KoÄani
KoÄani Кочани | |||
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Motto: City of rice and geothermal water | |||
KoÄani Location within Macedonia | |||
Coordinates: 41°55′N 22°25′E / 41.917°N 22.417°ECoordinates: 41°55′N 22°25′E / 41.917°N 22.417°E | |||
Country | Macedonia | ||
Municipality | Municipality of KoÄani | ||
Founded | 1337 [1] | ||
Council | 19 members | ||
Government | |||
• Mayor | Ratko Dimitrovski (VMRO-DPMNE) | ||
Area | |||
• Total | 18.6 km2 (7.2 sq mi) | ||
Highest elevation | 420 m (1,380 ft) | ||
Lowest elevation | 350 m (1,150 ft) | ||
Population (2002) | |||
• Total | 38,092 | ||
• Density | 2,000/km2 (5,300/sq mi) | ||
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
Area code(s) | ++ 389 33 | ||
Car plates | KO | ||
Official language | Macedonian | ||
Geothermal water temperature | 78°C | ||
Settlements | 28 | ||
Climate | Cfa | ||
Website | www.kocani.gov.mk |
KoÄani (Macedonian: Кочани [ˈkÉ”tʃani]) is a town in the eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia, 120 kilometres (75 mi) from Skopje. It has a population of 28,330 and is the seat of the KoÄani Municipality.
Geography and population
The town spreads across the Northern side of the KoÄani valley, along the banks of the KoÄani river, where it leaves the mountain slopes and flows through the valley. North of the town there is the Osogovo mountain (2,252 m or 7,388 ft) and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) to the south the valley is closed by the mountain PlaÄkovica (1,754 m or 5,755 ft). The town is 350–450 m (1,150–1,480 ft) above sea level.
KoÄani spreads over an area of 18.6 square kilometres (7.2 sq mi) and has population of 28,330 inhabitants which makes it the third regional center in the Eastern part of the country:
- 1948 - 6,657 inhabitants
- 1994 - 26,364 inhabitants
- 2002 - 28,330 inhabitants
Ethnic structure
- Macedonian: 90.3%
- Roma: 5.0%
- Turks: 3.0%
- Vlachs: 0.5%
- Serbs: 0.2%
- Other: 1.0%
Religious denomination
Climate
The climate is humid subtropical (Köppen: Cfa), influenced by altered Mediterranean climate which penetrates along the river Bregalnica. The average temperature is 12.9 °C (55.2 °F) with 538 mm (21.2 in) rainfall.
History
Due to its favourable geographic location, together with excellent natural climate characteristics, KoÄani was inhabited as early as the ancient times first by the Paionians, Meds and Thracians. Later on, in the 6th century the Slavs inhabited parts of the region. More precisely, in the 7th century members of the Slavic tribe Smolyani colonized the KoÄani valley and built a fortification. The founders of the Slavic education, brothers Kiril and Metodij (Cyril and Methodius), stayed in the valley from the year 845 to 855 and in the Bregalnica area (Morodvis) started to preach Christianity in Slavic language.
Although the settlement existed long before that, KoÄani was first mentioned in a charter from 1337 in which Despot Jovan Oliver donated the church of St. Dimitrija to KoÄani.
Archaeological finds in the town itself have revealed remains of a settlement here in the Roman and Byzantine periods. Early in the 15th century it fell under Turkish rule. The travel chronicler Evliya Chelebi, who visited it in 1662, recorded that it had 600 households, a mosque, a mezjid, an inn and 15 handicraft stores. During the 18th and in the early 19th century, the town growth rate stagnated. It was only around 1878 that the population began to rise, at which time it had about 450 - 500 households. The town has two feudal residences in the shape of towers believed to date from the 16th - 17th century.
Monuments
Numerous cultural and historical monuments, from ancient times to the Middle Ages, can be found in the vicinity of KoÄani. One of them is an archeological site of Dolno Gradishte from the late antic period, and two medieval towers at the city center.
Monastery complexes in the nearby villages Morodvis and Panteley are world famous both for their architecture and unique frescoes.
Features
The town green, especially along the river bed and banks of the KoÄani river, is the pride of the local people. The town is very clean and neat, for which it proudly holds the prestigious title of The cleanest town in Macedonia.
Today KoÄani is a modern town with planned infrastructure, avenues, many modern buildings and blocks of flats, a hospital, a shopping centre, a park and a newly built industrial zone. All this is carefully planned and structured, according to modern standards of living and esthetics. New suburbs are mainly built to the east where the town almost reaches the first houses of Orizari and to the West spreading over the industrial zone.
Town partnerships
KoÄani maintains partnership links with the following places:
- Kazanlak, Bulgaria
- Szigetszentmiklós, Hungary
- Yenifoça, Turkey
- Križevci, Croatia
- Pereyaslav, Ukraine
- Novi Kneževac, Serbia
Notable people
- KoÄani Orkestar, musicians
- Kiril F. Dzmbov, nuclear physicist, member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and of MANU
- Rade KratovÄe, revolutionary
- Pavle Krošarev, pilot, (the first Macedonian civil-aviation pilot to achieve the rank of an airline captain)
- Branko Pendovski, writer, president of the Writers' Association of Macedonia
- Malina Popivanova, revolutionary
- Blagoja Popov, politician, Chairman of the Executive Council (Prime Minister) of Macedonia 1974-1982
- Blagoj S. Popov, mathematician and first Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the University of Skopje, member of MANU
- LjupÄo Santov, revolutionary
- Stevo Teodosievski, musician
- Boyka Vaptsarova bg, public figure, wife of Bulgarian poet Nikola Vaptsarov
- Jordan Pop-Jordanov, engineer and physicist, member of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts
References
- ↑ ""KoÄani" (history)" (in Macedonian).
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to KoÄani. |
- Local Government Of The City Of KoÄani, Macedonia
- Old photographs of KoÄani
- Blog about Kocani, Rural tourism
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