Kočani medieval towers are located in

Kočani Kočani ( ) is a town in the eastern part of North Macedonia, situated around east from Skopje. It has a population of 24,632 as of 2021 and is the seat of the Kočani Municipality. Geography The town spreads across the Northern side of the K ...

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 ...

. They were probably built in the second half of the 17th century, when the city was under Ottoman administration. Impact in construction had

oriental The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

According to current findings, in

and its immediate surroundings were built three medieval towers, two of which are located in the city, situated on both banks of the Kočani river, while the third is located in the village of

Dolni Podlog Dolni Podlog () is a village in the municipality of Kočani, 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 ...

. Those were

bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...

's residential towers. In fact, those residential towers had defensive position, and one of them was used as a

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...

. It is located near the elementary school "Rade Kratovce and served to indicate the hours by sound in earlier times. Constructed of massive walls of

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

, they left until nowadays as the signs of the past of Kočani. In 1957, the National Authority for Protection of Monuments put under the Law protection both towers in the city. Srednovekovna kula vo Kocani1

Renovation and function

The medieval tower, located on the right bank of the

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

in the downtown area, situated between residential buildings, is dominant in space with its height by 18.5 meters. In 1978 the City Council made a decision for revitalization, after which the tower may be used again. Current position of the tower: * Basement -

sanitation Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...

; * Ground floor -

numismatic Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inclu ...

collection; * I floor -

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

collection; * II floor -

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

; Unfortunately, the tower on the left side of the river has not been amended and is in poor condition. Currently it has no purpose. {{DEFAULTSORT:Kocani Medieval Towers Archaeological sites in North Macedonia Kočani Towers in North Macedonia Tower houses