Kriva Palanka - History

Macedonia

Kriva Palanka

Photo Gallery

History

History of the city of K. Palanka

Do you have any old photos of K. Palanka on your PC?
Click here to send them to us!

This region was an important one in the past as well. Its location on a vital crossroad secured a role of a linkage between people and civilizations.
In this region, there are rich archeological sites with known chronology from the neolith till the Middle Age.
Towards the end of the XIV century, Kriva Palanka Region fell under the Turkish rule. The city of Kriva Palanka (Egri Dere) was founded in 1634, during the rule of the Turkish vizier Bajram - Pasha. In order to strengthen their rule against the rebellious Macedonian population, the Turks built a fortress preserving the safety of the caravans from Skopje, Thessalonica and Dubrovnik and other cities which used to pass through the region of Kriva Palanka.
Besides, this important corridor has been used by the troops of the first Macedonian tzar Samuil in the X century, the army of the Serbian king Stefan Dechanski, the armies of the Turkish sultan Murat I on his way to Kosovo pole (1389) and of Mehmed II "Conqueror" on his way to Bosnia, and also by numerous caravans, merchants and travelers, such as Evlija Chelebija, Hadzi Kalpha, Ami Bue, Konstantin Irechek etc. As early as in 1661, Evlija Chelebija described Kriva Palanka as a town of approximately 800 households. The mining tradition of the XII century Sasi miners was renewed and the iron mines reopened. The metal products of this regions were among the most demanded in the Ottoman Empire. In 1689, the people from the North - Eastern Macedonia organized an uprising against the Turks. The uprising, known as Karposh's, began in Kriva Palanka.

(Click on the thumbnail to see a larger image)

As the uprising center, kriva Palanka was a free town for a couple of months.This event exerted a strong influence over all the other subsequent revolutionery movements. In the XIX century, social and economic conditions favorable to the development of Kriva Palanka were created.In this period, it was considered as a developed city.In 1870, Kr. Palanka had 4352 inhabitants (3252 Macedonians and 1100 Turks). Ther were around 250 traders and artisans.
The development of the craftsmanship and the formation of a class of town leaders and inteligentsia educated in Skopje, Thessaloniki, Sofia, Belgrade, Brussels Paris and other European cities, brought about prosperity for Kr. Palanka, reflected in its economic and cultural life and construction of both secular and church buildings. In 1833 the church school was replaced by the popular Joakim Krchovski (one of the first Macedonian writers in popular language).
The people of the region took an active part in the Ilinden uprising in 1903. Macedonia and Kriva Palanka were liberated from the Turkish rule in 1912. From 1912 till 1915, the region was governed by Serbs and from 1915 till 1918 by the Bulgarians. In 1918, Macedonia and Kriva Palanka became a part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians, regardless of the will of the Macedonian people. Between the two World Wars, Kriva Palanka experienced a decline instead of progress.
The inability to secure a normal living generated a massive emigration wave abroad, including the USA and South America. At this time, Kriva Palanka got the first doctors of science among its citizens In 1936, the brothers Boris and Dimitar Arsovi earned Ph. D. degrees from Sorbone. During the II World War the citizens of Kriva Palanka took an active part in the fight against the fashists ( 139 solders from the region were killed and 128 civilians were victims of the fashists terror.
After the liberation (October 8, 1944), and the creation of a Macedonian state within Yugoslavia, a new phase of the development began. Many cultural institutions - city library, cinema, Cultural center were founded and medical center, schools as well. Many factories - textile, carpet, forest industry, mining and agricultural cooperatives were established.
Efforts were also made to complete the infrastructure and improve the living conditions, constructing water systems, new roads, houses and buildings. Following the dissolution of the SFRY, an independent and sovereign Macedonian state was created by the September 8, 1991 referendum. Kriva Palanka got its first pluralistic municipal assembly.