Skopje 2014

Skopje 2014 (Macedonian: Скопје 2014) is a project financed by the Government of the Republic of Macedonia, with the main ideology being based on that of the ruling party VMRO-DPMNE, with the purpose of giving the capital Skopje a more classical appeal by the year 2014. The project, officially announced in 2010, consists mainly of the construction of museums and government buildings, as well as the erection of monuments depicting historical figures from the region of Macedonia. Around 20 buildings and over 40 monuments are planned to be constructed as part of the project.

The project has been criticized by some architects and some citizens for constructing nationalistic historicist kitsch. Skopje 2014 has also generated controversy for its cost, for which estimates range from 80 to 500 million euros.

The Skopje 2014 project encompasses the construction, from 2010 to 2014, of 136 structures built at a cost of more than US$700 million.

The 1963 Skopje earthquake destroyed approximately 80% of the city, including most of the neoclassical buildings in the central part of Skopje. The rebuilding that followed saw the construction of mostly plain Socialist architecture. This is a main reason given by the government for the necessity of the project, to give Skopje a more monumental and visually pleasing image. Some of the project does consist of reconstructions of buildings destroyed or significantly damaged in the earthquake. This includes the national theatre, the old city hall, and Kale Fortress.

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

The Skopje 2014 project has been criticized by various groups since the time it was first announced. The cost of the project is estimated at anywhere from 80 to more than 500 million euros and is seen by many as a waste of resources in a country with high unemployment and poverty. The project is also believed by critics to be a distraction from these problems.

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