Gevgelija (; ) is a town with a population of 15,685 located in the very southeast 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 ...

along the banks of the

Vardar River The Vardar (; , , ) or Axios (, ) is the longest river in North Macedonia and a major river in Greece, where it reaches the Aegean Sea at Thessaloniki. It is long, out of which are in Greece, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of ...

, situated at the country's main border with

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

(Bogorodica-

Evzoni Evzonoi (, , before 1927: Ματσίκοβο - ''Matsikovo'', , , , ''Machukovo'') is a town in Kilkis regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. The main border crossing between Greece and North Macedonia is located here. The village across the ...

), the point which links the motorway from

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 ...

and three regional capitals,

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, and

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

with

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

. The town is the seat of

Gevgelija municipality Gevgelija ( Macedonian: Општина Гевгелија, ''Opština Gevgelija'') is a municipality in the southern part of North Macedonia. '' Gevgelija'' is also the name of the town where the municipal seat is found. Gevgelija Municipality is ...

Name

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

the town is called ''Gevgelija'' (Гевгелија). It is known as ''Yevyeli'' (Γευγελή) in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, ''Gevgeli'' () in Bulgarian, ''Đevđelija'' (, ) in

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

and ''Gevgeli'' in

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

. Furthermore, in Megleno-Romanian, the city is known as . Gevgelija is known as the "Balkan Las Vegas". Gevgeli Tsouflia school

History

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Gevgelija was part of the

Salonica Vilayet The Vilayet of Salonica () was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire from 1867 to 1913. In the late 19th century it reportedly had an area of .

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. According to the statistics of the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

geographer Alexandre Synvet, the town had a total Christian population of 290 families (1.740 people) in 1878, consisting of 35 Bulgarian Christian ones and 255 Greek Christian families.Synvet, A.
Les Grecs de l'Empire ottoman: Etude statistique et ethnographique
Constantinople ("L Orient illustre") 1878, p. 50, ΑΡΒ 1366 The town had also 4 Greek schools. According to

Bulgarian Exarchate The Bulgarian Exarchate (; ) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953. The Exarchate (a de facto autocephaly) ...

secretary Dimitar Mishev (D. M. Brancoff), in 1905 the town had a population of 4,375 Christians, consisting of 2.240 Patriarchist

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

(

Grecomans Grecomans or Graecomans (; ; ; ; ; ) is a pejorative term used in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Romania, and Albania to characterize Albanian-speaking, Aromanian-speaking, and Slavic-speaking people who self-identify as ethnic Greeks. In the region ...

), 1.840 Exarchist Bulgarians, 80 Serbian Patriarchist Bulgarians (

Serbomans Serbomans (Serbo-Croatian and , ''srbomani''; ; ) is a Bulgarian pejorative term used by Bulgarian nationalists for inhabitants in the region of Macedonia that claimed Serbian ethnicity (declared as Serbs) and supported Serbian national ideals u ...

), 8 Uniat Bulgarians, 90

Roma people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , ...

, 72 Vlachs (

Megleno-Romanians The Megleno-Romanians, also known as Meglenites (), Moglenite Vlachs or simply Vlachs (), are an Eastern Romance ethnic group, originally inhabiting seven villages in the Moglena region spanning the Pella and Kilkis regional units of Central ...

), 30

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

and 15

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

.Dimitri Mishev and D. M. Brancoff
''La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne''
p. 194 From 1929 to 1941, Gevgelija was part of the

Vardar Banovina The Vardar Banovina, or Vardar Banate ( Macedonian and ; ), was a province ( banate) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. History It was located in the southernmost part of the country, encompassing the whole of today's North Mace ...

of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...

Transport

The town is served by Gevgelija railway station, outside the city limits on its eastern edge.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census, the town of Gevgelija had 15,685 residents, most of whom were

ethnic Macedonians Macedonians ( ) are a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. The large majority of Macedonians identify as Eastern Orthodox Christians, ...

.Macedonian census, language and religion
/ref> As of 2021, the village of Gevgelija has 15,156 inhabitants and the ethnic composition was the following: * Macedonians – 13,621 *

Aromanians The Aromanians () are an Ethnic groups in Europe, ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian language, Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgari ...

– 260 *

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

– 196 *

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...

– 53 *

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

– 21 *

– 8 *

Bosniaks The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

– 8 * others – 134 * Person without Data – 855

Geography

Located between the mountains

Kožuf Kožuf Mountain () or Tzena / Zona () is a mountain situated in the southern part of North Macedonia and northern part of Greece. Associated village names are Konopište, North Macedonia, Konopište, Kavadarci and Gevgelija. is a mineral springw ...

and Pajak only from

and from

, the town acts as a rail depot between the two countries, making it a central location in its region. Its position in the south of the country gives it a warm

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(''Csa'' classification), making it the optimal location in North Macedonia for cultivation of fruits and vegetables such as figs, lemons, and grapes. The town is also a centre for raising

silkworms ''Bombyx mori'', commonly known as the domestic silk moth, is a moth species belonging to the family Bombycidae. It is the closest relative of '' Bombyx mandarina'', the wild silk moth. Silkworms are the larvae of silk moths. The silkworm is of ...

, an integral part of the country's silk trade. Alongside its agriculture, Gevgelija's economy consists of a light industry sector. Tourism is growing, with a spa located in a nearby village.

Climate

Gevgelija has a

hot-summer mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''Csa'').

Sports

Local football club

FK Kožuf FK Kozhuf () is a football club from Gevgelija, North Macedonia. They are currently competing in the Macedonian Second League. History The club was founded in 1922. They played in the Macedonian First League back in 1994–95 under the name Ko ...

have played in the

Macedonian First Football League The Macedonian First Football League (), also called Macedonian First League, 1. MFL, and Prva Liga, is the highest professional football competition in Macedonia. It is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of ...

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Gevgelija is twinned with:

Notable people

Gallery

Gevgelija, panorama na razglednica, 1930ti.jpg, Postcard of Gevgelija, 1930s Gevgelija, skolo na razglednica od 1930ti.jpg, Postcard of Gevgelija, Primary School in 1930s Izgradba na most kaj Malosiste Gevgelisko, 1950te.jpg, The construction of the bridge near Malosiste, Gevgelija. The bridge connects the motorway Ljubljana-Gevgelija (1950s).

References

External links

Gevgelija Photo Essay
– Photos of Gevgelija
Official website of the municipality of Gevgelija
– Website with detailed information and history of Gevgelija {{Authority control Cities in North Macedonia Greece–North Macedonia border crossings Gevgelija Municipality