Veles, Macedonia

Veles
Велес

Seal
Veles

Location within Macedonia

Coordinates: 41°43′12″N 21°47′36″E / 41.72000°N 21.79333°E / 41.72000; 21.79333Coordinates: 41°43′12″N 21°47′36″E / 41.72000°N 21.79333°E / 41.72000; 21.79333
Country  Macedonia
Municipality Veles Municipality
Government
  Mayor Slavcho Chadiev (VMRO-DPMNE)
Population
  Total 43,716
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 1400
Area code(s) +389 043
Car plates VE
Website www.Veles.gov.mk/

Veles (Macedonian: Велес [ˈvɛːlɛs]) is a city in the center of the Republic of Macedonia on the Vardar river. The city of Veles is the seat of Veles Municipality.

Name

Vilazora was a Paeonian city from the period of early classic antiquity. The city's name was Βελισσός Velissos in Ancient Greek. During Ottoman times Veles was a township (kaza) with the name Köprülü in the Üsküp sandjak. From 1877 to 1912 the sandjak was part of the Kosovo vilayet. From 1929 to 1941, Veles was part of the Vardar Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. After World War II, the city was known as Titov Veles after Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito, but the 'Titov' was removed in 1996.[1] Cars registered in Veles were identified by the code TV (Titov Veles), which was changed as late as 2000 to VE.

History

Veles in the 19th century.

The area of present-day Veles has been inhabited for over a millennium. In antiquity, it was a Paionian city called Bylazora, and contained a substantial population of Thracians and possibly Illyrians. It was then part of the Byzantine Empire, and at times the First and Second Bulgarian Empire. It became part of the Kingdom of Serbia at the end of the 13th century, while during the Serbian Empire (1345–71) it was an estate of Jovan Oliver and subsequently the Mrnjavčević family until Ottoman annexation after the Battle of Rovine (1395). Before the Balkan Wars, it was a township (kaza) with the name Köprülü, part of the Sanjak of Üsküp.[2]

Some identify Veles with the Velitza of which Clement of Ohrid was bishop.[3][4] The Annuario Pontificio identifies Veles instead with the bishopric of Bela, a suffragan of Achrida, and lists it, as no longer a residential diocese, among titular sees.[5]

Features

Through Macedonia Veles is known as industrial center and recently, as a leader in the implementing of IT in the local administration in Macedonia.

Veles is a city of poetry, culture, history and tradition, as well as a town with plentiful and precious cultural heritage and centuries old churches.

Veles is a municipality of 55,000 residents.[6]

Climate

Veles experiences a semi-arid climate (BSk) with cold winters and very hot summers. Daily averages range from 0.7 °C (33.3 °F) in January up to 24.6 °C (76.3 °F) in July. On 30 March 1952, in Veles the temperature was recorded at 36 °C (96.8 °F), due to hot southwestern wind.Daily mean is 14 °C (57.2 °F) with 480 mm (19 in) rainfall.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Veles (city) is twinned with:

Other forms of partnership:

Media

Two TV stations and many radio stations operate in Veles,they are Channel 21 & Zdravkin.

Sport

Veles has many sports teams, the most popular of which are:

People from Veles

References

The clocktower in Veles
St. Pantelejmon Church in Veles
  1. Велес по осамостојувањето на Македонија Општина Велес
  2. Rahmi Tekin, Osmanli Atlasi, Istanbul 2003
  3. Angeliki Delikari, "Clement of Ochrid (Saint)." Religion Past and Present. Brill Online, 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2013
  4. Clemens van Ohrid
  5. Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1), p. 847
  6. veles.gov.mk Archived April 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  7. "Međunarodna suradnja Grada Pule". Grad Pula (in Croatian and Italian). Archived from the original on 2012-05-05. Retrieved 2013-07-28.

External links

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