Kočani

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Kočani
Кочани
Coat of arms of Kočani
Coat of arms
Motto: City of rice and geothermal water - Град на оризот и гєотермалната вода
Kočani (Republic of Macedonia )
Kočani
Kočani
Location within Macedonia
Coordinates: 41°55′N 22°25′E / 41.917, 22.417
Country Flag of the Republic of Macedonia Macedonia
Municipality Kocani
Founded 1337 [1]
Council 19 members
Government
 - Mayor Ljubomir Janev
Area
 - Total 18.6 km² (7.2 sq mi)
Highest elevation 420 m (1,378 ft)
Lowest elevation 350 m (1,148 ft)
Population
 - Total 28,330
 - Density 1,523.1/km² (3,944.9/sq mi)
  92,95% Macedonians
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 - Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Area code(s) ++ 389 33
Car plates ŠT
Official language macedonian
Geothermal water temperature 78°C
Settlements 28
Website: www.kocani.gov.mk

Kočani (Macedonian: Кочани), the Town of Rice and geothermal water is a town only 120 kilometres (75 mi) away from Skopje, situated in the Eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The town of Kočani is a seat of the Kočani municipality.

Contents

[edit] Geography and population

The town spreads across the Northern side of the Kočani valley, along the banks of the Kočani river, right where it leaves the mountain slopes and flows through the valley. North of the town there is the Osogovo mountain (2,252 m/7,388 ft) and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) away to the south the valley is closed by the mountain Plačkovica (1,754 m/5,755 ft). The town is 350 - 450 m (1,150-1,375 ft) above sea level.

Kočani spreads over an area of 18.6 square kilometres (7.2 sq mi) and has population of 28,330 inhabitants which makes it the third regional center in the Eastern part of the country:

  • 1984 - 6,657 inhabitants
  • 1994 - 26,364 inhabitants
  • 2002 - 28,330 inhabitants

[edit] Ethnic structure

[edit] Religious denomination

[edit] Climate

Kočani city center
Kočani city center

The climate is mild-continental, influenced by altered Mediterranean climate which penetrates along the river Bregalnica. The average temperature is 12.9 °C (55.2 °F) with 538 mm (21.2 in) rainfall.

[edit] History

Kočani was first mentioned in a charter from 1337 in which Despot Jovan Oliver donated the church of St. Dimitrija to Kočani.

Archaeological finds in the town itself have revealed remains of a settlement here in the Roman and Byzantine periods. Early in the 15th century it fell under Turkish rule. The travel chronicler Evliya Chelebi, who visited it in 1662, recorded that it had 600 households, a mosque, a mezjid, an inn and 15 shops. During the 18th and in the early 19th century, the town growth rate stagnated. It was only around 1878 that the population began to rise, at which time it had about 450 - 500 households. The town has two feudal residences in the shape of towers believed to date from the 16th - 17th century.

[edit] Monuments

Numerous cultural and historical monuments, from ancient times to the middle ages, can be found in the vicinity of Kočani. Monastery complexes in the nearby villages Morodviz and Pantelej are world famous both for their architecture and unique frescoes.

[edit] Features

St. George Orthodox church in Kočani
St. George Orthodox church in Kočani

Today Kočani is a modern town with planned infrastructure, avenues, many modern buildings and blocks of flats, a shopping centre, a park and a newly built industrial zone. All this is carefully planned and structured, according to modern standards of living and esthetics. New suburbs are mainly built to the east where the town almost reaches the first houses of Orizari and to the West spreading over the industrial zone.

[edit] Town partnerships

Kočani maintains partnership links with the following places:

[edit] References

Freedom Monument in Kočani
Freedom Monument in Kočani
  1. ^ "Kočani" (history) (Macedonian).

[edit] External links


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Cities and towns in the Republic of Macedonia