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== Politics ==
== Politics ==
The new local council and mayor was elected in 2004. The current mayor of Strumica is Mr. Zoran Zaev-SELJAKOT od Murtino.
The new local council and mayor was elected in 2004. The current mayor of Strumica is Mr. Zoran Zaev.


== Sport ==
== Sport ==

Revision as of 12:15, 2 June 2009

Strumica
Струмица
Coat of arms of Strumica
Coat of arms
Country Republic of Macedonia
MunicipalityFile:Strumichki grb.jpg Strumica municipality
Founded1920
Population
 ([citation needed])
 • Total54,676
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
2400
Area code+389 34
Car platesSR
Websitewww.strumica.gov.mk

Strumica (Macedonian: Струмица, [ˈstrumitsa]ⓘ) is a town situated in the south-east of the Republic of Macedonia (close to the Novo Selo-Petrich border crossing with Bulgaria). The population is close to 55,000 with an absolute Macedonian majority (90%). About 150,000 people live in the region surrounding the city. The city is named after the Strumica river which runs through it. The city of Strumica is the seat of Strumica Municipality.

Name

The town is first mentioned in 2nd century B.C. with the Greek name Ἀστραῖον (Astraîon). It was later known by the Latin name Tiveriopolis, it received its present name from the Slavic settlers of the Middle Ages. In modern Greek the town is known as Στρώμνιτσα (Strómnitsa), and its name in Turkish is Ustrumca.

File:Statue of an Angel.JPG
Statue of an Angel in Strumica

History

In the IX century the town became part of the First Bulgarian Empire and it remained Bulgarian until 1014. After the Battle of Kleidon Strumica was seized by the Byzantine empire.

In 1395 after another two centuries of Bulgarian control it fell under Ottoman rule. During the National awakening in the second half of the XIX century a Bulgarian school and church opened in the town. According to the 1873 Ottoman statistics the Strumica had 2,400 households with 3,300 Muslim and 3,120 Bulgarian citizens.[1] In 1895 a IMARO committee was founded in the town by revolutionary leader d-r Hristo Tatarchev. In 1897 Strumica became part of the Bulgarian Exarchate. The census three years later showed that the population consisted of 6,100 Bulgarians, 3,100 Turks, and 700 Jews.[2] The majority of the Christian Bulgarians though sympathised the Constantinopole Greek Patriarchy. During the First Balkan War the city was liberated from the Turks and for some six years became part of Bulgaria. Following Bulgaria's defeat in World War I, under the 1919 Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine Bulgaria was forced to cede Strumica to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later to be called Yugoslavia. Strumica was occupied by Bulgarians in World War II. Following World War II, Strumica remained in Yugoslavia and in 1945 became a part of the newly established Federative People's Republic of Macedonia. This federal republic remained in Yugoslavia until 1991, when it declared its independence as The Republic of Macedonia.

Features

Strumica is the main agricultural center in the Republic of Macedonia, It has many textile factories and a developed trade network.

Strumica Carnival

File:ABBA.jpg
The winning mask for 2009, ABBA

It has a centuries-old tradition and takes place every year in the period of the Christian festival Trimeri, during Lent . The word “carnival” originates from the Latin words: carne – meat and vale – farewell . The carnival represents a vestige of an ancient cult from the pagan time and indicates the glorification of fertility and purification from the spectral energies of the daily routine. In 1670 the Turkish travel-author Evlija Chelebija , while staying in Strumica , wrote: “ I came into a town located in the foothills of a high hillock and what I saw that night was masked people running house–to–house, with laughter, scream and song“. Since 1991 organized form of the carnival has been established. In 1994 Strumica became a member of FECC (Federation of European Carnival Cities) and in 1998 played host to XVIII International Congress of Carnival Cities. The opening of the carnival takes place on Saturday night at a masked ball where the Prince and Princess are chosen. The children’s carnival is on Sunday and the day after is known as Pure Monday. The main carnival night is on Tuesday when not only masked participants from the country, but carnival groups from abroad take part, as well. The participants present various, diverse subjects and are rewarded with individual and group prizes. As of 2000, the Festival of Caricatures and Aphorisms has started under the auspices of the carnival. The festival has international character and takes place during the Trimeri festivities. The theme of the festival is the carnival combined with light eroticism.

Churches

Monastery of The Holy Mother of God Eleusa in Veljusa

File:Monastery of The Holy Mother of God Eleusa in Veljusa.jpg
Monastery of The Holy Mother of God Eleusa in Veljusa

Built on a rocky plateau, the monastery of The Holy Mother of God Eleusa is located in the village of Veljusa about seven kilometers west of Strumica. The monastery was founded in 1080 with the personal means of the monk Manuel, who later became Episcope of Strumica. He arrived in Veljusa from the Chalkedon monastery of St. Auxentius in the Asia Minor region of Vitinia, where he spent most of his ascetic life. There are numerous written sources about this monastery, most of which are kept in the archives of the Iviron monastery on Mount Athos. Out of the many written documents, the two most prevalent are the marble plaques on the lintel of the entrance door of the monastery. The first one says, in Greek: “This church of the Holy Mother of God the Merciful (Eleusa) is built from the foundations by the monk Manuel, who became episcope of Tiberiopolis in the year 6588 (1080 A.D.) indiction 3”; the second one reads: “Since I have placed my entire hope in You, oh immaculate Mother and fountain of mercy, I, shepherd and monk Manuel, Your servant, offer to You, Sovereign Lady, this temple”. These marble plaques are of recent date due to the fact that during World War I the original ones were taken to the Archeological Museum in Sofia. The second important document is the Gramota of the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus (1081-1118) of July 1085, by which the monastery was granted autonomy and the status of a royal monastery. The Rule (typikon) of Manuel in 22 points has also been preserved. It talks about the founding of the monastery, about Manuel himself, about the codes of dress, the codes of taking meals, and other duties of the monks. The Rule (typikon) of Manuel I Comnenus (1143-1180) of 1152 has also survived. It documents the land property granted to the monastery, and contains an inventory of monastery possessions dating from 1164, where all valuables of the monastery were listed. However, in the 13th Century the monastery lost its autonomy and until 1913 was under the authority of the Iviron monastery on Mount Athos.

File:K velusa.jpg
The Monastery seen from above

In 1913, having decided to abandon the monastery, the monks set it on fire. This event damaged the fresco painting to a great extent.Today, the monastery’s original architecture has been preserved and it represents a rare structure of the 11th Century in Macedonia. The monastery is a four-apse building and has three domes embellished with ceramic and polychrome decorations. The exonarthex of the southern porch of the monastery shows the Cross of Veljusa as well as the figure of St. Onuphrius in the desert when visited by the monk St. Panfnutius. The esonarthex displays the figure of Manuel holding the Veljusa monastery in his hand. The fresco painting had been done in three phases: the first one in 1081, the second one in 1164, and the third one, considered non canonical, in the 19th Century. The fresco in the dome represents Christ the Pantocrator (“Almighty" or "All-powerful”) and the fresco in the nave portrays the Holy Mother of God – “Theotokos oranta”- flanked by St. John the Baptist, two archangels and four prophets. The altar space shows a fresco of the Holy Mother of God – Theotokos nikopoia and Christ enthroned, and a liturgical service of the holy hierarchs with the Hetimazia (the Sacrifice of Jesus). The north apse shows the Descent of Christ into Hell, the east one the Holy Mother of God with Christ, the south one the Annunciation, and the west one The Meeting of our Lord. The southern chapel, which is dedicated to St. Spas, shows Jesus Christ Emanuel as a twelve-year-old child. The eastern wall shows Jesus in Glory together with a portrait of St. Nyphon; the western shows St. Panteleimon. The church’s naos contains a reconstructed altar partition from marble, and the floor is decorated with mosaics that form geometrical shapes. Today, the monastery is the home of the monastic sisterhood of Strumica. There are auxiliary buildings on the premises including a clock tower, a bakery, an inn, and a small chapel dedicated to the Apostle and Saint Paul and to Saint Gregory Palamas.

Saints Cyril and Methodius Church

The cathedral church “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” is a double apse church. The lower altar is in the basement and is dedicated to the Fifteen Holy Hieromartyrs of Tiberiopolis. Construction on the lower church began in 1750 under the Strumica bishop Paisius, and was finished in 1760. The iconostasis, which is completely made of oak, safeguards the relics of St. Basil the Great and St. Theophanus Nachertani. The tomb of the exarchate metropolitan Gerasim, who initiated the building of the new church dedicated to the Saints Cyril and Methodius, is located in the lower church. He procured funds for the church from the Russian monastery of St. Pantelejmon on Mounth Athos, which may explain the Russian look of the church. The iconostasis was made of linden wood by the master of the Debar carving school, Nestor Aleksiev, in 1935. The icons were done by the painters Grigorij Pecanov from Strumica, Gavril Atanasov from Berovo, D.A. Papradiski and other anonymous artists. The church has had the same appearance since 1905.

St. Ilija Monastery

The St. Ilija monastery is located on the Elenica mountain about four kilometers away from Strumica. The monastery was probably built at the end of 16th Century, based on the icons there which originate from that period.

File:K sv ilija.jpg
St. Ilija Monastery

A stone plaque with inscription in old Slavic was once found in the monastery, but at some point it was lost. If the plaque had not been brought from somewhere else, one could conclude that the monastery originates from much older times. The monastery was destroyed once in 1923, but it was built again and extended in the period between 1975 and 1984. The monastery represents a single-domed structure with a painting of Christ the Pantocrator ("Almighty" or "All-powerful") in the dome, while the apses contain the paintings of the four evangelists Mark, Matthew, Luke and John. The iconostasis of the monastery is made of wood. Lodging quarters have recently been built on the premises of the monastery.

Catholic Church of The Ascension of the Holy Mother of God

Catholic Church of The Ascension of the Holy Mother of God

The Ascension of the Holy Mother of God is a Catholic church. Monsignor Atanasie Ivanov had this parish church built in 1925 dedicating it to the Ascension of the Holy Mother of God. The first service took place on Holy Thursday in 1925. The bishop Dionysius Gnaradi benedicted the parish church on July 25, 1925, and consecrated it in 1931. From 1971 to 1975, the parish church underwent thorough reconstruction, and in 1988 it was benedicted by the Bishop Joakim Herbut. On September 21, 1991, building of the new pastoral center began, and was completed two years later. On May 1, 2001, this parish church was declared Cathedral Church of the Apostolic Exarchate in Macedonia by the Pope John Paul II. Joakim Herbut was appointed its first Exarch. Since May 2002, the church has been undergoing another reconstruction. A new iconostasis was made and frescoes and icons were painted in the apse.

Church Complex of Saint Leontius

The church complex “Saint Leontius” is about four kilometers west of Strumica in the village of Vodocha. The oldest building in the complex is the early Christian basilica dating from the 5th and 6th Century. The complex consists of three churches, the oldest of which is the eastern one. Its triple apse domed church, built in the 6th and 7th Century, was destroyed after the fall of Czar Samuel’s state. Parts of its altar apse, proskomide (or prothesis) and diakonikon still remain. Its oldest fresco shows an unidentified saint from the late 10th Century. The western church, a small cross-shaped domed structure, was built in the period between 1018 and 1037, and was dedicated to the Presentation of the Holy Mother of God–Eleusa.

File:Vodocha.JPG
Church Complex of Saint Leontius

The fresco painting of this church showcases the deacons Isavrios and Euplos, saintly figures, the cycle of the main church holidays and scenes from the “Childhood and Life of the Holy Mother of God” The third and biggest church, placed in between the first two, is a domed structure that represents an Episcopal Church, a fact suggested by the synthronos in the altar apse. Built in the late 11th and early 12th Century, it was dedicated to Saint Leontius, a martyr killed at the time of the Roman emperor Vespasian (69 A.D. – 79 A.D.) because of turning to Christianity. Presentations of the six Hierarchs and the Fourty Holy Martyrs of Sebastea are the only frescoes that remain preserved until this day. Within the church complex, research was also done in the two monastery baths, the guest-house with other auxiliary structures, and the necropolis with over one thousand graves from the period between 18th and 20th Century. This church was destroyed in the 13th Century. Following the destruction, it was completely abandoned, and a necropolis was built there in the Middle Ages. The remains of this church underwent reconstruction in 1979, and by looking at the lead divide today, one could easily tell how much of the remains had actually survived. In 1996, monastic life was revived, and the place has since become the home of the monastic sisterhood of the Strumica diocese.

Evangelical Methodist Church

The first members of this congregation were registered in 1882. In 1894, the first church school opened, but it was not recognized until 1906. That same year, the first church was built with a classroom attached to it. In 1987, a permit was issued for building a new church. The old church was torn down, and construction of the new began in the same location. The new church was consecrated on October 15, 1989. In 2000, in honor of the famous missionary Helen Stone, a social center named “The Miss Stone Center” was completed.

Church of The Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebastea

Located 1.5 kilometers north of the village Bansko, the remains of the church of the Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebastea measure 1.5 meters high. Dedicated to the cult of the Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebastea who suffered in 320 A.D., it is the only church in Macedonia originating from that period.

File:OLD CHURCH.jpg
Church of The Forty Holy Martyrs of Sebastea

The only other frescos of the forty martyrs are located in the churches St. Leontius in Vodocha, in St. Sophia in Ohrid, and in Morozvizd. Judging by the synthronos, a place in the church reserved for the Episcope, it was originally built as an Episcopal church. The architectural style and what remains from the fresco painting suggest that the church dates back to 12th or 13th Century, though work had been done on it during the Ottoman period as well. The foundation of the church has the shape of a cross. The iconostasis is made of marble, and most of the interior space is reserved for the proscomedia and the diakonicon. A necropolis was discovered near the church originating from the 13th Century.

Population

File:GalerijaPS8.jpg
Strumica

Education

The city of Strumica has 4 primary schools: Vidoe Podgorec, Sando Masev, Marshal Tito and Nikola Vapcarov; 3 high schools: Jane Sandanski, Nikola Karev and Dimitar Vlahov; and a music school Boro Dzoni

Politics

The new local council and mayor was elected in 2004. The current mayor of Strumica is Mr. Zoran Zaev.

Sport

FK Belasica who plays second division football and FC Tiverija plays third division. The main basketball club was KK Strumica 2005 with Sport Director Mr. Mile Milanović and President Mr. Panagiotis Karapiperis. KK Strumica was the town's team in the Macedonian First Basketball League and vicechampion. Volleyball clubs in Strumica are OK Makedonija - Gio, OK Strumica, and women's team OK Makedonija - Maks. Handball team is RK Zomimak-M.

Media

There are 2 private local TV stations operating in Strumica: TV kanal VIS and INTEL Televizija and also 2 Cabel TV operators: Kabelnet i Telekabel


File:GalerijaPS12.jpg
The Global Mall

Notable people from Strumica

Main article: List of people from Strumica

References

  1. ^ „Македония и Одринско. Статистика на населението от 1873 г.“ Македонски научен институт, София, 1995, стр.186-187.
  2. ^ Васил Кънчов. „Macedonia. Ethnography and statistics“. Sofia, 1900.

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