Kočani

Coordinates: 41°55′N 22°25′E / 41.917°N 22.417°E / 41.917; 22.417
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Kočani
Кочани (Macedonian)
From the top, View of Kočani, St. George's Church, Freedom Monument
Car plates
KO
Official languageMacedonian
Geothermal water temperature78°C
Settlements28
ClimateCfa
Websitewww.kocani.gov.mk

Kočani (Macedonian: Кочани [ˈkɔtʃani] ⓘ) is a town in the eastern part of North Macedonia, situated around 100 kilometres (62 mi) east from Skopje. It has a population of 24,632 and is the seat of the Kočani Municipality.[2]

Geography and population

The town spreads across the Northern side of the

above sea level
.

Kočani 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

Demographics

Ethnic structure

According to the 1903 Austrian consular reports on ethnic composition of the kazas of the Sanjak of Skopje in 1903, the kaza of Kočani was populated by a total of 39,406 inhabitants, of whom 16,524 (41.93%) were Bulgarian Exarchists, 11,600 (29.44%) Ottoman Muslim, 7,800 (19.79%) Albanians, 1,680 (4.26%) Aromanians, 1,090 (2.77%) Patriarchists and 712 (1.8%) Romanis.[3]

According to the 2002 census, the ethnic composition of the city is as follows:

Religious denomination

As of 2021, the city of Kochani has 24.632 inhabitants and the ethnic composition was the following:[4]

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.


City Council

Following the 2021 local elections, the City Council is constituted as follows:[5]

Party / List Seats My Parliament
VMRO-DPMNE 9
SDSM 8
The Left 1
Independent politicians
 1
Total 19

History

Kočani at night
Kočani in 1942
Kočani in 1942
Postcard of Kočani, from 1930s

Due to its favourable geographic location, together with excellent natural climate characteristics, Kočani was inhabited as early as the ancient times first by the Paionians, Meds and Thracians. Later on, in the 6th century 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.[citation needed
]

Although the settlement existed long before that, Kočani was first mentioned in a charter from 1337 in which

Despot Jovan Oliver
donated the church of St. Dimitrija to Kočani.

Archaeological finds in the town itself have revealed remains of a settlement here in the

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

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

St. George Orthodox church in Kočani
Freedom Monument in Kočani
The Ploughman's Tale
Excerpt of speech by a woman from
Štip – Kočani dialect
Problems playing this file? See media help.

The town green, especially along the river bed and banks of the Kočani river, is the pride of the local people. The town is very clean and neat, for which it has proudly held the prestigious title of the cleanest town in North Macedonia.[6]

Today Kočani 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.

Education

The City of Kočani is served by four primary schools:

  • Nikola Karev Primary School
  • Saints Cyril and Methodius Primary School
  • Rade Kratovče Primary School
  • Malina Popivanova Primary School

There are also two secondary schools:

There is also a primary school specializing in music:

  • Risto Jurukov Primary School for Music

The city also maintains a municipal library "Iskra" ("spark").

Sports

Local football club FK Osogovo has played several seasons in the Macedonian First Football League.

Town partnerships

Kočani maintains partnership links with the following places:

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ ""Kočani" (history)" (in Macedonian).
  2. ^ "North Macedonia Timeless". northmacedonia-timeless.com. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
  3. ^ Demeter, Gábor; Csaplár-Degovics, Krisztián (2018). A Study in the Theory and Practice of Destabilization: Violence and Strategies of Survival in Ottoman Macedonia (1903-1913). The Isis Press. p. 38.
  4. ^ "Archived". makstat.stat.gov.mk. Archived from the original on December 25, 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2023.[dead link]
  5. ^ "Совет на Општина Кочани (City Council)". kocani.gov.mk (in Macedonian). Retrieved 2023-12-21.
  6. ^ "Куманово е втор град во државата по зелени површини". KumanovoNews. Retrieved 2020-04-21.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kočani.
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