Smilevo

Smilevo (Macedonian: Смилево) is a village in North Macedonia, municipality of Demir Hisar.

It is famous for the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie uprising which started in the village in the morning of August 2, 1903 (see Battle of Smilevo).

The village is the native place of Dame Gruev, one of the founders and most prominent leaders of IMRO.

Near the village is one of the most beautiful monasteries in the country dedicated to St. Peter and Paul (Macedonian: Свети Петар и Павле, Sveti Petar i Pavle).

A museum dedicated to the Smilevo congress and the National Liberation Struggle was opened on the 100th anniversary of the Ilinden uprising in 2003.

Museum dedicated to National Liberation Struggle
Women from Smilevo in national costume in 1913
Woman from Bitola, dressed in traditional costume from Smilevo, photographed in the studio of the brothers Manaki in Bitola, between 1898 and 1912
Monastery of St. Peter and Paul