Delcevo - Macedonia, Europe

 

Delčevo (Macedonian: Делчево) is a small town in the eastern mountainous part of the Republic of Macedonia. It is the municipal seat of the eponymous municipality. The town is named after revolutionary Goce Delčev.

The town of Delčevo is situated at the foot of Mount Golak on both banks of the river Bregalnica, 164 km (102 mi) to the east of Skopje. It is the biggest settlement in the Pianec region which covers an area of 585 km² (226 sq mi), between Mount Osogovo to the north and Mount Maleš to the south. The town lies at 590 m (1,936 ft) to 640 metres (2,100 ft) above sea level. Delčevo has a good geographical position and good traffic connections. All rural settlements and recreations centred around Golak are connected with the town of Delčevo by good asphalt roads of local and regional types. Golak's Tourist Center is located 10 km (6 mi) south of Delcevo at 1,300 m (4,270 ft) height above sea level, under the Chavka peak (1358 m) of the mountain Golak. The distinctive Recreation Center was built in 1981 and has 5 apartments, 8 hotel rooms and a restaurant with 170 seats as its own terens for small football, basketball and volleyball.

Delčevo was first mentioned in a charter of Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan in the 14th century.

The town has changed its name several times. During the Ottoman period it was visited by a Sultan personally. A large number of Christian people converted to Islam, and at that time the town was called "Sultania" or "Sultaniye". The Islamised Christian population hadn't learned the Turkish language and they renamed Sultania into their own language, Tsarevo Selo (Tsar's village). One year before Sultan Mehmed II, the Turkish travel writer Evlija Celebija had passed there and wrote: "After Vinica we climbed upon Kocani mountain meadow and after 4 hours walking along the ravine, we arrived in Tsarevo Selo. This is a Muslim village and it lays in the mountain ornamented with 100 houses and one marvelous mosque with minaret".

The town has borne its present name Delčevo since 1950, in honour of the celebrated revolutionary and ideologist Gotse Delchev who had often visited the place while he was teaching in the village of Novo Selo, near Štip.

After the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878 much of the Christian population left for Bulgaria and Turkish people from Asia moved in to take their place. There was a second big movement thirty years later during the Balkan wars, but this time with an emigration of much of the Turkish population.

Between the two world wars Delčevo was a small provincial town of dilapidated houses and a small number of craft shops with narrow muddy streets.

own stadium, swimming pool and sport hall are placed where Delcevo citizens spend their free time planned for sport and recreation.

Small dams Petrasevec and Sandanski, located left and right of the old road Delcevo - Trabotiviste offer pleasant hours of resting and sport-fishing

RKC Golak is located only 10 km south of Delcevo at 1300 m height above sea level, under the Chavka (1358 m) of the mountain Golak. Recreation center is founded in the year 1981 and it has 5 apartments, 8 hotel rooms and a restaurant with 170 seats as its own terrains for small football, basketball and volleyball.

Many vacation places are built there and weekend houses of Delcevo companies. The Recreation center is among a 100 year old pine and beech trees.

Far from town noise, wonderful vegetation, clean fresh air and cold clear mountain water are just what the visitors souls need. In winter, under thick snow cover, Golak offers unforgettable and unique sights.

here are big number of companies in Delcevo which are in trade - hotel management work (shops,taverns, boutiques) and they are located mostly in the town center.

All necessary products from food and industries, as well as industrial products for mass consumption can be bought there.

Green groceries market is a place where people supply themselves with agricultural products from local origin, but from municipalities of east and center parts of the country too. Current green market doesn't satisfy the necessities of the people, so there is need of building a new one.

ZIK "Sandanski", AD " Ilinden" and other small restaurants, coffee bars, sandwich bars and so on are bearers of catering services. In their restaurants various specialties are made of traditional Macedonian kitchen. Well known home made plum brandy. They also offer various soft drinks and alcoholic drinks made by Macedonian producers and are world famous trade marks.