Shtip

Overview

City overview

Meet Shtip.

A grounded introduction to the city, its landscape, people, history and wider municipality.

Shtip is the principal urban centre of eastern North Macedonia, set where the Bregalnica and Otinja rivers meet beneath the rocky Isar ridge. Its compact old core, Novo Selo quarter and hilltop fortress preserve the shape of a regional market town, while later neighbourhoods spread across the surrounding dry basin.

The wider area has been occupied since prehistoric and ancient times. Medieval Shtip developed around the Isar, passed through Serbian and Ottoman rule and became an important craft and trading centre. Churches, the Bezisten, Novo Selo's traditional streetscape and the archaeological landscape around the city record those successive layers.

Modern Shtip is a university, administrative and industrial city. Textile and clothing production have long been especially prominent, supported by education, health care and services for the eastern region. Goce Delchev University has added a large student community and strengthened the city's cultural calendar.

The municipality combines the city with 43 officially recognized rural settlements. Its identity is expressed through football, the Makfest music festival, the UNESCO-inscribed Chet'rse spring custom and the Isar landscape, while the hot mineral waters at Kezhovica remain a distinctive local natural resource.

The 2021 census counted 42,000 residents in Shtip itself and 44,866 across the wider municipality; 2,866 people lived outside the city settlement. That distinction between the urban centre and its surrounding communities is important in Macedonian demographic reporting and in understanding everyday local life.

Geography

History

Interesting Facts

1. A strongly urban municipality

   The 2021 census counted 42,000 people in the city and 44,866 in the municipality, so about 93.6% of municipal residents lived in the urban settlement.

2. Forty greetings on Isar

   During Chet'rse on 22 March, participants climb Isar hill, greet forty acquaintances and collect forty pebbles before completing other ritual acts. UNESCO inscribed the custom in 2013.

3. A fortress between two rivers

   The Isar rises between the Bregalnica and Otinja and preserves fortification remains associated with medieval Shtip; the municipality treats the ridge as one of the city's defining cultural landmarks.

4. Hot mineral water beside the Bregalnica

   The municipality reports a constant temperature of about 58 degrees Celsius for the Kezhovica and L'dzhi mineral water, which supports bathing and rehabilitation facilities southwest of the centre.

5. A city shaped by textiles

   Shtip's municipal business profile identifies textile and clothing production as a particularly developed part of the local industrial base.

6. A university city since 2007

   Goce Delchev University was established with its headquarters in Shtip on 27 March 2007 and has since grown to twelve faculties and three academies.

7. A market hall turned cultural venue

   Shtip's stone Bezisten probably dates from the sixteenth or seventeenth century. Once a covered market, it now hosts exhibitions, book promotions, art and small concerts.

People

• Notable person Kiro Gligorov Shtip-born statesman who became the first president of independent Macedonia.
• Notable person Aco Shopov Shtip-born poet and translator, widely regarded as one of the founders of modern Macedonian poetry.
• Notable person Nikola Kljusev Shtip-born economist who served as the first prime minister after independence.

• Kiro Gligorov politics

  Born in Shtip in 1917.

  Statesman who became the first president of the independent Republic of Macedonia and guided the country through the early 1990s.

  Source
• Aco Shopov literature

  Born in Shtip in 1923 and repeatedly drew on the city and its wartime experience in his work.

  Poet, translator, academician and diplomat, regarded as one of the foundational voices of modern Macedonian poetry.

  Source
• Nikola Kljusev politics and economics

  Born in Shtip in 1927.

  Economist and politician who served as the first prime minister after the country's declaration of independence.

  Source
• Dragoslav Shekularac sport

  Born in Shtip in 1937.

  Influential Yugoslav footballer and coach, celebrated for his technique and his career with Red Star Belgrade and the national team.

  Source
• Archbishop Michael (Metodij Gogov) religion

  Born in Novo Selo, now within Shtip's historic urban area, in 1912.

  Senior Orthodox cleric who became Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia in 1993.

  Source
• Aleksandar Grlichkov politics and economics

  Born in Shtip in 1923.

  Economist and senior Yugoslav-era political figure who held republican and federal offices.

  Source

Villages & Monasteries

43 villages and rural settlements are included.

• Baltalija Small rural settlement in the eastern part of Shtip Municipality. Source
• Brest Upland village in Shtip Municipality's sparsely populated rural interior. Source
• Chardaklija Agricultural village in the Bregalnica landscape north of Shtip. Source
• Chiflik Official rural settlement recorded with no resident population in the 2021 census. Source
• Creshka Official rural settlement recorded with no resident population in the 2021 census. Source
• Dobroshani Small agricultural settlement south of the city. Source
• Dolani Rural settlement in the hills north of Shtip. Source
• Dragojevo Agricultural village in the Lakavica side of the municipality. Source
• Gorachino Small upland settlement in the municipality's northern countryside. Source
• Hadzhi-Hamzali Official rural settlement recorded with no resident population in the 2021 census. Source
• Hadzhi-Redzhepli Official rural settlement recorded with no resident population in the 2021 census. Source
• Hadzhi-Sejdeli Official rural settlement recorded with no resident population in the 2021 census. Source
• Jamularci Official rural settlement recorded with no resident population in the 2021 census. Source
• Edeklerci Official rural settlement recorded with no resident population in the 2021 census. Source
• Kalapetrovci Small rural settlement in Shtip Municipality. Source
• Koshevo Foothill village in the municipality's western rural zone. Source
• Krivi Dol Village close to Shtip in the Bregalnica valley corridor. Source
• Lakavica Valley village that gives its name to the Lakavica river and surrounding rural area. Source
• Leskovica Established village in the southern hills of Shtip Municipality. Source
• Lipov Dol Official rural settlement recorded with no resident population in the 2021 census. Source
• Ljuboten Foothill village west of Shtip, distinct from the Skopje-area settlement of the same name. Source
• Nikoman Small upland village in the municipality's northern sector. Source
• Novo Selo Historic settlement at the foot of Isar, now physically incorporated into Shtip's urban fabric; it remains separately listed in the settlement register. Source
• Penush Agricultural village northeast of the city. Source
• Piperovo Village in the Lakavica valley area south of Shtip. Source
• Pochivalo Small rural settlement in the municipality's northern countryside. Source
• Puhche Village east of Shtip in an agricultural and low-hill landscape. Source
• Sarchievo Small agricultural settlement south of Shtip in the Lakavica-side countryside. Source
• Shashavarlija Rural settlement east of Shtip on the road toward Koshevo. Source
• Selce Foothill village close to Shtip's northeastern edge. Source
• Skandalci Official rural settlement recorded with no resident population in the 2021 census. Source
• Sofilari Village on the Bregalnica plain northwest of Shtip. Source
• Shopur Official rural settlement recorded with no resident population in the 2021 census. Source
• Star Karaorman Village on the plain northwest of Shtip, separate from the newer urban-industrial Karaorman area. Source
• Stepanci Small upland settlement in the municipality's rural north. Source
• Sudik Rural settlement north of Shtip. Source
• Sushevo Official rural settlement recorded with no resident population in the 2021 census. Source
• Suvo Grlo Sparsely populated rural settlement in the southern part of the municipality. Source
• Tanatarci Small settlement in Shtip Municipality's eastern countryside. Source
• Testemelci Official rural settlement recorded with no resident population in the 2021 census. Source
• Toplik Official rural settlement recorded with no resident population in the 2021 census. Source
• Tri Cheshmi Large suburban and industrial-corridor settlement northwest of Shtip. Source
• Vrsakovo Agricultural village northeast of Shtip. Source

Photo Gallery (35)

• Shtip: a view down from a rocky height onto red-roofed houses, modern blocks and a white domed church near the foot.
• Shtip: a busy road junction with cars and pedestrians, apartment blocks with shopfronts beyond a paved square with planters.
• Shtip: a white church with several domes and crosses behind green shrubs, a small car parked on the road in front.
• Shtip: a town of terracotta roofs seen across a floodlit football pitch, with a road curving off to the right.
• Shtip: a park with a pale stone path, tall conifers and broad trees, apartment buildings behind the greenery.
• Shtip: a pedestrian crossing at a street corner lined with shops and older apartment blocks, a railed underpass at right.
• Shtip: autumn trees and long white buildings on a slope, with houses and a small dome on the skyline beyond.
• Shtip: a grass strip and a paved path lead towards brick-coloured apartment blocks, a lone walker at the far end.
• Shtip: terracotta roofs and winding streets from a wooded viewpoint, a pale domed church standing near a green strip.
• Shtip: a sunlit street crossing with pedestrians and cars, shops and offices along the far side.
• Shtip: houses and a few larger buildings at the foot of a dry, brown hill with a mast, framed by trees.
• Shtip: a tall dark-windowed office tower rising behind trees, with a low white wall along the lawn in front.
• Shtip: a broad sweep of red- and orange-roofed houses spread across a valley, with hills hazy in the distance.
• Shtip: a road and park below a steep slope, with white houses climbing a green hillside above.
• Shtip: a long grey office block beside a street, with a wooded hill and a radio mast behind.
• Shtip: customers sit at tables on a green platform under a spreading tree outside a red-roofed kiosk.
• Shtip: a town of red roofs and white blocks below forested hills, seen from a pine-covered slope under cloud.
• Shtip in snow: a ring of low stone slabs with inscriptions around one taller slab, under bare trees.
• Shtip: a steep green hill crowned with a cross and two masts, red-roofed houses and a small church at its foot.
• Shtip: rows of apartment blocks and terracotta roofs behind bare reeds, under a deep blue sky.
• Shtip: roofs and a tall grey tower block among pine trees, with a long green ridge behind.
• Shtip in winter: a snow-filled river channel between stone embankments, a low bridge and bare trees along the road.
• Shtip: parked cars on a street below an apartment block with a pharmacy-style shopfront, a dark metal canopy at upper left.
• Shtip: a hazy panorama of roofs and mid-rise buildings spreading towards distant hills, pines in the foreground.
• Shtip: a small stone church with blind arches and a domed drum, a street lamp and leafy trees beside it.
• Shtip: apartment blocks with orange roofs rising above a belt of dark green trees, under broken cloud.
• Aerial view of Shtip: a dense mass of terracotta roofs, a curving road and green verge, and a grey-roofed church at lower left.
• Shtip: a street of tall shopfront buildings with cars waiting at a corner and people on the pavement.
• Shtip: the same small stone church with arched brick-and-stone walls, seen from a slightly wider angle among trees.
• Shtip at night: streets and buildings lit with yellow-green lamps, seen from above in the dark.
• Shtip: the Emir Kucuk Sultanov bridge, a stone bridge of low arches over a river, with a park path.
• Shtip: St Michael the Archangel Church, its brick roof rising above the town's red rooftops.
• Shtip: the Diocese of Bregalnica administrative building, pale yellow with arched entrances and flags.
• Shtip: the clock tower above a steep street, with whitewashed houses and trees below.
• Shtip: an old two-storey house with a small balcony and panelled walls, snow on the wall in front.