Veles | history & culture

Veles in antiquity

Inhabitants have been residing in the site of present day Veles for over a millennia. In ancient times Veles was called Bylazora, Vylazora and contained a substantial population of Thracians and possibly Illyrians when it was in the kingdom Paionia also considered a region of "Upper Macedonia".

Registered in historic records as a city that Paiony tribes created during the Roman period, Veles remains an enchanting place for lovers of history with its many artifacts from numerous archeological sites dating as far back as 7,000 years. A rock at a former citadel Kale has an inscription that translates as “keeps in coldness the hot memories of the stormy times as the waters of Vardar, calm as the sunset above Veles”.

At the crossroads of the histories of the old Macedonians, Romans, and first Sclavinias, the Slavic tribes built the city in the 4th century.

Middle ages and the Ottomans in Veles

Under five centuries of Ottoman rule, a multitude of wars and revolutions, Macedonia and Veles, in particular, retain a mystique that is unparelled by any other place in the world. In the earlier half of the 20th century, a generation lived under six different countries without ever stepping outside of Macedonia.

From the 14th to the 19th century, the city of Veles blossomed in urban and sacred architecture. Kojnik, the kernel of the city, is full of old architecture and rustic structures and is best explored on foot. Veles also flourished as a trade center for passing merchants and later, as an industrial epicenter for the nation. While it served as a temporary home for caravans throughout the world, it has served as the home for tailors, cobblers, farmers, and those in numerous other trades.

In the 19th century, the church Saint Pantelejmon, one of the most beautiful Christian temples of the Balkans, was built. Veles is known for having the greatest writings in all of Macedonia ranging from the poetry of Racin to the theatrical essays and journalistic writings of Jordan Hadzi Konstantinov - Dzinot.