Goran Mitevski

Graduated teacher of History

SHORT HISTORY OF
MUNICIPALITY OF MAKEDONSKA KAMENICA
From the Neolithic Period to the creation of the modern
mining settlement of Makedonska Kamenica

Kochani 2013

HISTORIA EST MAGISTRA VITAE

Dedicated to my wife Daniela
and my children Irene and Martin
2

Short
Shor
Sh
ortt hi
or
hist
history
stor
st
ory
or
y of m
municipality
unic
un
icip
ic
ipal
ip
alit
al
ity
it
y of Makedonska
Mak
aked
edon
ed
onsk
on
ska
sk
a Kamenica
Kame
Ka
meni
me
nica
ni
ca

INTRODUCTION
To write about ones hometown or local history has always been a challenge from several aspects. Of primary concern is whether historical figures
and events will be treated justly and without the slightest dose of subjectivity.
Secondly, considering that history is a complex and defined science, there is a
great responsibility to undertake a systematic analysis consistent with accepted
methodology and norms. Thirdly, I would like to mention that in this brief history of our municipality, I would like to present an integrated view with all the
conditions and relationships that were imposed by the heavy historical wheel
over population from these areas. I would like to emphasize that in the topic
there are some circumstances, events, and personalities that had extremely retrograde influences in this Macedonian environment. However this does not mean
that we should refuse them with some resignation, suppress them, or even deny
them, but rather accept them as they actually happened in the past, because
people who are really wronged, forced by different motives, or even convinced of
the correctness of their procedures, do not need to be deleted and permanently
rejected in the wind of oblivion. We need to understand and accept that only the
realistic portrayal of the historical past of our lands can give us a great lesson
for the present. I dont think I have managed to answer the task that Ive placed
upon myself, nor am I convinced that I have given a systematic and exhaustive
analysis in this patriotic history. That kind of ambition I have not had, because
you can always do better and more. How I have managed the task, I leave to the
judgment of the readers and the citizens of our community and beyond.
Yours sincerely,
Goran Mitevski

CHAPTER

I
PERIOD FROM THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD TO THE BEGINNING OF
THE TURKISH CONQUEST
Prehistoric and ancient period
As a result of the favorable natural-geographic conditions and adequate climate,
the territory of the Municipality of Makedonska Kamenica was settled during the prehistoric age. Many ancient artifacts have been found as archaeological remains from our
ancestors dating back to the Neolithic Period (10.000 to 3.000 BC), including a variety of
stone weapons and tools. These artifacts were used in daily life for an array of needs,
such as, collecting food and seeds in various clay pots. Several types of stone axes and
points of arrows and spears have also been found. Our ancestors used these for defense
and the hunting of wild animals in those harsh times, until simple tools for primitive
cultivating of land emerged. It is interesting to note that several small altars, as well
as stone gures of various deities and totems used for sacred purposes have also been
uncovered. From the Bronze Age (1800 -1000 BC) the ndings are less common, but ample artifacts from the Iron Age (1000 - 300 BC) have been discovered. This is a result not
only of the growth and permanency of the local population, but also of better social organization and improvements in strength and longevity of tools for hunting and agriculture. From the prehistoric period numerous tombs or mounds in the form of small
earthen hills used to perform burials have remained preserved. Although they still have
not been explored in great detail, some were used burials in the Roman period. Outside
the village of Kosevica, in the hills of Parovci, the remains of a Roman site were found
ceramic, walls and tiles), and in the area of Gradishte, located near the Kosevica river, a
small Roman necropolis has been discovered. Remains of Roman settlements have also
been found in the village of Todorovci. At Gjurgjas meadow a bronze sword that dates
back to the X to VIII centuries, BC (several centuries before the arrival of the Romans
on the Balkan Peninsula) was discovered and can be found today in the Archeological
Museum of Macedonia in Skopje. A top a high hill in the area, numerous remains of a
small military establishment have been discovered which were intended to defend the
path that led north to the region of the mines for lead and zinc.
The construction of the Roman settlements and military fortications began in the
III century AD, when the Roman empire was faced with numerous attacks from warlike
barbarian tribes from the north, and nished in the VI century AD during the reign of
Justinian I (527-565). The invaders carved off chunks of Byzantine territory, and after Justinians death in 565, Byzantium was never as strong again. The best-known site of this
period is the archaeological site ,,Kalata, located at the mouth of the River Kamenichka
as it ows into the River Bregalnica, where the articial lake Kalimanci is today. During
the V and VI centuries there was a Roman settlement here with an area of 75,000 square
meters. It was here that archeologists uncovered a necropolis, an undercity, and a single
nave church, which date back to the late antique period around the VI century.An urban settlement from the late Roman period was uncovered near the village of Sasa, and
5

Goran
Gora
Go
ran
ra
n Mitevski
Mite
Mi
tevs
te
vski
vs
ki
another important site can be found in an area of the village of Dulica in locality named
Begov dab (Bey Oak), where among other things, a large basilica and many relics (ceramics, capitols) from the VI century have been found.

Medieval period
Failure of Byzantine offenses in the time of Maurice to repulse the vast Slavic hordes
beyond Danube River sealed the fate of the Balkans once and for all. The arrival of the massive Slavic tribes on the Balkan Peninsula has fundamentally changed the ethnic makeup
of the region. The indigenous population and the Roman colonists had little choice when
they faced the Slavic invasion, they could either assimilate into the new Slavic societies or
retreat high into the mountains and engage in farming. Those who refused to deal with
this new situation moved towards the large fortied cities of the Byzantine Empire. In the
early stages, Slavs, from the religious aspect, remained faithful to their pagan teachings.
They believe in the stars, various vampires and fairies, supernatural spirits, sacrices to
the sun and the moon and polytheism. Christian teachings in Macedonia and the region
spread very slowly and in several stages. The rst attempt to impose faith in Christ was
undertaken by the natives. The second stage began with campaigns of Byzantine emperors that brought Christian priests and missionaries in tow. But without a doubt, the greatest success achieved was by the Slavic educators Cyril and Methodius who created the
Bregalnica mission in the year 855. The Thessaloniki Legend states that Constantine
the Philosopher (Cyrils birth name was Constantine) spread the word among the Slaves
in the Bregalnica region and in the City of Raven. Moreover, it is mentioned that he christened, or converted, 54.000 Slavs to Christianity and created the 35 alphabetic letters that
laid the foundations for the rst Slavic alphabet. As the Municipality of Makedonska Kamenica is part of the Bregalnica region it is quite likely that the Slav inhabitants here also
received Christianity in the Byzantine form. This is important because the Bregalnica region was a valuable administrative territory within the Byzantine Empire, especially the
upper course of the river, today covering Pijanec and Males valley. Additionally, the region
constituted a border with medieval Bulgaria, which was in the process of strengthening
itself and harbored territorial aspirations to the west. The conversion to the Byzantine
form of Christianity, therefore, was deemed vital to the creation of loyal subjects and followers to confront the invasions of belligerent Bulgarians.
The next phase of historical development of
the region is closely associated with a burst of Bulgarian militarism and the establishment of a Bulgarian military and administrative organization.
This started during the reign of Khan Boris I (852889) with its zenith being reached during the reign
of Simeon (893-927), the most powerful ruler of medieval Bulgaria.
With the creation of the medieval Macedonian state headed by King Samuil and his successors,
Gavril Radomir and Jovan Vladislav, this region was
part of the empire until its tragic fall in 1018.

Picture 1. St. ,, Cyril and

Methodius

After the fall of Samuils state at the request of

newly appointed Archbishop Jovan (John), Emperor
Basil II gave three charters which declared certain
rights for ecclesiastical feudal lords of the Ohrid
Archbishopric, to be headed autonomously by its own
archbishop. This can be found in the rst charter:

Short
Shor
Sh
ortt hi
or
hist
history
stor
st
ory
or
y of m
municipality
unic
un
icip
ic
ipal
ip
alit
al
ity
it
y of Makedonska
Mak
aked
edon
ed
onsk
on
ska
sk
a Kamenica
Kame
Ka
meni
me
nica
ni
ca
Bishop of Morodviz have the Morodviz and Kozjak, Slavishte, Zletovo, Lukovica,
Pijanec and Maleshevo 15 clergy and 15 pairs 1
This is the rst mention of the village Lukovica in historical sources. After the
revival of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1187-1396) these territories jointly entered
medieval Bulgaria. This situation remained until the second half of the thirteenth
century, when King Milutin (1282-1321) conquered these territories. Data for these
historical events was found in the Biography of the King written by Serbian Patriarch Danilo II which says: Gathering his strength, Milutin sent out for the country surrounding the Greek empire, to the surrounding regions, and I will say this: He rst took
both regions with their cities and surrounding areas, and the famous city of Skopje, then
Ovce Pole and Zletovo and Pijanec 2
In 1282 mining work in the old Roman mines was renewed. Then, a number of
Sassi from Hungary and Germany eeing from the Mongol invasion arrived in Macedonia, including the Lukovica area and began work in the lead and zinc mines. The
homeland of the Sassi was in Saxony (todays capital is Dresden) in southeastern Germany. That area is known for the Ore Mountains, which lie near the northwestern
border of the Czech Republic and extend to the mining settlement Silesia in southwestern Poland. In areas of the triangle created by these three Border States (Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic), several German minorities have settled over
the centuries, remaining to this day. The Sassi, who revolutionized mining, brought
countless treasures to the feudal lords, for whom they worked, improving life in many
areas. Very little is known of the superior techniques for mine exploitation used by
the Sassi, because they left no written documentation and the secrets of mining were
left as inheritance only to their kind. A few words used by the Sassi when mining such
as were preserved, including utman (mining supervisor, miner) furnik (worker) shljaka (mineral), shtona (pit). With the advance of the Turks from the Ottoman Empire to
the Balkan Peninsula, the identities and accomplishments of the Sassi people faded.
Two logical assumptions as to the reason for this are that they retreated to the
lands of their ancestors who came to this area a few centuries ago, or they remained
and continued to live in this territory intermingling and becoming part of the dominant Macedonian ethnic group.
Todays village of Sasa was named after the Sassi people. The unit of currency
exchanged amongst the traders was called sara, which gives its name to the neighbourhood of Sarafska found above the current mine today. Part of the mined ore was
originally melted in Kamenica, which according to folk accounts was a large settlement. This area was under the administration of a large-scale feudal Protosevastokrator (a senior court title in the late Byzanine Empire, also used by other rulers of other
bordering states) Hrelja, and then was operated by despot John Oliver.
In the rst half of the fourteenth century in the Balkan Peninsula, the political
situation in the region has changed with the introduction of a new power. Namely,
after the end of the civil war in Byzantium, the new Byzantine emperor, Andronicus
III, recognized the strengthening of the Serbian state and concluded a military alliance with Bulgaria in preparation for a joint attack on Serbia.
Serbia at that time was not ready for war on two fronts and tried to make a
pact with Bulgaria, but these attempts ended unsuccessfully. After failed negotiations, Serbia decided to rst attack Bulgaria, whose armies arrived in the valley of the
Struma River and were positioned at the city of Zemen in Macedonia.
1

I , 1975, . 71

, , . ,
1866, 108-109
2

Goran
Gora
Go
ran
ra
n Mitevski
Mite
Mi
tevs
te
vski
vs
ki

Picture 2. Panoramic view of neighbourhood of Sarafska

Short
Shor
Sh
ortt hi
or
hist
history
stor
st
ory
or
y of m
municipality
unic
un
icip
ic
ipal
ip
alit
al
ity
it
y of Makedonska
Mak
aked
edon
ed
onsk
on
ska
sk
a Kamenica
Kame
Ka
meni
me
nica
ni
ca
The Serbian army arrived and camped along the Kamenica River (todays Kamenicka River). 3
Serbian King Stefan Decani, who wanted to gain time mainly because part of
his army had not yet arrived, decided to launch an initiative for negotiations. These
negotiations failed, and once the Serbian army had gathered, he led his army against
Bulgarians. On July 28, 6828 * (1330), the battle of Velbuzhd took place on the border
between Pijanec, Kjustendil Field, and Kamenica and ended with the crushing defeat
of the Bulgarians and the death of Bulgarian King Mihail. This battle had far reaching
consequences for the fate of Macedonia, as it strengthened Serbian hegemony in the
region. It was during this period that our lands entered the feudal estates of the large
feudal landlord, Hrelja, and later Despot John (Jovan) Oliver.
Hrelja ruled the territory around Strumica, Stip and Radovis and during the period of independence had 1000 warriors and occupied three cities, which by medieval
standards represented signicant strength. After his death, these areas were taken
by the Serbian army and given to another large feudal landlord, Despot Oliver.
Despot Oliver belonged to the group of the greatest feudal lords during the Serbian rule. He was quite rich and powerful, as evidenced by his meeting with John Kantakuzin in 1342, in which it was reported that Oliver arrived escorted by 2000 men.
Olivers source of wealth were the Zletovo and Sasa mines, located within his
territory. He also had control of the miners, the famous Sassi, who had already made
a name for themselves during the Medieval Era. Jovan Oliver also accrued revenue
from the enslaved population which supplied him ,,with grain, wine and domesticated
animals (sheep, pigs, and bees). 4 The last known mention of Despot Oliver is from
the end of 1354. In a letter from Pope Innocent VI, Oliver is mentioned as one of the
feudal lords closest to the Serbian king.
Olivers territories are mentioned again in a charter of Serbian Tsar Stefan Dusan (1331-1355) in which he granted Olivers legacy to Ivanko Probishtipovikj.
The charter concludes with the words: Faithful to Christ the Lord, Stephen, King
of the Serbs and the Greeks by order of the Tsar, said Zarko going from Thessaloniki to
Lukovica, on the 28th day of May 1350. 5
In the second half of the fourteenth century these regions entered the Kingdom
of Constantine Dejanovic. The composition of this state included: Stip, Strumica, Velbuzhd, Kraishte, Vranje, Presevo, Zhegligovo, Zletovo, Kochani, Pijanec, Maleshevo,
Petrich, Melnik, Radovish, Dojran, Bohemia, Tikves and Veles, practically all of Macedonia to the east of the Vardar River, including Melnik and Rila and reaching near
Serres and almost to Thessaloniki . 6
During Dejans reign, ore from the Osogovo Mountains continued to be exploited, primarily in Kratovo, Sasa and Kyustendil. The mines were state property. Dejan
had a strong and organized military, supported by money from the rich mines. The
main army included mercenaries ready for action at any time.
The second half of the fourteenth century was characterized by the political
split in the Balkans, including Macedonia. This political fragmentation and disunity
3

XIV- , 1999 . . 45

Ibid . 139

...171, , 1926
. . 150-152

. XIV , 258-259

Goran
Gora
Go
ran
ra
n Mitevski
Mite
Mi
tevs
te
vski
vs
ki
between Balkan rulers was used by the Ottoman Turks. After the disastrous defeat
of Volkasin and Uglesha Mrnjavchevikj in the Battle of Maritsa on June 26, 1371, the
Ottomans used the situation to conquer Macedonia in several stages.
In 1386, the Ottoman Sultan Murad I personally engaged in the Balkans and
forced Constantine Dejan to accept his rule. Now most of the East Macedonia fell
under supreme Ottoman suzerainty. Dejan had no choice because if he refused he
would face attack from the whole Ottoman force or be vulnerable to his neighborsvassals, as Ottoman rule brought temporary tranquility and even the possibility of a
temporary expansion of his territories. Although he became a vassal, Constantine
Dejan enjoyed great autonomy until 1389. He continued to be the supreme master of
his country and the mines in his state. Under his authority, he had many small feudal
lords and other dignitaries, and retained the right to continue to distribute property.
In return for this autonomy, Constantine supplied Murat with annual tax
(dzhizie harach), if needed, he was obliged to take part in war with his cavalry, and
at any time must allow the Ottoman army free passage through all the territories he
ruled. During a campaign against the Vlach Commander Dimitar Mirce, Constantine
Dejan died on May 17, 1395. He was taking part in a battle ghting on the side of the
Turkish Sultan Bayezid I Yildirim (1389-1402). His death marked the denitive end of
his country. There are data that in 1410-1413, the region was ruled by some unknown
Duke Yusuf, but there is insufcient data about the period after these events.

10

CHAPTER

II
OTTOMAN RULE UNTIL WORLD WAR I
There is no other historical process which has left such far-reaching consequences on the fate of the Balkan people as the period of the Turkish conquest and
half-millennium of Turkish rule in the region. The Ottoman invaders were like an
unstoppable avalanche; one after another they wiped out once-powerful medieval
Balkan states and established a new order in this part of the world. With that, the
Balkan Peninsula began the dark Turkish night embodied by a new feudal system,
anchored by the canons of Sharia law, and backed up by the enormous power of the
Ottoman army. With this, the Turks began imposing a very different culture, new
institutions, and ideas unknown to the Balkan people: the new faith, Islam.
Unfortunately, there are not many written records that relate directly to this
region for the period of the rst centuries of Ottoman rule. However, based on documents found for nearby towns, such as the Sultans orders, it is believed that life for
the population in this territory was quite difcult. From the material remains found,

Picture 3. Administrative divide of Macedonia on sanjaks from XV to XVII century

11

Goran
Gora
Go
ran
ra
n Mitevski
Mite
Mi
tevs
te
vski
vs
ki
it has been established that mining in the Osogovo mountains came to an end and
any settlements that were along the roads disappeared. The population retreated
higher into the mountains where most engaged in farming and agriculture, but the
harsh mountain conditions and poor land did not allow satisfactory development.
In administrative terms this region was within the Kjustendil Sanjak, while
in ecclesiastical terms, if was part of the Archbishopric of Ohrid and then under
the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Pec from its renewal in 1557 until abolition
in 1766.
The Kamenica settlement is mentioned in one of the Turkish census registers
(defteri) of the Ottoman state, which refers to the period from 1570-1572. It said
Kamenica had 80 Christian families and 59 single men. The village had ve mills
for our and 10 mills for rolling wool products that served the local population.
We do not have a lot of data about whether or not there was signicant
transription of ecclesiastical books, but it is well known that the rst Macedonian
printer is from these areas, Jakov from Kamena Reka. Jakov came from a clerical
family. In the renewed printing company of Bozidar Vukovic, he printed books for
the church in the Slavic language (1566) decorated with ags, illustrations and
vignettes. One well-preserved specimen is in the possession of the National and
University Library St. Kliment Ohridski in Skopje. 7
In the record for himself he says:
Undercommand and providence of the
great god of ours Jesus Christ I undertook
the printing of these pages (I) unworthy
and least among all Jakov, because they are
worn by much time and many years for such
holy books. I went out from Macedonia, my
homeland, and I came to the West countries
near the ancient Roman city of Venice, and
there I found the old copies of Duke Bozidar
with his son Vincenzo from very ancient
times, printed upon calf and began to print
these small books: chasoslovs, all annual
Sobors from September to August, tropars,
Picture 4. A photograph of Jacovs books
kondaci, evening psalms, morning prayers
and all hours in a row, and the holy ubrus, Cyrils Pasqualia and chapel of Bogorodica
whole katavisija, and writs for all ages, and songs of Moses, all this I composed for
any need. Therefore I pray the Lord God to help me with this work I started to write.
And I, Jakov was born and my homeland is from the Osogovska Planina, near
Kyustendil, from the Kamena Reka, from priest and noble family in those places since
old times. And if I had sinned with my hand or tongue, roughly or defective, I beg all
of you on my knees to forgive me...
I began to print these books in year seven thousand and seven hundred and four
(1566) May fteenth, and ended on August 30 in a very outstanding city of Venice. 8
The rst time, the Turks cared not to cause hardship to the local population,
because they needed a stable hinterland during their conquering campaigns in the
Balkans. But after thorough mastery of the Balkan peninsula during the reign of
Suleiman the Magnicent, came the full expression of cruelty of Ottoman rule.
7

, 1, 2009, . 655

. ... 229

12

Short
Shor
Sh
ortt hi
or
hist
history
stor
st
ory
or
y of m
municipality
unic
un
icip
ic
ipal
ip
alit
al
ity
it
y of Makedonska
Mak
aked
edon
ed
onsk
on
ska
sk
a Kamenica
Kame
Ka
meni
me
nica
ni
ca
The period of the eighteenth century, when there was a crisis throughout the
entire Ottoman Empire, saw increases in taxes, various reprisals, and looting of
bashi-bazouk hordes (irregular Ottoman soldiers noted for their brutality and lack
of discipline) that contributed to the emergence of passive and active resistance.
Active resistance was expressed through banditry (Ajduci). To this day in the area
of the village Sasa, there exists a mountain spring known as Ajducki (Bandits)
which is the silent witness of one distant and dramatically heroic time. Particularly strong reprisals were inicted upon the population following the bloody end of
the Razlog Uprising (1876), especially after the signing of the Russo-Turkish treaty
(signed March 3, 1878 at San Stefano), and the end of two-month insurrection that
liberated Pijanec. In fear of Turkish retaliation, part of the population retreated
across the border and settled in Kjustendil in Bulgaria.
Emigration data from Vladimir Karamanov show the following departures:

Dulica 2 families with about 12 men

Moshtica one family with 4 men

Kosevica one family with 7 men

Kamenica one family with 7 men

Most of these unfortunate people, together with other refugees from Maleshevija and Pijanec, settled in the Kyustendil neighborhoods of Velbozhd and
Topolnica. Settlers from these areas worked as wage laborers, day-laborers,
then craftsmen, etc. Some of these workers, through diligence, honesty, and
clarity, received admiration among the population there. Unfortunately those
who stayed in their native homes, in the true sense of the word, felt Turkish
anger.
Some Turks from the villages of Kalimanci and Kocansko went to the village of Dulica and killed Peter Zlatkov and stole the grain in his barn. After a few
days, Shaban Aga, from Kocani, came with a group of Turks who camped with
the Damian family who had a blind 17-year-old girl. Aga, ruthlessly and without
shame, reached for the girl.
She was raped and her father murdered. After ten days, Aga returned to the
village with 135 male companions and killed Stojko and his wife in their home.
The peasant Stoyan Petrov was tied to the beams in his house, hung with his
head down and burned in the house. These stories come as poignant testimonials from foreign travelers in these areas. After the formation of the Macedonian
Revolutionary Organization (MRO) on 04 November 1893 (23 October old style)
in Thessalonki, and the subsequent spread of associated cells throughout the
country, the spirit of the liberation struggle lived on.
Notably in 1896, the emigrant representative organization in Sofia, Goce
Delchev organized a plan through the Kocani channel, passing through the region of modern Makedonska Kamenica. This channel passed through the gorges
between the villages of Sadzhenik and Sasa and from there to Kocani. The main
point was in the village of Sasa and the most famous courier was was Grandfather Ampov from the Saravskoto neighborhood. In 1901 and 1902, Sasa was home
to the troops of Argir Manasiev and Makazliev. In November, in the same village,
another small troop known as the Kocanska unit camped that included Efrem
Georgiev, sent by Delchev, and his chetniks, who were later joined by Duke Sava
Mihaylov.
13

Goran
Gora
Go
ran
ra
n Mitevski
Mite
Mi
tevs
te
vski
vs
ki

Picture 5. The gorges of the village of Sadzhenik

Although at the time of the Ilinden Uprising there were no direct clashes
between rebel detachments and Turkish invaders in this area, after the uprising
there were clashes between troops returning to Bulgaria after a bloody end of
the insurgency. The Turkish authorities, knowing about the routes being taken,
constantly controlled them and kept mobile units on the ground. In a check in
July 1903, Turkish troops near the village of Sasa found a warehouse with guns,
ammunition and 360 kg of dynamite, which Paval Satev had been couriering for
the Salonika assassins through this route. The last of the dynamite was successfully transferred in through the Kyustendil-Kocani-Veles-Thessaloniki channel
and in Kocani, being received by Todor Aleksandrov.9
The discovery of this large weapons stash allowed Turkish authorities to
repress the the population in a variety of ways. The Ottoman administrator (Mudur) of Tsarevo Selo, Habib Agha, personally participated in the reprisals along
with his officer Mehmed Aga and a police escort. Most of the villagers fled to
the mountains or across the border into Bulgaria, but far more experienced the
full brunt of the terror and torture of the Turks. Among others, Kotze Stojkov
from village Cera died. After the end of the uprising, there were several clashes
between rebels leaving western Macedonia for Bulgaria and Turkish troops. The
most ferocious clash was between the squad lead by Duke Christo Chernopeev
and the Turkish invaders in the area of the villages of Kosevica and Kostin Dol.
9

14

. XXXIX 2003 1-2 . 51

Short
Shor
Sh
ortt hi
or
hist
history
stor
st
ory
or
y of m
municipality
unic
un
icip
ic
ipal
ip
alit
al
ity
it
y of Makedonska
Mak
aked
edon
ed
onsk
on
ska
sk
a Kamenica
Kame
Ka
meni
me
nica
ni
ca

Picture 6. The squad lead by Duke Christo Chernopeev

This collision was an occasion for mass violence against the population of
these poor regions. Nervous that, despite all efforts they would fail to destroy
the squad, Turkish soldiers spilled all their rage and hatred against the peaceful
population.
In the village of Kosevica they entered the house of Zdravko Dimitrov, a family of seven, robbed the house, and raped two of his daughters and two daughtersin-law. There was looting of the houses of Georgi Tsvetkov and Nase Petrov. At
the home of Arso Simonov, an eight member family, Turkish troops took away 30
sheep and 20 cattle and raped his wife. From Stoica Milenov they took 10 sheep
and all of his house belongings. In village of Kostin Dol, from the family of seven
of Costa Jancev 16 sheep, 2 cattle and all household belongings were taken. Sokol
Spassov, Velin Kostadinov and Georgi Tsvetkov lost 20 sheep, 10 cattle, 3 beehives,
10 oki (a Turkish measure of about 3 pounds), etc. In the village of Lukovica, Nacho
Dimitrovs family of seven was completely robbed of everything, including their
property.
Thugs attacked the most valuable possessions owned by the poor Macedonian population. They plundered hard-to-nd gains in these poor mountain villages
and took cattle used for farming, transferring cargo, food, etc. Just as painful for
the families, and especially for female world, was the forced Islamization process.
On the eve of the Balkan Wars, Petrija Velinova of the village of Cera was seized
and forced into Islam in the village of Zvegor, Tsarevo Selo (today Delcevo). From
the same village, the same happened to Vana Stamenkova. Ismail Aga from Kocani grabbed and forcibly converted Gjurgjena Zaharieva from the village of Sasa.
There were a number of forced conversions of women from Kostin Dol, Moshtica
and Todorovci.
The last years of Turkish rule in Macedonia are characterized by a crisis in
all areas of economic and socio-economic life.
Sensing their imminent end, the Ottomans undertook intensive measures
aimed at strengthening the border with Bulgaria. In Kamenica, Sasa, Cera, Kosevica and Todorovci, military police stations were opened.
15

Goran
Gora
Go
ran
ra
n Mitevski
Mite
Mi
tevs
te
vski
vs
ki
In the village of Kosevica military barracks were built to house 5 units of
regular Turkish army. Immediately before the Balkan wars, many citizens of these
areas had been the victims of various actions from police, military and bashibazouks.
From village of Cera, Goce Gjerginski and his son Jovanco were killed in the
area of Wchkova neighborhood. His younger son was killed in the area of Kriva
Niva. Ampo Ovcharov from Lukovica was tortured and then hung in Pehchevo
prison. From Dulica, Goso Jurukov, together with two peasants from settlements
of Crvenikite, were stabbed and slaughtered by Turkish policemen in the presence
of their family and assembled villagers. In the village of Sasa, Gose Kamenarov and
his son Stanoja were killed by Turkish bandits. In the village of Moshtica, robbers
smashed the hands of Mone Zahariev, then he was stabbed with a wooden stiletto.
The First Balkan War began on October 18, 1912 with the announcement of a
war on Turkey by Serbia, Greece, and Bulgaria.
The Macedonian population, with great enthusiasm, enrolled in the ranks of
the Balkan armies, believing that the hour has come for the release of ve and a
half centuries of Turkish oppression and it was time to establish their own independent state.
Certainly enthusiasm for that would not have been so great had they known
the true intentions and goals of the joint Balkan military alliance against the Ottoman oppressors. Records of this time evidence behavior that was completely
at odds with the objectives and ethics of the Christian faith, the power of forgiveness, and mutual coexistence. Part of the population of this territory jumped with
all possible vigor on the Turkish population, wanting to return tit for tat for all
the pain, suffering, and humiliation inicted by the Turks during the previous period. In these bloody days, Kriv Mancho from the village of Dulica put himself all
in by organizing the unprecedented slaughter of the Turkish population from the
neighboring village of Kalimanci, not sparing even the young children.
The Christian allies in the war showed themselves to be barbarians and savages in their dealings with the Turks. They immediately forgot any high and noble
ideals as they went to war and turned into ordinary looters and bandits. Perhaps
a century of Turkish administration did not witness the injustices inicted upon
the Christian population that were handed down by the Christian victors against
Turks in only a month. 10
In the First Balkan War, the region of Kamenica became a part of Macedonians military governate headed by the Bulgarian General Ivan Vlkov. This governate was divided into districts and the districts into counties and municipalities.
Kamenica and the surrounding settlements entered the Carevoselo county, within
Stip District. Contrary to international military law and conventions adopted for
the occupied areas, invading armies began recruiting the local population for war.
New misfortunes were limited for a time, when on June 29, 1913, the Second
Balkan War started with sudden military action by Bulgaria against its erstwhile
allies, Serbia and Greece, over the partition of Macedonia.
The villagers, willingly or not, were directly engaged on the front lines. Food
was taken from locals for the armies, care was required for wounded soldiers,
crops were destroyed, etc. During the Serbo-Bulgarian war looting was unbelievable. Wherever the military went, they left nothing: people lost everything. In this
10

16

II , 1975, .821

Short
Shor
Sh
ortt hi
or
hist
history
stor
st
ory
or
y of m
municipality
unic
un
icip
ic
ipal
ip
alit
al
ity
it
y of Makedonska
Mak
aked
edon
ed
onsk
on
ska
sk
a Kamenica
Kame
Ka
meni
me
nica
ni
ca
respect some of the most ruthless were the Montenegrin soldiers. Their behavior
can best be explained by a verse from the poet Njegos:
They made wilderness like a locust ravaged country 11
The most destroyed was the village of Cera, where the population was left with
nothing to eat.
One of the bloodiest battles in the Second Balkan War took place on Govedar
Hill, located in the area between the villages of Cera and Dulica and todays modern
settlement of Makedonska Kamenica.
On one side were the Serbian and Montenegrin soldiers, and on the other Bulgarian. After a erce artillery cannonade, strong attacks with bayonets and ruthless
hand-to -and combat followed. Following the bloody ghting, Serbian and Montenegrin troops withdrew via the Bregalnica river, which was swollen due to heavy rains,
until they found a suitable crossing point. To ease the crossing of the river, they made
human chains with their arms and in a series, crossed the river.
In most cases, furious muddy water broke the chains, with soldiers drowning
in large numbers. Bones of the dead soldiers were gathered and today are stored in a
memorial ossuary in the basement of the school building in the village of Lower Cera.

Picture 7. View of the school building in the village of Lower Cera

The war was ruthless. How one side referred to other side, and especially their
relationship to the local population, can be discovered in the report of the Carnegie
Commission * for Balkan wars.
An especially poignant testimonial of this ruthless and bloody conict was left
by a Bulgarian student, Ljudmil Spasov, who with Bulgarian troops, participated in
ghting for Kalimansko Pole in the Second Balkan War. Later an academic, he spoke
11

Ibid .821
Raport of the international commission to Inquire into the Causes, and Conduct of THE BALKAN
WARS, WASHINGTON D.C 1914. : - (),
(), - (), . -
. ( ), . () - . ()

17

Goran
Gora
Go
ran
ra
n Mitevski
Mite
Mi
tevs
te
vski
vs
ki

Picture 8. The ossarium in the Cera village

with all the bitterness and contemptuous talk about dark the demonic face of war and
all the horrors suffered by soldiers from both sides, which were forced with beastly
hatred to rush towards one another and mercilessly kill one another, just to meet
political and military interests of their elites.
According to ofcial data on the Bregalnica battle against Serbia, Bulgaria enlisted
the 4th Army (7 Rila Division, 9 Tudzhan Division, 3 Division and 2nd Thracian Division).
Serbia employed the 1st and the 3rd Army (175,000 soldiers, 62 artillery batteries and 34
cavalry squadrons). The battle began on the night of June 30 and ended on July 31, 1913.
The Serbian army had 16,200 dead and wounded and Bulgaria about 25,000 soldiers. 12
The war ended with the signing of the Peace Treaty of Bucharest on August 10,
1913. The regions being discussed here entered into the state of Serbia following the ripping apart of an ethnically continuous Macedonia and remained so until their incorporation into Bulgaria during World War 1 from October 14, 1915. These territories entered
into the Stip district, later renamed as the Bregalnichki District.
After the Second Balkan War, although Serbian rule was established, peace eluded
the region. In this border region, and in other parts of Macedonia, the troops of Todor Alexandrov and Aleksandar Protogerov undertook various actions against the institutions
of the Serbian government. Unable to get revenge on rebel Chetniks, the Serbian military
and gendarmerie unleashed all their rage on the ordinary people, especially evident in
this border area.
Serbian authorities tried to organize schools, but this proved to be very difcult,
nearly impossible.
12

18

, 1... 232

Short
Shor
Sh
ortt hi
or
hist
history
stor
st
ory
or
y of m
municipality
unic
un
icip
ic
ipal
ip
alit
al
ity
it
y of Makedonska
Mak
aked
edon
ed
onsk
on
ska
sk
a Kamenica
Kame
Ka
meni
me
nica
ni
ca
One of activities of the units of the Organization was to prevent the recruitment of the Macedonian population for service in the Serbian army, and for those
which were already in the ranks of that army, to organize their escape. For this
purpose, they organized a network of checkpoints in Bulgaria, one of which was
opened in the village of Sasa.
Such disobedience and resistance against Serbian occupation caused measures of terror on the local population.The gendarmes massacred 30 men, caught
refugees at the border, and 3 forced mobilized youth from Lukovica and buried
them in the lower part of the Kamenica locality of Yuruks.
Their tomb was discovered in 1986 by construction workers digging foundations for buildings. In the second half of August 1914, in the villages of the Kamenica region, Serbian soldiers beat, jailed, and killed more than 200 people, among
them 122 defectors from other places. In this expedition through the Osogovo
Mountains soldiers and gendarmes raped many women and girls.

19

20

CHAPTER

III
KAMENICA DURING WORLD WAR I
The June 28, 1914assassination of Austrian Crown PrinceFranz Ferdinandin
theBosnian capitalof Sarajevo byGavrilo Princip, served as a pretext for the Austrian declaration of war on Serbia on July 28, 1914, marking the beginning of World
War I. In the beginning of the war the Serbian army had considerable success, repeatedly repulsing the vast Austro-Hungarian army in the decisive battles of Cer
Mountain and the Kolubara River. The Central Powers, wanting to eliminate liquidate the Balkan Front at any cost, managed to win over Bulgaria with the promise
that after the war, they would leave Macedonia and Serbia until the Machva River
under their control. The Bulgarian Tsar, Ferdinand Saks Cobourg, inuenced by
the idea of a greater Bulgaria, slipped Bulgaria into the war. On the 14th of October, with a special manifesto, Bulgaria nally declared war on Serbia and ofcially
entered theFirst World War. The same night Bulgarian armies began their offensive. In its ranks, the Bulgarian Army recruited a large number of Macedonian soldiers from the huge Macedonian immigrant population that lived in Bulgaria. The
famous 11th Macedonian division under the command of Major Peter Drvingov of
Kilkis was formed from these immigrants. Many Macedonians were also recruited
in the diversion detachments of Todor Alexandroff.
The 2nd Army, under the command of General Georgi Todorov, occupied the
territory of Makedonska Kamenica. This strong formation, consisting of 90,000
soldiers, were tasked with taking all of Macedonia and protecting the Aegean coast
and border with Greece. The fourth column of this army successfully took these
areas in one day. Immediately after the occupation, military and administrative
power was established. Bulgarian troops behaved no better to the Macedonian
population than the Serbians had. They carried out large requisitions of food and
livestock without payment, and the male population was forcibly recruited into
the Bulgarian army and forced to ght in Thessaloniki or on the Macedonian front
where they died for Bulgarian interests. All this led to massive desertions of soldiers from the front lines and to evasion from conscription. To intimidate the
population, and to maintain discipline, the Bulgarian military command formed
military tribunals that issued summary executions for defectors. Following the
Ententes breakthrough on the Thessaloniki front and the subsequent military
disaster, Bulgaria no longer had any choice but to exit the war. On September 25,
1918, the Council of Ministers decided to seek a truce from the allies. That same
day, the Bulgarian military delegation led by Andrew Ljapchev, the appointed military Minister of Bulgaria at that time, arrived in Thessaloniki. The delegation was
received by French General Franche D epre, the commander of allied forces in
Thessaloniki. Negotiations were held in Thessaloniki, and on September 29, 1918,
the Thessaloniki truce was signed and called for a cessation of hostilities, effectively representing Bulgarian capitulation.

21

Goran
Gora
Go
ran
ra
n Mitevski
Mite
Mi
tevs
te
vski
vs
ki

KAMENICA IN THE PERIOD FROM 1919 UNTIL 1944

After the end of World War I, Vardar Macedonia entered the boundaries of
the newly formed state of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. In this newly
formed state, composed of ve nations, but constitutionally recognizing only Serbian,
Croatian, and Slovenian, the existence of minorities, including Macedonians, was neither recognized nor mentioned and the majority of power remained in the hands of
the Serbian political-military-police authorities which implemented a greater Serbia
policy of the Karadjordjevic dynasty and Serbian civil political parties. 13 Immediately
after the war in Eastern Macedonia, the new government conducted a campaign of
mass terror against the local population, including mass arrests and beatings of those
people who fought on the side of the Bulgarian army during the war between 1915 until 1918. Serbian authorities called these people Bulgarian bands and treated them
cruelly. To secure the border, the Serbian authorities began determining boundary
lines and constructing watchtowers. Today there are preserved remains of some of

Picture 9. Remaining of Serbian watchtower near the mountain peak Ruen

those military facilities built with free labor by the local population. The border line
was kept by placing wires along on the boundary, outtted with bells or dogs to alert
watchmen if someone tried to cross illegally. In the valleys along the border, deep
pits and trenches were dug and lled with stakes to impale illegal border-crossers.
Immediately behind the military facilities followed gendarmerie stations. Such stations were opened in Kostin Dol, Kosevitca, Kamenica and Sasa, with separate police
units in Cera and Dulica. The station of the gendarmerie in Kamenica was placed
13

22

1918/1984, 1985, 177

Short
Shor
Sh
ortt hi
or
hist
history
stor
st
ory
or
y of m
municipality
unic
un
icip
ic
ipal
ip
alit
al
ity
it
y of Makedonska
Mak
aked
edon
ed
onsk
on
ska
sk
a Kamenica
Kame
Ka
meni
me
nica
ni
ca
where the police station is found today, and contained four gendarmes, a scribe,
and a special ofcer who handled the management books. Border posts and stations had a large number of soldiers and gendarmes, but in order to more successfully implement the idea of greater Serbian hegemony, the authorities organized
special shock battalions from the local population, known by the people as black
bands. The troops of Georgi Dimitrov from Todorovci and Janko Pomako from
Cera served in these positions. The fear of the Serbian authorities came from the
fact that the people of this region personally recalled the so-called rst Serbian
regime from 1913 until 1915 and fought in various ways against it. There was an
additional danger of the renewal of resistance by Macedonians who had previously
ed to Bulgaria, but also due to rising local discontent among the Macedonian
people.
The Serbian authorities also saw great danger from the activities of the troops
of the IMRO (Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization) led by Todor Alexandrov and Alexander Protogerov. IMRO found the region to be a fertile recruiting
ground due to high levels of resistance to forced Serbianization.14 Despite taking
all possible measures to protect the border, the arrival of Todor Aleksandrovs
armed detachments could not be prevented.

Picture 10. Todor Aleksandrovs armed detachment

In the spring of 1920, Todor Alexandrov and Aleksandar Protogerov, with

their armed bands, entered Vardar Macedonia, rst coming to the Osogovo Mountains.
In the early years, the chetnik (resistance band) detachments that crossed
into Macedonia were composed of 20 to 30 ghters. In March 1924, by the decision
of Todor Alexandrov, their number dropped to twelve men for more efcient ma14

.XXXIX 122

23

Goran
Gora
Go
ran
ra
n Mitevski
Mite
Mi
tevs
te
vski
vs
ki
neuvers, lowering the risk of being detected by state army and police forces, and
particularly so the population would not be exposed to as much risk of death. 15
Near the village of Cera, in a location known as Milev Kamen, a guardhouse
was organized, from which the chetniks of Alexandrov followed the movement of
the Serbian military and police forces. The guardhouse was built in an inaccessible
place, well camouaged and well-equipped with weapons for defense. From 1920
to 1923 in that same location two small huts were built in which Todor Alexandrov
and his associates resided during their stay in this part of Macedonia. These two
huts were in the neighborhood of Kukli in Upper Cera. For the same purpose the
houses of Naum Mitev and Cena Hristova from Bizikovo, a small village situated
in the area of spacious oak forest where the hilly steep terrain crisscrossed with
deep valleys and high cliffs, were also used. The central hiding place for the organization was built by the villagers of Dulica and was located in the area of Pashkov
Kamen. From the village of Dulica, Alexandrov appointed two commanders from
the local population, Dimitar Medarot and Haralampie Zlatanov, a.k.a. Sharen
Ampo. These men were required to spread the tentacles of the organization and
to establish detachments of peasant militia. In March 1921, due to the increasing penetration of cheta committees, the issue of border security again emerged
among Serbian authorities.
The Chief of the Bregalnica District, Radivoj Jovanovic, had found that vast
spaces after the border inspection posts remained unprotected, enabling the passage of not only ordinary chetas, but entire divisions. He argued that the number
of border guards was insufcient, given the current situation and asked for an
increase in roving units and the formation of cavalry detachments. After renewed
attacked in May 1921, all gendarme stations and miliitary units were reinforced.
Due to the need for more gendarmerie, the Ministry of the Interior of the Kingdom
of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (SCS) made an agreement with the military minister
for recruiting for 2000 new gendarmes from the army to be sent to the southern
regions.
Frequent clashes between the gendarmerie accompanied by the army of the
Kingdom of SCS and the chetas of the IMRO led by Todor Alexandrov forced the
government to strengthen the Vardar Division with an even greater force in July
1922.
The areas that belonged in the rst line of defense were: Kriva Palanka -Carev
vrv-Sasa-Kamenica- Dramche- Tsarevo Selo-Pancharevo- village Crnik- PehcevoBerovo-Bosanski Kol- Novo Selo. In the villages of Sasa, Kamenica and Dramche
there was one battalion of the XVIth infantry regiment armed with the most sophisticated weapons of the time, demonstrating that in Vardar Macedonia, especially its eastern part, a state of war already existed.
To prevent actions from committee members in Vardar Macedonia, the regime of the Kingdom of SCS fought with all available means. Large rewards were
announced for catching the leaders and commanders of IMRO. To help bring peace
and order to East Macedonia about 35,000 soldiers, gendarmes, border guards and
Chetniks were deployed. Of the total of 17,000 gendarmes within the Kingdom,
12,000 were deployed to the Vardar part of Macedonia.16
Despite numerous military and gendarme units, state authorities of the Kingdom of SCS formed the Association for struggle against the Bulgarian bandits
15

, 100 , 1993 . 163

16

... 164

24

Short
Shor
Sh
ortt hi
or
hist
history
stor
st
ory
or
y of m
municipality
unic
un
icip
ic
ipal
ip
alit
al
ity
it
y of Makedonska
Mak
aked
edon
ed
onsk
on
ska
sk
a Kamenica
Kame
Ka
meni
me
nica
ni
ca
in Stip with armed eld combat troops to ght against IMRO in September 1923.
They numbered about 20,000 armed men and were under the command of old Serbian Chetniks and active ofcers, among whom former commanders of IMRO like
Grigor Ciklev, Stojan Misev and Mite Sokolarski.
In addition to clashes with Serb forces, the region witnesses internecine skirmishes between Alexandrov and his opponents. On October 5, 1921, near the village of Sasa, Kratovos Duke of IMRO Doncho Angelov was disarmed and killed. The
duke was at rst a supporter and close collaborator of Todor Aleksandrov and later
his great opponent. Angelov thought that the congress of the organization must be
summoned to develop a plan for future activity and to elect a new Central Committee of IMRO because in the previous year, the leadership of the Central Committee
was disputed since the organization had not hed a congress for some years. In order
to overcome their misunderstandings, Kratovos Duke, after receiving an invitation
from Alexandrov, went to the village of Sasa, accompanied by four chetniks, where he
personally met Aleksandrov. Shortly after the meeting he was captured and disarmed
by the Chetniks of Stips Duke Ivan Yanev-Brlo, taken out of the village, and executed.
Leadership of the IMRO justied this murder because of alleged activities undertaken
by the Duke against the Macedonian people of the region.
In order to keep the population away from the IMRO and refrain from supplying
them with food, shelter and information, the Serbian government undertook major
military raids. In a report dated 16 August 1923, a Komitadji (rebel) organization in
Sasa consisting of four people (two of whom were from Kosevica and one from Dulica)
was put on trial.
In a similar report from January 10, 1924, 13 villagers from Sasa, 11 from Dulia,
7 from Kamenica, four from Cera, and three from Kosevica were detained and held
responsible under Articles 1 and 2 of the Law for the Protection of the State.
It is interesting to mention that both counter-chetniks and the Chetniks of Aleksandrov looked rst to satisfying their own needs without concern for the local populace. During this time, there was a large number of so called black gangs headed
by lija Pandurski, Hristo Umlenski, Mite Sudzhucaro, and others who terrorized the
local population.
These counter-squads didnt ght as much as the troops of the IMRO, but rather
went on raids beating, raping, and robbing the population. In many cases, it appeared
as though there was a gentlemans agreement of non-aggression between gendarmes
and units of Alexandrov and his closest advisers and commanders. Older locals tell
stories about cases when a peasant had a celebration, with both Serbian gendarmes
and IMRO chetniks in attendance. Although they both knew about their mutual presence, there were no open clashes, since one group was placed on one side of the
house and the others at the other end of the house. Once they nished with the feast,
they walked away from each other. But clashes were not always avoided.
In these struggles for foreign interests, there were cases when one brother killed
another. Thus, in July 1924, in one erce clash between a Serbian unit and a Kocani
unit, in the area of the village Kalimanci, Ilija was wounded by his younger brother,
Sharen Ampo from Dulica. Breaking through the encirclement with a wounded rebel
was not possible, so Sharen Ampo, according to the cruel bandit tradition, murdered
his brother Ilija. There is another unconrmed version which was recorded on July
27, 2010 by my grandfather Blaze Mitevski. According to the stories of his fellow villagers who were direct witnesses at the time, Sharen Ampo killed his brother Ilija,
because Ilija personally betrayed him. Ilija had been captured by Serb gendarmes and
solders and was forced to take them to Sharen Ampos hiding place in the forests
25

Goran
Gora
Go
ran
ra
n Mitevski
Mite
Mi
tevs
te
vski
vs
ki
around Dulica. Ilija went with a plea to convince his brother to surrender himself
because his hiding place was surrounded from all sides. Sharen Ampo allowed him
to get closer and shot his own brother in the head with the words: thats the fate of
traitors and started a erce battle with Serbian troops ring his guns and throwing
bombs. Seeing that there were no chances for him to break through alone, with the
last bomb he blew up himself. This happened in 1927. Unfortunately with this death
of both brothers, their lineage was extinguished.
To better counter to the IMRO troops, Serbian
gendarmes and ofcers appointed village headmen
to be informants and allies. In 1924, the head of the
village of Dulica was named Jovan Petrovski, from
the neighborhood of Dogriite. His task was to deter
his fellow villages from supporting or joining the
IMRO chetniks and to consider joining the Serbian
army. Soon the long arm of the IMRO reached
him. He was abducted by chetniks of the organization and dragged to Kitka in the district of Upper
Cera, where he was slain by IMROs second in command in the region, Dimitar Medarot. Descendants
of this unhappy man live in the same village to this
day. Dimitar Medarot was later included in the wing
of Ivan Mihailov and became an assassin of his ideological opponents.
On March 4, 1930 the prominent follower of
Aleksandar Protogerov and editor of the newspaper Vardar, Vasil Pundev, was killed by assassins
Dimitar Medarot and Nicola Stamenov. After killing
Picture 11. Sharen Ampo
Pundev, Ivan Mihailov was accused for the rst time
as being the immediate perpetrator and the direct
killers were sentenced to 15 years in prison.17
However Medarot didnt stay in prison long. After the coup detat and seizure of
power in Bulgaria by Kimon Georgiev on May 19, 1934, he was released from prison.
With the beginning of World War II and the attack of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on
April 6, 1941, Medarot actively joined the Bulgarian military service. After the occupation and partition of Macedonia by German, Italian and Bulgarian armies, Dimitar
Medarot formed his own counter-squad which actively fought against partisans or
shumkarite, as they were known by the Bulgarian troops.
On May 21, 1943 at Balevica in the Vinica region, the 2nd Pljachkovichki partisan
detachment Goce Delchev, was discovered by the Bulgarian police and the countersquad led by Dimitar Medarot. Commander Vanco Prke, political Commissioner Toso
Arsov and Aleksander Mitrev all died in this battle. Immediately after the establishment of the new state government, its rst measures included clearing those persons
who, during the war, collaborated or were on the side of the occupying regime and
opponents of NOD. (National Liberation Movement).
In one such action, organs of OZN and UDB (both of them were secret services)
discovered and captured Dimitar Medarot, who was shortly after convicted and executed in Stip prison in 1946. Shortly after his death, his sons life came to an end in
tragic accidental circumstances.
17

26

,
2004, . 293

Short
Shor
Sh
ortt hi
or
hist
history
stor
st
ory
or
y of m
municipality
unic
un
icip
ic
ipal
ip
alit
al
ity
it
y of Makedonska
Mak
aked
edon
ed
onsk
on
ska
sk
a Kamenica
Kame
Ka
meni
me
nica
ni
ca
Nikola Pashkov Bachov from the village of Dulica was killed by his brother Vangelia, because he refused to ee with him to Bulgaria. As evidence before the Chetniks that his brother really was dead, he showed mustaches of the victim along with
the esh.
On December 30, 1924, Stojan Misev, who following his resignation from the
IMRO joined the Serbian service to become one of the most important executives of
the Association against Bulgarian bandits, was killed in Stip. The assassin was Kiril
Gligorov Kjeleshov, under orders from the IMRO. Immediately after this event, Kjeleshov managed to escape from the city, reaching almost to the border with Bulgaria.
Passing through the village of Kostin Dol, he was spotted and betrayed by a peasant
on January 8, 1925. After exhausting his ammunition in a gun-ght with the Serbian
chase unit, he was captured and brought to Stips prison, and on August 30, 1925 was
executed by ring squad.
While he was in prison, the long arm of the
IMRO once again cruelly retaliated, cruelly murdering the villager, Stoil Shankev, who betrayed Kjeleshov to the Serbian authorities. This shows that the
least merciful in this organization were not even
the Dukes and chetniks, as their courts brought decisions and acted quickly and freely in slaughtering
the convicted. All those who were regarded as enemies were judged harshly.
With the coup detat, King Alexander suspended the constitution, dissolved the National Assembly, he proclaimed himself as bearer of all power in
the country on January 6, 1929.18

Picture 12.Execution of Kiril

Gligorov Keleshov of IMRO by
firing squad

The dictatorship established a white terror

against actual and suspected rebels, with exceptional vigor and scale in Macedonia. The stipulated administrative and territorial distribution of the state
at the end of 1929 include Vardar Banovina, which
included both Vardar Macedonia and parts of Southern Serbia and Kosovo. The name of the country was
then changed from the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats,
and Slovenes to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

The rst Ban (Lord) of the Vardar Banovina

was Zika Lazic, the long-time Head of the Department of Public Safety and from 1928
deputy Minister of Interior of the Royal Government. His simultaneous appointment
as Ban of Vardar Banovina ensured that law and order in the southern parts of the
kingdom would be guaranteed with a tested and rm hand and the population kept
in line with police force.19
After the dissolution of the IMRO in 1934, Serbian authorities nally could take
a break. Their activity was aimed at creating various nationalistic organizations and
organizing a school network in which children would be raised in the Serbian spirit.
To improve the status of teachers in Vardar Macedonia, the government gave
special benets for those who had been working in difcult places. With the law of
1923, teachers who had been working in South Serbia for one year were recognized
18

, 1969, . 69

19

Ibid 72

27

Goran
Gora
Go
ran
ra
n Mitevski
Mite
Mi
tevs
te
vski
vs
ki
as having two years towards retirement. Despite that, interest for teachers work in
these areas was very small. The work of teachers from other parts of the Kingdom
was difcult due to property and other reasons. For many of the designated teachers,
the work in these areas along the Bulgarian border was perceived as akin to work
deep in Siberia. With certainty it can be argued that this included work in the primary schools in the villages of Kamenica, Sasa and Cera. On April 6, after refusing to
join the Tripartite Pact, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was attacked on all sides by the
coalition forces of Hitler. According to an earlier agreement, the area from Vardar
Macedonia to Grupcin and Ohrid was given to Bulgaria. Soon a Bulgarian occupation
government was established and all the institutions of the system were replaced with
Bulgarian. The most signicant event for this area during WWII was the Spring Offensive and the march of the Osogovo strike force through the region.
In the midst of the biggest battles, war heroine Vera Jocic was wounded.
Exhausted from three days of wandering through mountain hills and slopes,
Vera Jocic, that wonderful image of a ghter who was able to win the love of ghters,
forever bound her very life to the freedom of her country. If she were to die, she saw
that thousands of others would remain. A distant echo drifted into her consciousness, an echo that slowly faded away, but came as the words of a warrior poet:
... If the bullet grabs your youth
Do not complain, do not mourn
Fiery eyes will not fade:
thousands of hearts with re youll load,
thousand of soldiers in combat will ow.
The poet is experiencing this pain as his worst loss, which will remain deeply
embedded in his memory:
In the morning when strike hits our foreheads
you were no longer in our ranks.
But ghters overload with a vengeance bitter.
Flying all with your strength,
Like quick deer and easy like birds. 20
In her honor, the cultural artistic company from our town bears her name, and
in 1985 in the city park in Makedonska Kamenica was placed a bust of this woman
hero, a work of academic sculptor Tome Seramovski.
With this last information I have nished the historical picture of our small, but
beautiful, Makedonska Kamenica.

20

28

, 1973, . 167

Short
Shor
Sh
ortt hi
or
hist
history
stor
st
ory
or
y of m
municipality
unic
un
icip
ic
ipal
ip
alit
al
ity
it
y of Makedonska
Mak
aked
edon
ed
onsk
on
ska
sk
a Kamenica
Kame
Ka
meni
me
nica
ni
ca

Picture 13. The statue of national hero Vera Jocic in the sity park in Makedonska Kamenica

29

Goran
Gora
Go
ran
ra
n Mitevski
Mite
Mi
tevs
te
vski
vs
ki

APPENDIX
OTTOMAN HERITAGE
By 1914 the Turks were completely driven out of the Balkans. Their European
territories were reduced to only Constantinople and the interior of Thrace. The purpose of the common Balkan military alliance was achieved: Turkey was barred from
the Balkan Peninsula. But in some sense many things had not changed. For more
than ve hundred years the Balkan peoples were under the authority of one ag, just
as they were governed from one center of power and all were under the power of one
suzerain from one Ottoman dynasty or another. Ottoman civilization had left deep
and indelible traces whose consequences are still felt today.
Despite heavy criticism of Balkan intellectuals and the National Academies
to represent the period of the Ottoman government as period of unbearable yoke,
blood, tears and pain, this powerful empire created a separate culture with positive
and negative aspects. Ottoman heritage is an integral part of the life of every citizen
in our peninsula which cannot be erased. The Turks left numerous traces in the languages of all the Balkan nations and also in ours (Macedonian language). There is no
language of any Balkan nation that does not have numerous Turkisms. The Turks
also left quite a mark on Balkan folklore as compared to that of other European cultures. Here we think primarily of the beauty and rhythm of dances, beautiful songs
and instruments used for performance of the same, myriad ballads about life and
death, stories about hayduks (bandits) and chetniks, joys and the sorrows. There is
no region in our country, including our community, that doesnt have various place
names from that period. For example, consider: Ajducka cheshma under Ruen, then
neighborhoods Ottomans in the area of the village of Upper Sasa locality Yoruk
cemetery in Upper Cera etc. It is a similar situation with Balkan cuisine being very
similar to the cuisines of the Middle Eastern peoples and of the variety of spices that
the Balkans have, many of which were adopted from the Ottoman conquerors. Ottomans recipes still live on in many of our dishes, including baked beans, rice puddings,
kebabs, many kinds of sweets, etc. For the Balkan peoples many aspects of Ottoman
everyday life are especially beautiful. The Ottomans created wonderful inns, tea bars,
caravan palaces, mosques and bridges, baths, market places, and other facilities. Particular attention has been paid to rivers and other waterways, as well as the arrangement of the yards. Each house has a garden in the backyard, and a variety of owers,
of which the most prized are roses. Ottomans also had a habit of planting numerous
parcels of fruit. These and other traditions are preserved as part of our national heritage.
The Ottomans also appreciated beautiful clothing made from silk and velvet
and moreover in their homes and religious buildings, placed on the oors the famous
Persian carpets that are found today in nearly every house in the Balkan countries
including Macedonia.
Our people, under Ottoman rule, primarily lived in rural areas. These villages
30

Short
Shor
Sh
ortt hi
or
hist
history
stor
st
ory
or
y of m
municipality
unic
un
icip
ic
ipal
ip
alit
al
ity
it
y of Makedonska
Mak
aked
edon
ed
onsk
on
ska
sk
a Kamenica
Kame
Ka
meni
me
nica
ni
ca
constituted the entire known universe for the residents of these areas. Simple peasants rarely left their villages and their entire life was spent in them, cultivating the
elds of Turkish feudal lords and dealing primarily with agriculture and herds. The
people of our lands lived in large family cooperatives governed by strict patriarchal
norms, where the voice of the oldest living male member in the family was respected.
He somehow was the ,,pater familias and his word was accepted without objection.
Despite all of this, however, the people of the Balkans have inherited certain negative
characteristics that cannot be reconciled with modern institutions.
The many centuries under the Ottoman social system created many effects and
habits that continued to live after the fall of the empire.
Fear of the uncertainty of life created lethargy, indifference, indecision, and a
tendency toward obedience, which derived from the necessity to survive. On the other hand due to the uncertainty, a strong hedonistic attitude towards life was created.
All people from the Balkan Peninsula are widely known as people who appreciate
good brandy, followed by food, salads and good music. The Ottoman Turks in faraway
1564 brought coffee, tea and tobacco, and crops to the Balkan nations that the locals
accepted from the start. For someone who is a great consumer of cigarettes, it used
to be said they smoke like a Turk . Another negative feature is that the work, in an
of itself, has very little value. People from the Balkans prefer leisure, where conversation with a cup of coffee followed by a cigarette turns into an day-long gathering
without a sense of lost time.
It is also interesting to note that the people of the Balkans consistently nd
blame for problems in someone else, constantly calling something unjust, with the
state, its taxes, and its laws a major headache, leading them to look for any way to
avoid them. As an example, look to our southern neighbor, Greece. The people of the
Balkans also believe rmly in happiness, in superstitions, and in God or Allahs determination of our fate, that one cannot escape what has been written. The primordial
urge of our people is to bear male offspring, on the birth of which one declares that
the heart is laughing. Today, nearly a century after the disappearance of the Kara
Osman Empire, we see the return of Turkey to the Balkans through so-called neoottomanism, no longer the sick man of the Bosphorus, Turkey is Macedonias greatest
friend and among the group of the twenty most powerful industrialized countries
in the world, an American ally in NATO, and a balance between the Middle East and
Europe.
The Turks have powerful and developed textile and food industries and their
products are increasingly present on Balkans and European markets. Turkish businessmen invest a huge part of their capital in this region, and therefore we should
recognize our own interests in attracting investments in our country through an attractive and high-quality investment program. Additionally, Turkish culture is rapidly penetrating our country either through diverse exhibitions, works from Turkish
authors, and mostly by the popular Turkish series aired on our televisions. Relations
must be kept mutual in all elds through economy, business, culture and tourism,
because there are no small or big nations. There are great ideas and visions that provide a good perspective on development. How much we have learned and how much
we shall apply depends only on us.

31

Goran
Gora
Go
ran
ra
n Mitevski
Mite
Mi
tevs
te
vski
vs
ki

THE TRANSFORMATION OF MAKEDONSKA KAMENICA FROM

PASSIVE REGION INTO CONTEMPORARY URBAN MINING
SETTLEMENT
If we look back 50 years ago, the map of this part of the Socialist Republic of
Macedonia has been changed for the better. It is the story of the building of a new
settlement, whose growth earned it the crown of a city in 2004. Following liberation,
these mountainous regions were poor and non-fertile and the population mainly
practiced extensive agriculture and livestock-raising, growing rice and vegetables in
the Kamenica River valley that today serves as the home to Makedonska Kamenica.
The rst attempts to renew the mining activity in these regions was made by the
English joint-stock company Selection trust limited back in 1927 at the time of the
Kingdom of SCS (Kingdom of Serbs, Croatians and Slovenians). After a long break in
1954, permission for this big project was granted by the Federal Geological Institute
of Belgrade, the mines for lead and zinc Zletovo from Probishtip, and the geological
Ofce in Skopje. After years of terrain surveys and drilling in 1965, the rst transportation and otation facilities were made and the digging and drilling of mine shafts
began. This year is the ofcial start of working for one of the largest mining facilities
in the former Yugoslavia, which in a very short time has grown into a giant nonferrous metallurgy and one of the biggest mines in Europe. The rst mining detachment was led by experienced miner Boris Stoyanov. In the beginning, the lead and
zinc mine worked on a trial run and after the conrmation of its economic reliability,
it began with regular production. From this year onward, change of the geographical
picture of this region began. In the month of November 1966, the number of employees exceeded 500 miners. Due to the large number of employees, there was a need for
the construction of accommodation facilities for the miners and their families. The
mine is located 1200 to 1700 meters above sea level and its main features are the steep
mountain slopes overgrown with beech forests and mountain climate, unfavorable
for construction of residential buildings. The most favorable place was the valley of
Kamenicka river and its widest part where today is situated the small city of Makedonska Kamenica. In a very short period of time this area was lled with many new
residential buildings and healthcare, commercial, hospitality, educational, cultural,
sports and other facilities becoming the integral part of a new settlement. Then immediately started a transport infrastructure linking Makedonska Kamenica with the
surrounding towns of Kocani and Delcevo, as the two neighboring municipalities. For
the electrical needs of the mine, the articial dam Kalimanci was built. The dam
has fundamentally changed the image of these areas, ooding separate settlements
and fertile plains on the one hand, but on the other enabling a supply of electricity
and the formation of a reservoir, with a large water supply capacity that allows bringing water to fertile elds in Kocansko Ovce pole. The mine, for its own needs, built a
modern otation which was ofcially put into operation by President of the Assembly of SRM, Blagoja Taleski in 1974, which enabled the processing of 500,000 tons of
lead-zinc ore per year. The 1970s and 1980s witnessed a book in the work of the mine,
which enabled realistic conditions for rapid growth of the population in the municipality and attracted mining workers not only from neighboring municipalities, but
also from all the republics of former Yugoslavia. In Makedonska Kamenica in the
last 80 years, more capital facilities have been built, including the current primary
school, the then district heating system, two residential buildings of 10 oors, city
pool, kindergarten Bambi, etc. Besides that, the cultural-artistic association Vera
Jocic, the football club Sasa, which for many years competed in the rst League,
32

Short
Shor
Sh
ortt hi
or
hist
history
stor
st
ory
or
y of m
municipality
unic
un
icip
ic
ipal
ip
alit
al
ity
it
y of Makedonska
Mak
aked
edon
ed
onsk
on
ska
sk
a Kamenica
Kame
Ka
meni
me
nica
ni
ca
and the then chess club were formed. All this enabled small Makedonska Kamenica
to get all the features and amenities of larger cities.
In the period from 2003 to 2005, when the mine was closed, disaster was reected in life and all segments of the small mining town. It was a period when a huge
number of former miners, along with their family members, and many young people
were forced to look outside of the Republic of Macedonia for material security and existence. After the closure of the mine, the state, with all its forces, tried to nd a strategic investor and announced a tender for the sale of the mine SASA. Tender was received from the Russian rm Romtrade and developer Pavel Malinovski was elected
as the best bidder in the public tender. On the 28th of June, 2005, a sales contract of
the mine Sasa was signed, hereby ofcially transferring the ownership and rights to
use the property offered at public auction. During the following several months an
intensive process of procurement of necessary sophisticated equipment to be able to
start normal production took place. Work on restarting the mine successfully was
led by a management team comprised of Mr. Dmitry Kudrjakov, CEO, Mr. Alexander
Lagutkin, technical director, and Mr. Boris Levitt, commercial director, as well as a
large number of experts from various elds. The mine was ofcially restarted on 12
June 2006 and was opened for service by Mr. Buckovski, the then Prime Minister of
the Republic of Macedonia, and Mr. Alexander Kudrjakov, General Director. Today the
mine is among the top 10 most successful companies in the Republic of Macedonia,
allowing it to return hope and social peace to Makedonska Kamenica, providing for
the livelihoods for over 700 employees and their family members.
According to the last census in 2002, Macedonian Kamenica had 5,147 inhabitants excluding the surrounding 9 villages. Kamenica obtained municipality status in
1996 with the the Law on Territorial Division, when it separated from the Municipality of Delevo. In 2004, Kamenica received the status of a city and the seat of the
municipality covering an area of 19,037 hectares and 8,100 inhabitants. Today the
municipality is in the second phase of the decentralization process, successfully implementing numerous projects to improve the living conditions of all its inhabitants.
The end

33

Goran
Gora
Go
ran
ra
n Mitevski
Mite
Mi
tevs
te
vski
vs
ki

BIBLIOGRAPHY
[1]

, 3
1985 .

[2]

- XIV , ,
1999 .

[3]

, - 1974 .

[4]

-
XIX XX , 2002 .

[5]

, -
2004 .

[6]

- , 100 , 1993 .

[7]

, 1973 .

[8]

XXXIX 1-2, 2003 .

[9]

, 1975 .

[10] II ,
1975 .

[11] 1918/1984, 1985, 177

34

Short
Shor
Sh
ortt hi
or
hist
history
stor
st
ory
or
y of m
municipality
unic
un
icip
ic
ipal
ip
alit
al
ity
it
y of Makedonska
Mak
aked
edon
ed
onsk
on
ska
sk
a Kamenica
Kame
Ka
meni
me
nica
ni
ca

CONTENTS
Introduction . 3
CHAPTER ONE ... 5
The period from the Neolithic to the beginning of the Turkish conquests ........... 5
Prehistoric and ancient period .......................................................................... 5
Medieval period .................................................................................................. 6
CHAPTER TWO .................................................................................................. 11
During the Ottoman rule until World War I........................................................ 11
CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................. 21
Kamenica during World War I ........................................................................... 21
Kamenica in the period from 1919 to 1944 ......................................................... 22
APPENDIX ........................................................................................................ 29
Ottoman heritage .............................................................................................. 30
Transformation of Makedonska Kamenica from passive region to contemporary
urban mining settlement ................................................................................... 32
Bibliography ............................................................................................. 34

35

Goran
Gora
Go
ran
ra
n Mitevski
Mite
Mi
tevs
te
vski
vs
ki

Translation from Macedonian to English:

Goran Mitevski
Zoran Vitanovski
Lecturer:
Sara Scholin

36