Macedonia FAQ: Kratovo(Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-07)
Kratovo is situated on the western side of the Osogovo Mountains, in the crater of a dead volcano.
Kratovo was known even in the Roman period as an important mining center under the name of Cratiscara, primarily due to the rich mining sites in the area.
During the Byzantine period, Kratovo is mentioned as Koritos or Koriton.
Kratovo lies on the western slopes of mount Osogovo at an altitude of 600m above sea level.
During the reign of the Serbian noblemen in 1282, Kratovo had become a mining centre, thanks to the experienced miners - Sasi - who came to activate the mine.
The Kratovo bridges are another characteristic, of this town made by old masters.
Kratovo (Macedonian: Кратово) is a small picturesque town in the Republic of Macedonia, one of the regions` living museums.
During the reign of the Serbian noblemen in 1282, Kratovo had become a mining centre, thanks to the experienced Saxon, i.e.
The importance of Kratovo can be judged through the visit of Sultan Murat who together with his army headed towards Kosovo, but stayed in Kratovo in order to visit the already famous town of gold and silver.
The town of bridges and towers that carries the smell of the past and tells stories of times long gone is situated on the western side of Mount Osogovo on the remains of a dormant volcano.
Kratovo was known as early as the Roman era as an important mining center under the name Cratiscara.
During the Byzantine period, Kratovo was mentioned as Koritos or Koriton and was also known as the city of gold and silver.
The church is located in the village of Lesnovo, in the region of Kratovo.
In 1558, during the prior Neofit, the monastery was reconstructed, and in 1581, during prior Spiridon, the Kratovo nobleman Nikola Boichic renewed its roof.
Thanks to the people from Kratovo and Kriva Palanka regions, the monastery has managed to survive throughout the whole Middle Ages till the present day, because they renewed it several times.
The old part of Kratovo is connected with six bridges, built over the deep and steep river valley.
Certain documents state that the towers were built by the renters of the Kratovo mines, which were used for living and storing away the ore. The most attractive towers are Simitceva Tower and the Saat Kula (the Clock tower).
Lesnovo Monastery is located in the surroundings of Kratovo, on Mount Bukovec, at an altitude of 1,118m.
One of the topics discussed was the call of Tiflis (Tbilisy) pioneers, who had built their own railway for education and training, to build similar institutions all over the country.
Unfortunately, the Kratovo ChRW very quickly returned to the usual mode of operation, in which trains ran only in the summer.
In 1972 on Kratovo ChRW the era of steam locomotives came to an end.
Kratovo, the onetime stronghold of eastern Macedonia, lies between cleft hills in the crater of a dead volcano in the Osogovo Mountains.
While the town maintained this reputation and mining activity during the early Ottoman rule, by 1689 it had been largely abandoned due to Turkish oppression.
Medieval Kratovo was also noted for its literary school, evidenced today by the important and beautiful decorated manuscript known as the Kratovo Four Gospels, written in the mid-14th century.
The Sanjak of Kyustendil included the Nahiyes (districts) of Kratovo, Shtip, Kochani and Nagorichani (all of the Kaza of Kratovo); Strumica, Tikvesh, Melnik and Lake Doyran (the Kaza of Strumica), and Slavishte and Upper Kresna (from the Kaza of Kyustendil).
Owing to this self-sacrifice, Georgi of Kratovo was proclaimed a saint by the Russian, Bulgarian and Serbian Orthodox Churches.
Zlata of Meglen was born in the village of Slatina near Meglen.
The idolform carvings (divines) are frequent in the constallation of carvings discovered in the territory of the Republic of Macedonia.
At the place "Rid" in the village of Krilatica, Kratovo I discovered the engraved divine in a form of a kudela (a god of artifact).
An impressive complex of carvings of the type of "arkuforms", or bowforms were discovered at the place "Pishan Kamen", in the village of Zheleznica, Kratovo, in the context of cupolas, criciforms and divines.
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15) In the year 1515 Gjuragj Kratovian was burnt.In his biography stands:...From the Serbian root and guided by Holy Spirit you have left fatherland and relatives in Kratovo and moved to the Sardakian City (Ot korene srpskago i douhom svetim vodimi ostavil jesi otachastvo i srodniki izhe v' Kratovja, prishel jesi k' Gradou Sardaskomu).
18) In Kraljevo (Romania),priest John has written in 1580 that he is a Serb from Kratovo (Srbin od mjasta Kratova).
35) in 1651 Mitropolit of Kratovo wrote to Russian Emperor "My forefathers and ancestors are lords of the Serbian land of Kratovo".
