Skopje Fortress

Skopje Fortress is an imposing medieval fortress surrounded by a soaring stone wall sitting at the highest point of the city, overlooking the still waters of the Vardar River. Various fortresses have existed on this site since the 6th century. During an excavation of the fortress, the foundation of a 13th-century church was discovered within the fortress. A project was announced to restore the ruins as a church/museum. Albanian groups belonging to the Democratic Union for Integration claimed that the site contained artifacts relating to their Illyrian ancestry, leading to a dispute over rights to the area and violent outbreaks. The project was eventually abandoned. Today many unfinished, now almost ruinous, building projects can be seen scattered across the fortress complex. (Skopje, North Macedonia)