11/3/2015 Skopje 1963 earthquake

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SKOPJE 1963 EARTHQUAKE

Skopje Before The EarthquakeSkopje in the beginning of November 1962, because of several days of torrential rain and unregulatedriverbanks, the Vardar river suddenly flooded Skopje and it's surroundings. About 4,500 hectares of land and5,000 family houses were flooded. Nobody expected that 8 months later another disaster, even bigger andmore dangerous, would strike.

Skopje 1963 Earthquake

Skopje earthquake ­ July 26th, 1963. An earthquake unrecordedby more recent chronicles of Skopje, accustomed to peril andsuffering. Skopje was leveled, paralyzed, almost wiped from theface of the earth. Only a few seconds were enough to turn 85% ofSkopje into ruins. But the greatest damage was the irreparable lossof 1,066 human lives. More than 3,300 inhabitants of Skopje werelightly or badly wounded. Only 3 minutes after the first cameanother earthquake of the same intensity (8.5 degrees of theMercali scale), followed by hundreds of tremors of smaller intensity.It was that dark Friday, of July 26th, 1963. Clocks stopped with theirmechanisms pointing to the fatal 5 o'clock and 17 minutes AM,marking the longest day in the history of Skopje. On that morningseismologists all around the world recorded an earthquake whose epicenter was in Skopje. During thosemoments the inhabitants of Skopje lived through the most terrible experience. Their city was passing througha catastrophe of incomparable proportions. The fury of the elements which mercilessly crashed down withtheir dance of death destroyed almost everything of value in Skopje, leaving only wounds which needed yearsto heal.

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Of the thirty or so monuments that were damaged, Fortress Kale, Suli Ann, Bezisten, the archaeologicalMuseum, the National Bank, cinemas and many buildings, the Army Club (built 1926­1929), the RailwayStation and many other completely ruined. As can bee seen from the picture there is the army Club by theriver Vardar, opposite of it, it's the National Bank. On the north side of Vardar there the National theatre(between the Stone Bridge and the smaller and tiny one). Also on the picture is visible in the left­down corner,the Assembly of Macedonia, that survived the 1963 earthquake.

The Old Railway station building was designed and built in the period 1938­1940, by the Serbian architectGavrilovic. During the 1963 earthquake was partly damaged, and today it's remains are representing amonument of that catastrophe of the city. Since 1970 in it, is situated the Museum of the City of Skopje,instituted in 1949. It was adapted into a museum and now it engages 4000 m2; 2500 m2 are planned for thepermanent display (in a process of realization) and 800 m2 are used as a gallery for temporary exhibitions.

The following annexes function within theMuseum: "The Museum of the Old Marketof Skopje", The Memorial Museum in vil.Količani, The Memorial House of theCounty Committee of the CommunisticParty of Yugoslavia for Macedonia and the"Illegal Workshops 1941­45".

Left: "The Square Sloboda" Right: "TheNational Bank building, before the 1963

catastrophic earthquake (situated opposite of the army house, in downtownSkopje)"

The square Sloboda, was one of the most beautiful parts of the old Skopje.Almost all significant object were ruined by the Skopje earthquake. Only one ofthem remained (Workers House) and can be seen today as a discothèque.Today there is a street called, Dimitrija Cupovski passing through it's circletoday, that doesn't exist today. The building seen at the left survived theearthquake, and today there is a cafe­bar called "Piazza Libertas" whichmeans Square Sloboda (Freedom) to remind of this well known part of old

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11/3/2015 Skopje 1963 earthquake

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Skopje. [upper left picture]

The Yugoslav National Army was the first to send outa call for help to all Yugoslav centers. That morningseveral thousands of soldiers began the most difficultbut also the most glorious struggle in the peacefultime, a fight against the ruins to save trapped people.Society did not forget these peacetime heroes. 590 ofthem were later awarded medals from the Presidentof the Republic, Josip Broz ­ Tito. While the earth wasstill trembling and nobody knew whether anotherearthquake was to strike, President Tito arrived in theruined Skopje. Deeply moved by what he saw, Titosaid: "Skopje has endured a terrible catastrophe, butSkopje will be rebuilt with the help of the wholesociety, it will become a symbol of brotherhood andunity, of Yugoslav and world­wide solidarity". Thesewords, pronounced on July 27th, 1963, came true. Itis enough to spend only on day in the city on theVardar to see that is so. New about the earthquakewas released through the ether very quickly. On that very same day the sky over Skopje was too small toaccept all the aircrafts bringing aid. In those first moments about 80 countries sent help to the city of Skopje,which thus really became a symbol of Yugoslav and world­wide solidarity.

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