Kumanovo

Kumanovo is the third largest city in the country, and being located on the main E-75 highway that drives down through the country is easily accessible. Like every major city in Macedonia, Kumanovo is fairly active, especially considering it is only around 30km away from the capital Skopje. Having that in mind it's quite often that Skopje and Kumanovo exchange visitors for nightlife and restaurants.

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Kumanovo City Centre (photo by: Vesna Markoska)

Church of St. George in the vicinity of Kumanovo is one of the interesting things to see in this city. This church like many others in the country was built on foundations of an older one. Although the visible construction dates from 1313 it is believed that the foundations of the older church date back to 11th century, or the year 1071. Due to the unique architectural design, construction from entirely stone and the fresco technique, this church represents a significant cultural and historical monument for the whole country. 

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Church of St. George near Kumanovo

Kokino observatory is placed right beneath the mountain peak Tatikev-kamen in municipality of Staro Nagornicane, and approximately 30km from Kumanovo, in the north-eastern part of Republic of Macedonia. The ancient observatory dates from the Bronze Age and  is one of  the oldest archeological findings, originating from the 19th century BC. The observatory was used to define the four main positions of the moon and three main positions of the sun during the year, the autumnal and vernal equinox and winter and summer solstice. One specially positioned marker shows that the observatory was also used to follow the movement of the star cluster "Pleiades". Kokino is divided at two main parts with diameter of about 100 meters set on scalable platforms. On the highest platform is the central place with an observation post.

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Kokino the Ancient Observatory (photo by: Vesna Markoska)

The ASNOM monument is located in the village Pelince around 25km away from Kumanovo city centre and is dedicated to the Anti-Fascist Assembly for the People's Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM). The monument has an exact copy of the rooms where the first assembly took place, which is nowadays in the Monastery of St. Prohor Pcinjski  in neighbouring Serbia, just 2km away from this monument and memorial centre.  The ASNOM assembly held symbolically on the 2nd of August (Ilinden), 1944 by the Macedonian partisans laid the foundations for the Republic of Macedonia which would then become member of Socialist Yugoslavia. The first president of this assembly was Metodija-Andonov Chento, whose statue now stands at the city centre, Macedonia Square in Skopje. 

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ASNOM Memorial Centre near Kumanovo