek Μοναστήρι - Monastiri = Monastery), presumably a translation of the original Slavic name. This name was used officially during the reign of the Ottomans.

Overview

The city is dispersed along the banks of the Dragor river at an altitude of 2,019 ft (615 m) above sea level under Baba Mountain. Spreading on an area of 1,798 sq. km. and with a population of 122,173 (1991), Bitola is an important industrial, agricultural, commercial, educational, and cultural center. It represents an important junction that connects the South of the Adriatic Sea with the Aegean Sea and Central Europe.The second Macedonian university is located here. Bitola has one of the oldest and most prestigious theaters in the country.

Traditionally a strong trading center, Bitola is also known as the city of the consuls. At one time during the Ottoman rule, Bitola had consulates from twelve countries. During the same period, there were a number of prestigious schools in the city including a military academy that, among others, was attended by the famous Turkish reformer Kemal Ataturk. Bitola was also the headquarter of many cultural organizations that were established at that time.

Baba Mountain overlooks Bitola from the east. Its magnificent Pelister mountain (2601 m) is a national park with exquisite flora and fauna, and a well-known ski resort.

History

Many important events in Macedonian and Balkan history took place in Bitola.

Prehistory

Bitola area is very rich with monuments dating back from the prehistoric period. The most important ones are: Velushka tumba, Tumba bara near the village of Porodin etc. From the Copper Age are the settlements of Tumba near the village of Crnobuki, Shuplevec near the village of Suvodol and Visok Rid near the village of Bukri. The Bronze age is represented by the settlements of Tumba near the village of Kanino and the settlement with the same name near the village of Karamani.

Ancient period

From the ancient period are important the metal artefacts from the necropolis of Crkvishte near the village of Beranci. Heraclea Lyncestis is an important settlement that was founded by Philip II of Macedon in the 4th century BC and was one of the major cities in the Roman Balkans. The Via Egnatia passed through the town. As Romans finally conquered this part of Macedonia in 148 BC, Heraclea Lyncestis achieved big prosperity. In the early Christian period (IV-VI BC) Heraclea was episcope centre. Heraclea looses his importance at the end of the VI century.

Arrival of Slavic population

In the 6th and 7th century the region around Bitola experienced a demographic shift as more and more Slavic tribes settled in the area. They also built a defence fortress around the settlement. The spreading of Christianity among the population was assisted by Clement of Ohrid and Naum of Preslav. In that period many monasteries and churches were built in the city.

In the X century Bitola existed under the rule of Samuil's kingdom. He builded castle in the town, later used by his successor Gavril Radomir. The town is mentioned in several medieval sources. John Skylitzes's 11th century chronicle mentions that Emperor Basil II burned Gavril's castles in Monastiri, when passing through and ravaging Pelagonia. The second chrysobull (1019) of Basil II mentioned that the Bishop of Monastiri depended on the Archbishopric of Ohrid. During the reign of Tsar Samuil, the city was included within the Bulgarian state and was the seat of Bitola's bishop. In many mediaeval sources, especially when Western, the name Pelagonia stood as a synonimous of Bitola Bishopric, and in some of them Bitola was known under the name of Heraclea due to the church tradition i.e. the turning of Heraclea Bishopric into Pelagonian Metropolitan's Diocese. In 1015 Gavril Radomir was killed by his cousin Ivan Vladislav, who declared himself the tsar and rebuild the city fortress. For that occasion a stone inscription written in the Cyrillic alphabet was set in the fortress and in this writing is mentioned the Slavic name for the city: Bitol.

Following the battles between Basil II and Ivan Vladislav in 1015 Basil II conquered Bitola. The town is mentioned in 1019 in one writing by Basil II as an episcopal centre. Two important uprisings against Byzantine rule took place in the Bitola area in 1040 and 1072.

Bitola became part of Serbia in the 14th century following the conquests of Stefan Dušan. As a center of military, political and cultural life, Bitola played a very important role in the life of the mediaeval Slavs. On the eve of its coming under Ottoman rule (14th century), Bitola experienced a powerful boom, and had already had developed trading links all over the Balkan Peninsula, especially with big economic centers: Constantinople, Thessaloniki, Ragusa... Caravans of most variable goods moved to Bitola from all sides and reverse, from Bitola to all other centers.

Ottoman rule

Since the end of the 14th century until 1912 Bitola was part of the Ottoman empire. Strong battles took place near the city during the arrival of Turkish forces. The Turkish rule was completely established after the death of Prince Marko in 1395. For several centuries Moslems were the majority in this city, while the villages were populated mostly with Macedonian Slavs. Evliya Çelebi says in his Book of Travels the city had 70 mosques, several cafe-tea rooms, a bazaar (old turkish market) with iron gates and 900 shops. Bitola (then Monastir) become a sanjak centre in the Rumeli eyalet. After the Expulsion of 1492, Spanish-speaking Jews arrived in waves from the Iberian peninsula, (Spain and Portugal) harassed and persecuted by the Inquisition.

After the Austrian-Turkish wars, together with the other Macedonian cities, the trade development and the overall thriving of the city was stifled. In the second half of the 19th century, however, again, it became the biggest city in Macedonia, after Salonica and resumed the role as the main centre for trade. The shops were filled with goods from Leipzig, Paris, Vienna, London and many of other European cities. The city is also known as "city of consuls", because Bitola used to be a diplomatic center with 12 consuls during the period 1878–1913. In 1864, Bitola became an eyalet. This province constituted from sanjaks of Bitola (Monastir), Debar, Elbasan, Korca and Servia. In 1894 Bitola was connected with Thessaloniki by train.

The first motion picture made in the Balkans was recorded by the Vlach Manakis brothers in Bitola in 1903. In their honor, the annual Manaki Brothers International Film Camera Festival is held in Bitola. The Monastir congress of 1908 which defined the modern Albanian alphabet was held in Bitola.

Ilinden Uprising

The Ilinden Uprising was started according to the decision made in 1903 in Thessaloniki by IMRO. Goce Delchev was against the timing of the uprising, because he said that it was too early, for the people were not yet prepared for such an action. He was killed on 4 May 1903 near the village of Banitza (today in Greece). The uprising actions in the Bitola are were planned in the village of Smilevo in May 1903. Bitola region was one of the strongholds of the uprising. The battles between the rebels and the Ottoman army were fought in the villages of Bistrica, Rakovo, Buf, Skocivir, Paralovo, Brod, Novaci, Smilevo, Gjavato, Capari etc. Smilevo was defended by 600 rebels leaded by Dame Gruev and Gjorgi Sugarev, but they defeated at the end and villages were set on fire. Ilinden uprising was one of the brightest moments in the Macedonian battle for independence and creation of independent state.

Balkan wars

In 1912 Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece were fighting with Ottoman army in the First Balkan War. According to the Treaty of Bucharest, 1913, the region of Macedonia was divided in 3 parts among Greeks, Serbs and Bulgarians. In 18 September 1912 the Serbian army entered the city. From that moment the city started to loose its importance and the city population started rapidly to drop as separated with the border from Thessaloniki, its main connection with the rest of the world.

World War I

During World War I Bitola was on the Thessaloniki front line. In 1915 Bulgarian forces entered the city and Serbian forces were forced to leave the city. In 1916 Bitola was occupied by the Allied Powers and Serbian forces again entered the city. Bitola was divided on French, Russian, Italian and Serbian regions, under the command of French general Sikr. Until the autumn 1918, Bitola was almost every day bombarded by airplanes and battery and suffered almost total destruction.

Between two world wars

After the end of World War I (1918) Bitola was included in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The artificial border with , set just 14 kilometers from the town, produced very bad results on the town's economy and development.

World War II

During the Second World War (1941-1945), the Germans and later Bulgarians controlled the city, until it was liberated in 1944 by the Macedonian Partisans. During this time Macedonian nation fought its National Liberation War, on the side of the anti-fascist coalition. The partisan movement spread. A mass national support for liberation of the country began. The age long dream for a free Macedonian country started to become true. On 4th November 1944, the members of the 7th Macedonian Liberation Brigade entered Bitola victoriously. After the end of the war Macedonians established its own country for the first time in the more recent history. In order to achieve this freedom, about 25.000 people gave their lives on the altar of freedom of their country. In 1945 the first Gymnasium using the Macedonian language was opened here.

Historical buildings

Saat kula - The Clock Tower. It is not known when the clock-tower was built, although according to the written sources it was mentioned already in the 16th century, but because of the lack of any description, it is not clear if it is about the same clock-tower. According to some, the clock-tower was built in the same time with the church St.Dimitrija in 1830. Nowadays still exists the legend "that the Turkish authorities of that time collected from the Bitola county villages around 60 000 eggs and used them in the construction together with the mortar, in order to make the walls more resistant and strong." The Clock tower has rectangular base and it is about 30 meters high. On the upper part-by the very top there is a terrace in rectangular form and it is fenced with iron fence. On each sides of the fence there is iron console construction which holds the lamps for lighting the watch. The Clock tower is divided in three levels and in the upper one the mechanism of the watch is installed. The first (old) mechanisam was replaced in the time of the second world war. Due to the effords of the City of Bitola, to maintain the old german graves from the first world war, the german nazi regime gave them a new still functioning clock mechanisam as a present. By its architecture, the Clock tower is massive construction and it is composed of walls, massive spiral stairs, wooden mezzanine constructions, pendentives (triangular pass from square to cupola) and cupola. During the construction of the clock-tower the façade is simultaneously decorated with simple stone plastic.

The church of St.Dimitrija was built in 1830 with voluntary contributions of the local merchants and craftsmen. Since in the Ottoman Empire the churches were supposed look plain on the outside, the church is lavishly decorated on the inside, in order to make up for the lack of splendor on the outside. The interior of the church is of rear beauty, decorated with polielei (church lamps), carved bishop throne and engraved iconostasis. According to some theories by professionals, the church iconostas is a work of art of the Miyak engravers. The most impressive feature of the iconostas is the arc above the imperial quarters with modeled figures of Jesus and the twelve apostles. Besides the iconostas, in the temple of Notre Dame there are also some other wood-engraved items, like the bishop’s throne made in the spirit of Miyak engravers, several icon frames and five wooden engraved pillars shaped like thrones of more recent history. The fresco-art originates from two periods. The first period is from the end of the 20th century, and the second begins from the end of World War I and lasts to the present day. Businessmen and citizens from Bitola and the surrounding area, via their voluntary contributions have made possible for this church to be adorned with icons and frescos. The authors of a major part of the icons had a vast knowledge of iconography schemes of the New Testament. Icons are produced with a great sense for color, where most dominant are shades of red, green and ocher. The abundance of golden ornaments is easily noticeable and this points out to the presence of late-Byzantine artwork and baroque style. On one of these icons, the one that presents St.Dimitrij, there is a signature with the initials D.A.Z., which points out the fact that the icon was produced by the iconographer Dimitar Andonov the zograph in 1889. The church treasury is not enriched only by the large number of icons and frescos, but the church also has a large number of other items in its possession, like the putiri made by local masters, one darohranilka of Russian origin, as well as several paintings shoving scenes from the New Testament, brought by pilgrims from Bitola from their pilgrimage in Jerusalem. The opening scenes of the film "The Peacemaker" were shot in the "St. Dimitrija" church in Bitola.

The Ajdar-kadi (Turkish judge) mosque is one of the most attractive monuments of the Islamic architecture in Bitola. It was built in 1561-1562, as the project of the famous architect Mimar Sinan, ordered by the Bitola kadija Ajdar-kadi. The mosque was abandoned and over time, it was heavily damaged, but, the recent restoration and conservation works, have restored, to a certain extent, the original appearance to the mosque.

The Jeni mosque is located in the centre of the city. It has a square base, topped with a cupola. Near the mosque there is a minaret, 40 m high. Today, in the rooms of this mosque are permanent and temporary art exhibitions are held.

The Ishak mosque is the inheritance of the famous kadi Ishak Çelebi. In the spacious yard of the mosque, there are several tombs, attractive because of the soft, molded shapes of the sarcophagi.

The Bazaar (the old Turkish market) is mentioned in another description of the city from the 16th and the 17th century. The present Bezisten in external appearance does not differ much from the original one. The Bezisten had 86 shops and 4 large iron gates. The shops were used for selling textiles, and today they are being used for selling food products.

The Bath Deboj (Turkish bath=hamam). The period of construction is not known. This hamam over time was heavily destroyed, but, after the repairs were made it regained its original appearance: beautiful facade, two large cupolas and several minor ones.

Bitola today

Bitola is the main economical and industrial center in the western part of Macedonia. Many of the largest companies in Macedonia are situated in the city. Bitola has a vast economic potential. The Pelagonija agricultural combine is the largest producer of food in the country. The Streževo water system is the largest in Macedonia and has the best technological facilities. The three thermoelectric power stations of REK Bitola produce nearly 80% of electricity in the state. The Frinko refrigerate factory is a leading electrical and metal company. Bitola also has significant capacities in textile and food industries.

The University of “St. Kliment Ohridski” is the second university in the Republic of Macedonia. It was formed in 1979, as a result of dispersed processes that occurred in education in the seventies, and increasing demand of highly skilled professionals outside the Republic’s capital. Since 1994, it carries the name of the great Slavic educator St. Clement of Ohrid. The following higher educational institutions and scientific-research organizations are part of this University:

• Technical Faculty – Bitola
• Economical Faculty – Prilep
• Faculty of Tourism and Leisure management – Ohrid
• Teachers Faculty – Bitola
• Faculty of biotechnological sciences – Bitola
• Medical college – Bitola
• Tobacco institute – Prilep
• Hydro-biological institute – Ohrid
• Slavic cultural institute – Prilep

Institutions that are part of the university are located in Bitola, Ohrid and Prilep, but the headquarters are in Bitola. University with its additions in development of higher education and scientific thought has succeeded to establish itself, accomplishing permanent cooperation with University of St. Cyril and Methodius from Skopje and with other universities from Balkan and European countries.

The Science Society is another active institution in Bitola. There is a large number of cultural institutions as well. The best known among them is the Bitola Theater, which has won the highest theater accolades at many festivals in the country and abroad. The Art Gallery and a number of cultural and artistic associations have recorded a continuously upward line of activity. Bitola also hosts the international art event entitled 'Small Bitola Monmartre' and the Interfest festival of classical music. The 'llinden Days' folk music festival is another event held there each year. Bitola nowadays is turning into the second diplomatic center of Macedonia. Austria, Slovenia, France, Turkey,Italy,United Kingdom,Russia,Romania, Greece and other countries have already opened consulates there.

People from Bitola

• Kiril Makedonski, musician
• Petar Sidovski, composer
• Milko Lozanovski, composer
• Slave Dimitrov, musician
• Kire Kostov, musician
• Petar Georgiev-Kalica, musician
• Miodrag Necak, composer
• Marjan Necak, singer
• Saska Petkovska, singer
• Biljana Damjanovska, singer
• Olgica Hristova, singer
• Karolina Goceva, singer
• Margarita Hristova, singer
• Hristijan Spirovski, piano performer
• Sefedin Bajramov, singer

External links

• Bitola Municipality Official Page
• Radio Stari Kraj Macedonia
• Bitola Babam Bitola

v t e Cities of North Macedonia by population
50,000+	Bitola Kumanovo Prilep Skopje Tetovo
10,000+	Debar Delčevo Gevgelija Gostivar Kavadarci Kičevo Kočani Kriva Palanka Negotino Ohrid Probištip Radoviš Struga Strumica Sveti Nikole Štip Veles Vinica
2,000+	Berovo Bogdanci Demir Hisar Demir Kapija Kratovo Kruševo Makedonska Kamenica Makedonski Brod Pehčevo Resen Valandovo

• Cities in the Republic of Macedonia