Konče (; ) is a municipality in the eastern part of

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

. ''

Konče Konče (; Turkish language, Turkish Konçe) is a village in North Macedonia. It is the seat of Konče Municipality. Demographics According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 967 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the village include:Macedo ...

'' is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found. This municipality is part of the

Southeastern Statistical Region The Southeastern Statistical Region () is one of eight statistical regions of North Macedonia. Southeastern, located in the southeastern part of the country, borders Greece and Bulgaria. Internally, it borders the Vardar and Eastern statistical re ...

. Located below the slopes of Mount Serta, Konče is approximately 150 km away from the

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

, North Macedonia's capital, on the Radovis-Strumica highway. The Municipality of Konce has a total area of 233.05 sq. Km and, as of the 2002 census, had a total population of 3,690 inhabitants. The ethnic composition of the Municipality of Konče's population consists primarily of Macedonians, but there is a significant Turkish minority. The current mayor of the Municipality of Konče is Blagoj Iliev.

History

There have been settlements in the region that constitutes the Konče municipality for more than four thousand years. Archaeological research done through the Museum of

Štip Štip ( ) is the largest urban agglomeration in the eastern part of North Macedonia, serving as the economic, industrial, entertainment and educational focal point for the surrounding municipalities. As of the 2021 census, the city of Štip had ...

conducted in the village of Gabrevci uncovered an early prehistoric community from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. Artifacts including ceramics and bronze implements are on display at the Museum in an exhibition room dedicated to the Gabrevci excavation. Konče has its contemporary origins as a Medieval-era religious and administrative seat. The oldest church in the municipality is located in the village of

and is dedicated to St. Stephen, dating to the fourteenth century. The church and associated monastery were built by Nikola Stajnevik, a Duke of Tsar

Dušan Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Душан) is a Slavic names, Slavic given name primarily used in the former Yugoslavia and the former Czechoslovakia. The name is derived from the Slavic noun ''duša'' "soul". Occurrence In Serbia, it was the 29th most po ...

and King

Uroš __NOTOC__ Uroš ( sr-Cyrl, Урош) is a South Slavic masculine given name used primarily by Slovenes and Serbs. This noun has been interpreted as "lords", because it usually appears in conjunction with ''velmõžie'' () "magnates", as in the phra ...

in 1366. This complex, especially the church in its artistic value, occupies an important place in the history of Macedonian medieval culture. There are still original frescoes on the churches walls.

Katarina Branković Katarina Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Катарина Бранковић, ; 1418–1492), also known as Kantakuzina (, ''Kantakouzena'') was the Countess of Celje, through the marriage with Counts of Celje, Count of Celje Ulrich II, Count of Celje, Ulr ...

(1418/19–1492), the Countess of

Celje Celje (, , ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, third-largest city in Slovenia. It is a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria and the administrative seat of the City Municipality of Celje. Th ...

and daughter of Despot Đurađ Branković and Byzantine princess Irene Kantakouzene, is buried in Konče. She is remembered for the

Varaždin Apostol The ''Varaždin Apostol'' ( sr-Cyrl, Вараждински апостол, ) is a hand-written Orthodox liturgical book written in 1454. It is named after the northern Croatian city of Varaždin. The book represents the oldest preserved text in ...

(1454), and her endowment of the Rmanj Monastery.

Geography

The Municipality of Konče is located in southeastern North Macedonia, about 150 km from the capital Skopje. The municipality is part of the Radovis region, and is statistically part of the

. Within the Municipality of Konče, there are 14 villages: Gabrevci, Garvan, Gorna Vrashtica, Gorni Lipovik, Dedino, Dolna Vrashtica, Dolni Lipovik, Dolni Radesh, Zagorci, Konche, Lubnica, Negrenovci, Rakitac, and Skorush. The center of the municipality is the village of Konče, from which the name of the municipality was derived. Some of these villages are currently not inhabited. Per the 2002 census, the municipality has a total population of 3,690 inhabitants with a population density of 15.17 inhabitants per square kilometer and a total area of 233.05 square kilometers. The municipality borders

Štip Municipality Štip ( ) is a municipality in eastern North Macedonia. '' Štip'' is also the name of the town where the municipal seat is found. This municipality is part of the Eastern Statistical Region. Geography Štip Municipality covers an area of 583.2 ...

to the north,

Radoviš Municipality Radoviš Municipality () is a municipality in eastern North Macedonia. Radoviš is the name of the city where the municipal seat is found. This municipality is part of the Southeastern Statistical Region. History The city of Radoviš was mentione ...

and

Vasilevo Municipality Vasilevo (; ) is a municipality in the eastern part of North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to t ...

to the east,

Negotino Municipality Negotino (, ) is a municipality in eastern North Macedonia. ''Negotino'' is also the name of the town where the municipal seat is found. Negotino Municipality is part of Vardar Statistical Region. Geography The municipality borders * Štip Muni ...

and

Demir Kapija Municipality Demir Kapija ( ) is a municipality in southern part of North Macedonia. ''Demir Kapija'', which means "iron door" or "iron gate" in Turkish, is also the name of the town where the municipal seat is found. Demir Kapija Municipality is part of the ...

to the west, and Strumica Municipality and

Valandovo Municipality Valandovo ( ) is a municipality in the southern part of North Macedonia. '' Valandovo'' is also the name of the town where the municipal seat is found. Valandovo Municipality is part of Southeastern Statistical Region. Geography The municipalit ...

to the south. Mount Serta is a mountain above the village of Konče and, in the south of the municipality, is the man-made lake Mantovo. The river Kriva Lakavica, a tributary of

Bregalnica Bregalnica (, ) is the second largest river in North Macedonia. It starts as a spring near the mountain city of Pehchevo and it passes through Berovo, Delchevo, near the cities of Makedonska Kamenica, Kočani, Vinica and Štip, before join ...

, runs through the municipality to the village Dolni Lipovikj.

Demographics

The municipality has 2,725 inhabitants according to the 2021 North Macedonia census. Ethnic groups in the municipality: The total number of students in the municipality in 2011, in comparison to the total number of students in 2007, increased for 6.5%. Konce is the second municipality in North Macedonia by rise of the total number of students.

Economy

Livestock, water management, forestry, and agriculture are the primary industries in the Municipality of Konče in addition to hunting and fishing tourism. The municipality produces a large quantity of high-quality tobacco,

Oriental tobacco Turkish tobacco is a small-leafed variety of tobacco. Its plants usually have a greater number and smaller size of leaves than American tobacco, and are typically sun-cured. These differences can be attributed to climate, soil, cultivation, and ...

, and more than 5% of the total tobacco production in North Macedonia is sourced from Konče. Most of the tobacco is produced by families on private land and is in turn sold to tobacco companies. Further, the municipality has recently partnered with the neighboring urban Municipality of Radoviš for economic development. The associated memorandum defines guidelines for this partnership through a new joint office for local economic development. This came as a result of current social and economic conditions and local authorities seeking improved synthesis of urban and rural sectors.

Administration

The current mayor of the Municipality of Konče is Zlatko Ristov. The municipal council consists of nine members and they are: * Ivana Ilova - President of the Council of the Municipality of Konce (village Lubnica) * Ismail Kurtov - council member (village Konče) * Andrijana Koceva - council member (village Dedino) * Zoran Manchevski - council member (village Rakitec) * Marjan Jankov - council member (village Gabrevci) * Marem Ismailov - council member (village Konče) * Ivana Stefanova - council member (village Lubnica) * Slavica Stefanova - council member (village Lubnica) * Žarko Trajkov - council member (village Dolni Lipovikj)

Inhabited places

The number of the inhabited places in the municipality is 14.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konce Municipality Southeastern Statistical Region Municipalities of North Macedonia