Page "Skopje" Paragraph 43

Until 1991 Skopje was the capital of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia.

The city expanded and the population grew during this period from just over 150, 000 in 1945 to almost 600, 000 in the early 1990s.

Continuing to be prone to natural disasters the city was flooded by the Vardar River in 1962 and then suffered considerable damage from a major earthquake measuring 6. 1 on the Richter scale, which killed over 1, 000 people and made another 120, 000 homeless.

and numerous cultural monuments were seriously damaged.

A major international relief effort saw the city rebuilt quickly, though much of its old neo-classical charm was lost in the process.

The new master plan of the city was created by the then leading Japanese architect Kenzo Tange.

The ruins of the old Skopje train station which was destroyed in the earthquake remain today as a memorial to the victims along with an adjacent museum.

Nearly all of the city's beautiful neo-classical 18th and 19th century buildings were destroyed in the earthquake, including the National Theater and many government buildings, as well as most of the Kale Fortress.

International financial aid poured into Skopje in order to help rebuild the city.

As a result came the many modern ( at the time ) brutalist structures of the 1960s, that can still be seen today, such as the central post office building and the National Bank, as well as hundreds of now abandoned caravans and prefabricated mobile homes.

Fortunately, though, as with previous earthquakes, much of the old Turkish side of town survived.