Skopje Fortress to be restored and two museums prepared for opening

Skopje Fortress (Skopsko Kale) will be renovated, made functional and developed into a major tourist attraction, the Government announced after receiving approval from the Administration for Protection of Cultural Heritage and the Archaeological Museum of Macedonia.

The institutions confirmed that construction works at the site are complete and that, by government decision, the Archaeological Museum has received the finds recovered during the excavations at Kale. The museum is now preparing a concept for displays that will be placed in a Museum of Prehistory and in a Museum for the Ottoman Period.

Roles, management and next steps

Vesela Chastoeva, director of the Administration for Protection of Cultural Heritage, said the Administration will continue work at the nearby Plaoshnik complex and that a government decision is in its final stage to declare the Skopje Fortress a cultural monument of exceptional importance. "At the moment in the Government a decision is in the final stage for declaring the Skopje fortress Kale as cultural heritage of exceptional importance, the competencies will be divided between the City of Skopje and the Archaeological Museum. The Museum will manage two objects: Museum of Prehistory and Museum of the Ottoman Period. They will resolve the interior part and the objects which I mentioned earlier that will be exhibited, so that they can tell the story that for years has happened at Kale. These two objects will be placed within the framework of European Capital of Culture Skopje 2028," she said.

From Tuesday the Archaeological Museum of Macedonia will start on-site interior work and preparations to finally open and put both museums into use. Magdalena Manaskova, director of the Archaeological Museum, noted the team and authors behind the concept: "The concept author of the two museums is the long-time researcher and leader of the archaeological excavations at the Skopje fortress, Prof. Dr. Dragi Mitrevski; the author of the exhibition design is Prof. Dr. Jovan Ivanovski. We created the visual identity of the museums, whose concept author is Prof. Dr. Gordana Vrencovska."

Archaeological excavations that began in 2007 have produced more than 5,000 finds. In 2024 the Administration for Protection of Cultural Heritage, acting as project investor, provided eight million denars for implementation of related activities. For ongoing maintenance, adaptation and restoration of the two museum buildings, the tender selected the company Net Invest from Tearce as contractor.

Photo: press material from the event