Krushevo – Kruševo
Kruševo is a picturesque mountainous town in Central-south Macedonia, on the slopes of the Busava mountain, making the highest town in Macedonia, surrounded with impeccable eco environment. Krusevo is situated at the altitude of 1350 meters, right above the north-western part of Pelagonija plain that stretches south to the Greek border. Krusevo has around 5000 inhabitants. Krushevo is one of the highest cities in the Balkans, located 160 km from the capital Skopje, 55 km from Bitola, 32 km from Prilep, and only 70 km from the Macedonian – Greek crossing border “Medzitlia – Niki”. The town of Krusevo is adorned with old nicely refurbished and more recent original houses built in the style of old Macedonian architecture /white facades and red roofs/ leaving the town with virtually no apartment blocks.
Kruševo can be accessed by good paved road from Prilep that is 32 km away, passing along scenic landscapes. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters, Kruševo is the highest town in the Republic of Macedonia, and one of the highest settlements in the Balkans, entirely surrounded with magnificent fresh air, thick beech and pine forests, slopes and fields that are outstanding for winter sports and various outdoor activities, among which flying – paragliding is world famous and best place for paragliding. Paraglider’s comment – ‘Simply the best site to practice thermal flying. It’s not easy to fly there but if one can master flying in Krusevo, one can fly anywhere’.
Kruševo is known for its many fine houses – examples of the 19th century traditional architecture, plenty of small cafes and traditional restaurants. Likewise the whole Macedonia, Kruševo features its original dishes – kjofte pirinač – meat balls on rice, maznik sa pasuljem – soft pastry with beans, pitulice sa belim lukom (Vlaške tiganice) – tiny soft pie with garlic, tava sa čoftima na crni luk – meat balls with onions, šuto makalo – the best sauce prepared from garlic, kruševska pita – Krusevo pie, kruševski kukuruzi – corns, kruševska kobasica – Krusevo sausage.... The Kruševo locals are proud to have preserved the culture of lokum – so-called Turkish sweet delight with nuts which is served in various ceremonies with coffee and makes an usual gift when visiting someone s home, that was highly respected and performed in every house since some 30 years ago… The town of Kruševo is richly adorned with old and more recent built houses of the old Balkan and the original Aromanian /Vlach-Wallachian/ style of architecture. The town of Krusevo was founded by Macedonians in the 15th century. Kruševo experienced its cultural and economic growth and pinnacle when Aromunians from Epirus, in particular from Moscopolis, settled there in the the 18th century. Today we have in Krusevo the highest concentration of Aromanians-Armans in Macedonia. The Kruševo towns galleries include a wonderful collections and exhibits of the 19th century icons and a memorial to the master of modern Aromanian painting Nikola Martinovski who was born in this town. Krusevo has a number of museums of the Ilinden Uprising.
The city of Krusevo is the most famous center of the rebellion liberation struggle and revolutionary movement against the Ottoman Empire, holding an important place in the country’s historical identity. All started on the 2nd August 1903 by freeing the Macedonian mountain town of Kruševo from the Ottoman Empire and resulted in the creation of the first free Republic of the Balkans, called the Krusevo Republic, declared as an independent state. After ten days, the Ottomans sent an overwhelming force into the Krusevo hills and crushed the uprising. Many of the Krusevo rebellions had been killed and-or went through traumatic experiences, in many cases had suddenly lost their families, friends and property, of whom Pitu Guli was perhaps the best known. Many more had gone into exile in Bulgaria, among them Nikola Karev. Krusevo is home to the Mečkin Kamen historical landmark which marks the spot of the Ilinden uprising of 1903, celebrating the only independent area in the whole of the Ottoman Republic at the time. On the 2nd of August every year, the Meckin Kamen is the site of the traditional celebrations of the Macedonian Independence Day. Kruševo also hosts the impressive Makedonium monument dedicated to the Ilinden Uprising and to local partisan battles in 1941-44, designed by Iskra Grabuloska and Jordan Grabuloski in 1974. The Ilinden Memorial (Споменик „Илинден“) or ‘Makedonium’ /Македониум/ at Kruševo commemorates the resistance fighters who took part in the Ilinden Uprising of 1903 against the Ottoman Empire, while also remembering the Partisan fighters of National Liberation War (WWII). please see more https://www.spomenikdatabase.org/krusevo
Krusevo is hometown of Todor Toše Proeski /January 25, 1981 – October 16, 2007/. Toše Proeski was the young Macedonian multi-genre talented singer, songwriter and actor. His successful career began in 1996 when he participated in the teenage music festival Melfest in Prilep. Toše Proeski was popular across the entire Balkan area and further north, and locally he was considered a top act of the Macedonian music scene. Proeski was known for his strong vocal performances and trademark of “Ve sakam site” /I Love You All/. His most famous songs are : “Solzi Pravat Zlaten Prsten” (“Tears Make a Golden Ring”), Sinot Božji (The Son of God), “Izlaži me Ušte Ednaš” (“Lie to Me One More Time”), “Vo Kosi da ti Spijam” (“Sleeping in Your Hair”), “Iluzija” (“Illusion”) “Tajno Moja” (“Secret of Mine”), “Ako me Pogledneš vo Oči” (“If You Look Into My Eyes”), “Čija Si” (“To Whom Do You Belong?”), “Malečka” (“Little One”) and “Polsko Cvece” (“Field Flower”), “Igri Bez Granici” (“Game Without Borders”), “Najteza stvar” (“The hardest Thing”). Toše was awarded with the Mother Theresa Humanitarian Award and in 2003 he became a Regional UNICEF Ambassador. Toše died in a tragic car crash on 16th of October 2007. October 17 was pronounced a national day of mourning in Macedonia. The three days following his death were pronounced days of mourning in the City of Kruševo. Spontaneous mourning of thousands of people lighting candles in memory of Toše Proeski gathered throughout the Balkans. The government of the Republic of Macedonia gave him the title “Honorable citizen of Macedonia”. The Memorial Museum of Toše Proeski in Kruševo houses all possessions from Toše’ life – his toys, sports equipment, guitars, clothing. Tose’s songs are played throughout the glass windows of the memorial house. Nearby is the grave of Tose Proeski, covered by numerous flowers and gifts left by fans that miss him and remember him.
Thanks to its elevation, Kruševo is one of Macedonia’s winter sports destinations and surely features the perfect world known paragliding conditions; the same quality also makes this pine-forested getaway a comfortable destination in summer, when the Kruševo air stays cooler and more pure than in the arid lowlands.
