Kočani
| Kočani Кочани | |||
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| Motto: City of rice and geothermal water | |||
  Kočani | |||
| Coordinates: 41°55′N 22°25′E / 41.917°N 22.417°ECoordinates: 41°55′N 22°25′E / 41.917°N 22.417°E | |||
| Country |
 Macedonia | ||
| Municipality | Kocani | ||
| Founded | 1337 [1] | ||
| Council | 19 members | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Ratko Dimitrovski VMRO-DPMNE | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 18.6 km2 (7.2 sq mi) | ||
| Highest elevation | 420 m (1,380 ft) | ||
| Lowest elevation | 350 m (1,150 ft) | ||
| Population (2002) | |||
| • Total | 38,092 | ||
| • Density | 2,000/km2 (5,300/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Area code(s) | ++ 389 33 | ||
| Car plates | KO | ||
| Official language | Macedonian | ||
| Geothermal water temperature | 78°C | ||
| Settlements | 28 | ||
| Website | www.kocani.gov.mk | ||
Kočani (Macedonian: Кочани [ˈkɔtʃani] (
)) is a town 120 kilometres (75 mi) from Skopje, situated in the Eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia, with population of 28 330. The town of Kočani is the seat of Kočani Municipality.
Geography and population
The town spreads across the Northern side of the Kočani valley, along the banks of the Kočani river, where it leaves the mountain slopes and flows through the valley. North of the town there is the Osogovo mountain (2,252 m or 7,388 ft) and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) to the south the valley is closed by the mountain Plačkovica (1,754 m or 5,755 ft). The town is 350–450 m (1,150–1,480 ft) 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
Ethnic structure
- Macedonian: 90.3%
- Roma: 5.0%
- Turks: 3.0%
- Vlachs: 0.5%
- Serbs: 0.2%
- Other: 1.0%
Religious denomination
- Orthodox: 96% [citation needed]
- Muslims: 3% [citation needed]
- Catholic: 0.3%
- Other: 0.7%
Climate
The climate is mild-continental, 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.
History
Due to its favourable geographic location, together with excellent natural climate characteristics, Kočani was inhabited as early as the ancient times first by the Peons, Meds and Thracians.
Later on, in the 6th century the Slavs inhabited parts of the region. More precisely, in the 7th century members of the Slavic tribe Smolyani colonized the Kočani valley and built a fortification. The founders of 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.
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 Roman and Byzantine periods. Early in the 15th century it fell under Turkish rule. The travel chronicler Evliya Chelebi, who visited it in 1662, recorded that it had 600 households, a mosque, a mezjid, an inn and 15 handicraft stores. During the 18th and in the early 19th century, the town 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 ancient times to the Middle Ages, can be found in the vicinity of Kočani. One of them is an archeological site of 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
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 proudly holds the prestigious title of The cleanest town in Macedonia.
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.
Town partnerships
Kočani maintains partnership links with the following places:
Kazanlak, Bulgaria
Szigetszentmiklós, Hungary
Yenifoça, Turkey
Križevci, Croatia
Pereyaslav, Ukraina
Novi Kneževac, Serbia
Notable people
- Kočani Orkestar, musicians
- Branko Pendovski, writer, president of the Writers' Association of Macedonia
- Blagoja Popov, politician, Chairman of the Executive Council (Prime Minister) of Macedonia 1974-1982
- Malina Popivanova, revolutionary
- Ljupčo Santov, revolutionary
- Rade Kratovče, revolutionary
- Stefan Popivanov, revolutionary
- Blagoj S. Popov, mathematician and first Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of the University of Skopje, member of MANU
- Stevo Teodosievski, musician
- Kiril F. Dzmbov, nuclear physicist, member of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts and of MANU
- Pavle Krošarev, pilot, (the first Macedonian civil-aviation pilot to achieve the rank of an airline captain)
- Blagica Jovanova, PhD, athlete and scientific, (researcher in Paris, France, national recorder in semi-marathon, several years national shampion in cycling and triathlon )
References
- ↑ ""Kočani" (history)" (in Macedonian).
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kočani. |
- Local Government Of The City Of Kočani, Macedonia
- Old photographs of Kočani
- Blog about Kocani, Rural tourism
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