Konče ( mk, ) is a municipality in the eastern part of

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

. '' Konče'' 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 ( mk, Југоисточен Регион) is one of eight statistical regions of North Macedonia. Southeastern, located in the southeastern part of the country, borders Greece and Bulgaria. Internally, it borde ...

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

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

, 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 ( mk, Штип ) 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 2002 census, the city ...

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

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. 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 Konče 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 given name primarily used in countries of Yugoslavia; and among Slovaks and Czechs. The name is derived from the Slavic noun ''duša'' "soul". Occurrence In Serbia, it was the 29th most popular name ...

and King Uroš 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, gr, Καταρίνα Μπράνκοβιτς; 1418/19–1492), also known as Kantakuzina (, ''Kantakouzena'') was the Countess of Celje, through the marriage with Count of Celje U ...

(1418/19–1492), the Countess of

Celje ) , pushpin_map = Slovenia , pushpin_label_position = left , pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Cou ...

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, hr, Varaždinski apostol) is a hand-written Orthodox liturgical book written in 1454. It is named after the northern Croatian city of Varaždin. The book represents the ...

(1454), and her endowment of the

Rmanj Monastery The Rmanj Monastery ( sr, Манастир Рмањ, Manastir Rmanj) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery dedicated to Saint Nicholas and located in Martin Brod in north-western Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the left bank of the Unac River near its confl ...

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 ( mk, Штип ) 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 ar ...

to the north,

Radoviš Municipality Radoviš Municipality ( mk, Општина Радовиш) 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. Histor ...

and

Vasilevo Municipality Vasilevo ( mk, ) is a municipality in the eastern part of North Macedonia. '' Vasilevo'' is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found. Vasilevo Municipality is part of the Southeastern Statistical Region. Demographics Accor ...

to the east,

Negotino Municipality Negotino ( mk, Неготино, ) 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 ...

and

Demir Kapija Municipality Demir Kapija ( mk, Демир Капија ) 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 ...

to the west, and

Strumica Municipality Strumica ( mk, Струмица ) is a municipality located in the eastern part of North Macedonia. '' Strumica'' is also the name of the city where the municipal seat is found. Strumica Municipality is part of the Southeastern Statistical Region ...

and

Valandovo Municipality Valandovo ( mk, Валандово ) 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. Geog ...

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 Berovo and it passes near the cities of Makedonska Kamenica, Kočani, Vinica and Štip, before joining the river Vardar on its way t ...

, runs through the municipality to the village Dolni Lipovikj.

Demographics

The municipality has 2,725 residents according to the 2021 Macedonian 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.Во основните училишта за 10 години дури 46.500 ученици помалку
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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, or Oriental tobacco, is a highly aromatic, small-leafed variety of tobacco which is sun-cured. Turkish tobacco plants usually have a greater number and smaller size leaves. These differences can be attributed to climate, soil, cu ...

, 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 Municipalities of North Macedonia