A city in Macedonia

Veles · Велес

Veles rises in pale stone and tiled roofs from both banks of the Vardar, near the geographical centre of North Macedonia. The older neighbourhoods climb steeply above the river between roughly 150 and 260 metres, while the Topolka and Babuna valleys open toward villages, reservoirs and low mountains. Road and rail routes make the city a natural national crossroads.

Its layered urban landscape includes old merchant houses, narrow hillside streets, churches, a clock tower and monuments to the Gemidzhii. The city is especially bound to poet Kocho Racin: his memorial house and the Racin Meetings keep literature part of Veles's civic identity rather than a chapter that ended with the past.

The 2021 census counted 40,664 residents in Veles and 48,463 in the municipality. The industrial legacy is complicated, including years of pollution and public environmental struggle, but the city also carries a vigorous cultural and sporting life through theatre, visual art, football and an unusually deep tradition of kayaking and canoeing.

Twenty-nine villages now form the municipality under its current planning boundary. Gorno Orizari and Buzalkovo are the largest, Bashino Selo meets the northern urban edge, and Otovica faces Lake Mladost. Many smaller settlements have only a few residents, so Veles serves both as a transport city and as the daily centre of a large, changing rural hinterland.

At a glance

Municipality: Veles Municipality
City population: 40,664
Municipality population: 48,463
Population outside the city: 7,799
Population year: 2021
Municipal area: 464.5 km²
Elevation: 210 m
City elevation range: 150 · 260 m
Approx. road distance from Skopje: 54 km
Postal code: 1400
Climate: Temperate continental climate with modified Mediterranean influence
Average annual temperature: 12.9 °C
Average annual precipitation: 477 mm
Sports teams: FK Borec 1919 · KK Borec Basket · Kayak Canoe Club Arka-Borec
Culture: Kocho Racin's poetry and the annual Racin Meetings are central to the city's literary identity. · Old hillside houses, the clock tower and house museums preserve the character of historic Veles. · Kayaking and canoeing have an unusually visible place in local sporting life.
Population snapshot: 40,664 city residents and 48,463 municipality residents in the 2021 census; 7,799 lived outside the city settlement.

Geography

Veles is folded into steep hills on both banks of the Vardar near the mouths of the Topolka and Babuna rivers. Red-tiled houses climb above the water, while rail and road corridors squeeze through the valley floor. Its position near the geographic centre of North Macedonia gives the city direct links north to Skopje, south to the Tikves district and Greece, and east toward Shtip.

The surrounding municipality ranges from dry Vardar slopes to river valleys, grazing land and the wooded country around Lake Mladost. Summers are hot and relatively dry; the Vardar channels wind through the city. This centrality explains why Veles has repeatedly served as a transport, industrial and trading centre, but it also left a difficult environmental inheritance from heavy industry along the river.

History

The Vardar narrows have carried traffic since antiquity, and archaeological sites across the wider area record long settlement. Claims that modern Veles can be identified securely with every ancient name proposed for the district remain debated. The documented urban story becomes clearer in the Middle Ages, when a fortified settlement above the river bore a form of the name Veles. Under Ottoman rule it was known as Köprülü, a name connected with its bridges, and developed into a craft and commercial town on the route through the Vardar valley.

During the nineteenth century, merchants, craftsmen, churches and schools created the dense hillside neighbourhoods still associated with old Veles. The city became an important centre of the Macedonian cultural revival. Railway connections and, later, Yugoslav industrialization expanded it dramatically, bringing metal, chemical, ceramic and other plants to the river corridor.

Industry provided work but also severe pollution, most notoriously from the lead and zinc smelter that later closed. Modern Veles continues to negotiate that legacy while promoting culture, services and recreation around Lake Mladost. Its strongest cultural emblem is the poet Kocho Racin, whose socially engaged work helped establish modern Macedonian literature and whose memorial house stands in the old town.

The complete historical narrative

Veles lies in the heart of Macedonia, at the meeting point of three rivers: the Topolka, the Babuna and the Vardar. Older historical accounts describe an ancient settlement associated with Paeonian communities, but it is inaccurate to say that such tribes founded the city during the Roman period. Archaeological sites in the wider area contain material from deep prehistory, in some cases claimed to reach back about 70,000 years. A poetic inscription on a rock at the former Kale citadel speaks of preserving the warm memories of turbulent times, like the waters of the Vardar and the sunset over Veles. The district stood at the intersection of ancient Macedonian, Roman and early Slavic histories; however, the statement that Slavic tribes built the city in the fourth century is chronologically impossible, because Slavic settlement in the Balkans belongs chiefly to the sixth and seventh centuries.

Five centuries of Ottoman rule, followed by wars, revolutions and repeated changes of state, left a complex historical inheritance in Veles and Macedonia. During the first half of the twentieth century, some residents passed through the rule of several states without ever leaving their homeland—a striking measure of the region's political instability, although the often-repeated count of six depends on which wartime administrations are included.

From the fourteenth to the nineteenth century, Veles flourished in urban and religious architecture. Kojnik, one of the historic cores of the city, retains old houses and vernacular structures and is best explored on foot. Veles also prospered as a trading centre for travelling merchants and later became one of the country's industrial hubs. Alongside the caravans that paused there, the city was home to tailors, shoemakers, farmers and practitioners of many other crafts.

A small wooden bridge and a larger structure known as Zhelezen Most, or the Iron Bridge, enabled daily trade around the Sarachka Charshija, a craftsmen's market in the eastern part of the city above Sokolaana. Industry developed on both banks of the Vardar, including oil, brick and tobacco production. In the nineteenth century, the Church of St Panteleimon—widely regarded as one of the Balkans' finest Orthodox churches—was built above the city. Veles holds an exceptional place in Macedonian letters, from the poetry of Kocho Racin to the theatrical, educational and journalistic writing of Jordan Hadzhi Konstantinov-Dzhinot.

Known for

Hillside houses above the Vardar
Kocho Racin and Macedonian literary history
Saint Panteleimon church and old neighbourhoods
Central rail and road connections
Lake Mladost recreation area

Interesting facts

A central river-and-rail junction: Veles occupies a strategic position on the Vardar and on the country's principal north-south road and railway corridor, about 54 kilometres from Skopje. Source
A city built on two steep banks: Historic neighbourhoods climb from both sides of the Vardar through an elevation range of roughly 150 to 260 metres, creating Veles's characteristic terraced skyline. Source
Three waters define the municipality: The Vardar, Topolka and Babuna are the principal rivers, while the Lisiche reservoir is a crucial part of the municipal water-supply system. Source
The name Titov Veles lasted half a century: The city officially carried the name Titov Veles from 1946 until 1996, when the historic shorter name was restored. Source
Kocho Racin still anchors civic culture: The poet's memorial house and the Racin Meetings literary event make his work, especially White Dawns, a living part of the city's cultural calendar. Source
Old Veles survives in houses and landmarks: House museums, traditional hillside architecture, the clock tower and the Gemidzhii memorial form a compact record of the city's urban history. Source
Lake Mladost is a sporting landscape: The reservoir north of the city is used for recreation, outdoor events and organized kayaking and canoeing. Source
Kayak slalom remains a local strength: The municipality named kayak-slalom athlete Angel Petrushev its leading male athlete for 2024, reflecting a sporting tradition visible across generations. Source
A smaller city than in 2002: The census population of Veles fell from 43,716 in 2002 to 40,664 in 2021; the municipality recorded 48,463 residents in 2021. Source

Celebrities

Kocho Racin: Poet, essayist and political activist whose collection White Dawns is a landmark of modern Macedonian literature. Source
Jordan Hadzhi Konstantinov-Dzhinot: Nineteenth-century educator, writer and theatre advocate associated with the Macedonian cultural revival. Source
Vasil Glavinov: Early socialist organizer and labour activist whose work belongs to the region's modern political history. Source
Panko Brashnarov: Teacher, revolutionary and prominent participant in the first session of ASNOM, later persecuted by the Yugoslav authorities. Source
Rajko Zhinzifov: Nineteenth-century poet, translator and cultural revival figure who worked across several languages and intellectual worlds. Source
Petar Prlichko: Influential stage and film actor remembered for a long career in Macedonian and Yugoslav theatre and cinema. Source
Pepi Manaskov: Former international handball player and coach whose career included clubs in North Macedonia and abroad. Source
Goran Petreski: Former professional footballer who represented North Macedonia internationally. Source
Angel Petrushev: Kayak-slalom athlete recognized for leading competitive results in the city's signature water sport. Source
Lenche Andreevska: Football figure recognized for representing and promoting Veles through sport. Source

Villages

Bashino Selo: A large settlement on the northern edge of Veles, with 750 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Beleshtevica: A small municipal settlement with 4 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Buzalkovo: One of the municipality's two largest villages, with 1,614 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Vetersko: A small village with 3 residents recorded in 2021 and a historical Saint John monastery. Source
Gorno Kalaslari: A rural settlement with 50 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Gorno Orizari: The municipality's largest village in the 2021 census, with 1,723 residents. Source
Dolno Kalaslari: A substantial village with 410 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Dolno Orizari: A current municipal settlement with no resident population recorded in the 2021 census. Source
Ivankovci: A large rural settlement with 639 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Karabunjishte: A current municipal settlement with no resident population recorded in the 2021 census. Source
Klukovec: A current municipal village with 311 residents recorded in 2021; newer planning documents include it in Veles Municipality. Source
Krushje: A current municipal settlement with no resident population recorded in the 2021 census. Source
Kumarino: A rural settlement with 52 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Lugunci: A current municipal settlement with no resident population recorded in the 2021 census. Source
Mamutchevo: A village with 234 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Novachani: A small rural settlement with 1 resident recorded in 2021. Source
Novo Selo: A current municipal settlement with no resident population recorded in the 2021 census. Source
Oraovec: A small village with 24 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Otovica: A village beside the Lake Mladost landscape, with 315 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Rashtani: A village close to Veles with 257 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Rlevci: A small rural settlement with 9 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Rudnik: A small municipal settlement with 9 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Slivnik: A substantial village with 677 residents recorded in 2021. Source
S'lp: A small rural settlement with 16 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Sojaklari: A village with 125 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Sopot: A small rural settlement with 12 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Crkvino: A substantial village with 353 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Chaloshevo: A rural settlement with 209 residents recorded in 2021. Source
Dzidimirci: A small municipal settlement with 2 residents recorded in 2021. Source

Monasteries nearby

Monastery of St Demetrius: A monastery with medieval roots whose present church appearance principally dates from an 1855 rebuilding; it remains one of the city's principal Orthodox heritage sites. Source
Monastery of St John the Baptist: A village monastery traditionally dated to 1670 and associated in diocesan history with a manuscript and library tradition. Source
Monastery of St Elijah: An active newer monastery complex reached from the country southeast of the city and documented in current diocesan and municipal access planning. Source

This collection preserves 34 old photographs and 30 city photographs.