Skopje 2014

[1] The project, officially announced in 2010, consisted mainly of the construction of colleges, museums and government buildings, as well as the erection of monuments depicting historical figures from the region of Macedonia.

[4] It relied on a set of nondemocratic mechanisms aiming to expand the political dominance of that party and to leave its enduring stamp on city’s urban environment.

This is one of the reasons given by the VMRO-DPMNE government for the necessity of the project, to give Skopje a more monumental and visually pleasing image.

[10] In a speech at the opening of Porta Macedonia in January 2012, then Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski stated that Skopje 2014 was his idea.

The cost of the project is estimated at anywhere from 80 to more than 500 million euros[12][13] and is seen by many as a waste of resources in a country with high unemployment and poverty.

[10] The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia, the main opposition party, opposes the project and has alleged that the monuments could have cost six to ten times less than what the government paid.

[14] The project is seen as a part of the government's "antiquisation" policy, in which the country seeks to claim ancient Macedonian figures like Alexander the Great and Philip II of Macedon for itself.

[18] Later additions to the Skopje 2014 project were made that included depictions of ethnic Albanians in the monuments such as Nexhat Agolli, Josif Bageri, and Pjetër Bogdani, as well as others on the Art Bridge.

[10] It has also been described as nationalist kitsch[19][20] which "brings unknown history" to the citizens[21] and former prime minister Zoran Zaev has labeled it an "idiotic project".

[22] In late February 2018, the government and institutions of the Republic of Macedonia announced the halt of the Skopje 2014 program and began removing its controversial monuments and statues.

The Macedonian Ministry of Culture also has set up a Commission to envisage the possibility of removing the rest of them, such as the monuments of Alexander the Great and Philip II of Macedon.

[23][24][25][26][27][28][29] In June 2018, the Macedonian Government announced that the monuments would be renamed and marked with inscriptions honouring Greek-Macedonian friendship.

Cracks and crevices are visible in many of them, exposing use of poor building materials, and that the damage would be worse if an earthquake rages over Skopje again.

[40] Although the building primarily serves as a museum, it also houses the Constitutional Court and the National Archive of the Republic of North Macedonia.

[54] The total cost of the building's construction is around 8.5 million euros, which the government claims will be fully funded by the Agency's budget.

[57] The government, in March 2011, invested 8.9 million euros into transforming an abandoned uncompleted building in central Skopje into a new home for the Ministry of Finance.

It is located on the eastern bank of the Vardar between the Financial Police Building and Stiv Naumov Street.

It will be built on its original location at the north side of Macedonia Square, to the west of the Vardar Quay.

[62][63] The monument of Justinian I, born in Tauresium just outside modern Skopje, arrived at Macedonia Square on June 16, 2011.

Similar to the monument of Tsar Samuil, also on Macedonia Square, it consists of Justinian I sitting on a throne, which is placed on a pedestal.

The construction of a monument consisting of a statue of Skopje native Mother Teresa and a fountain is planned.

It is 21 m (68.9 ft) tall and contains 32 reliefs carved on the outside, depicting events from pre-history to the independence of the Republic of Macedonia.

The inside of the arch consists of two levels, in which a souvenir shop and a gallery are located, and a rooftop observation deck.

Made in Florence, sculpted by hand in the Pietro Bazzanti e Figlio Art Gallery, the total cost of the Tsar Samuil monument was roughly 3.5 million euros.

[70] The fringe theory Samuil being the first Tsar of the Macedonian Slavs is held mainly in North Macedonia.

[73] Perhaps the main symbol of the Skopje 2014 project is the Warrior on a Horse (Macedonian: Воин на коњ) statue and fountain in the centre of Macedonia Square.

It will require the construction of a new pedestrian bridge, to run from the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle to the MEPSO Building, upon which it will stand.

[107] Director of Cultural Heritage and archaeologist Pasko Kuzman has announced a plan to restore and reconstruct the Kale Fortress.

Plans include the erection of a statue and fountain depicting Philip II of Macedon, though officially named "Warrior," at the far northeast side of the square.

[110] An existing statue of Skanderbeg, an important historical figure to ethnic Albanians, is the main fixture of a square that bears his name in Skopje's Čair Municipality.