Tracing Archaeological Remains and Scholarly Research of the Central Powers in the Region of Prilep-Bitola during WW I (1915-1918)

Places

ID	Name	Class	Description
135236	Brusnik, Church of Sv. Dimitrij	Place	The Church of Sveti Dimitrij was damaged in the fighting along the Salonica Front during the First World War.
135031	Cable Railway Drenovo-Prilep	Place	The German Cable Railway Drenovo-Prilep had an overall length of 36,1 km. Its first part from Drenovo to Trojaci was opened on 10 June 1916 and its second part from Trojaci to Prilep on 29 June 1916.
135096	Crna Reka	Place	The attached German photograph from the First World War shows the valley of the river Crna (Crna Reka). An exact localisation is not provided.
135205	Crničani, German Military Cemetery	Place	The attached photographs prove the existence of a German military cemetery in the village of Crničani (entitled "Aufnahmen aus Mazedonien: Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof in Cericani").
135023	Drenovo, Railway Station Mackensen (Bahnstation Mackensen)	Place	The Railway Station Mackensen (Bahnstation Mackensen) was named after the German Field Marshal Anton Ludwig Friedrich August von Mackensen (1849-1945) and was built in the village of Drenovo on the narrow-gauge railway Gradsko-Prilep. This railway was opened in February 1917. At the same time, Drenovo was the starting point of a cable railway to the town of Prilep.
135045	Dunje, Station of the German Army Postal Service	Place	According to a photograph from 1917 a station of the German Army Postal Service (Deutsche Feldpost) existed in the village of Dunje.
135229	Gradešnica, Church of Sveti Nikola	Place	The Church of Sveti Nikola was damaged in the fighting along the Salonica Front during the First World War.
135093	Gradsko, Camp in the Back Area (Etappenlager)	Place	The attached photograph shows a German camp in the back area in Gradsko during the First World War.
135037	Kanatlarci	Place	During the First World War German troops were stationed in the village of Kanatlarci. In Kanatlarci a German Military Cemetery was located, which does not exist today.
135162	Kanatlarci, German Airfield	Place	Several German photographs from the First World War attest the existence of a German airfield in Kanatlarci. It was used by the JASTA (Jagdstaffel) 25. Its exact location is unknown for the time being.
135231	Krstoar, Church of Sveti Hristofor	Place	The Church of Sveti Hristofor was damaged in the fighting along the Salonica Front during the First World War.
134594	Manastir, Church of Saint Nicholas	Place	Written sources: The only source is three inscriptions, two in the interior of the church and one on the southern facade. Geographical location: Monastery church dedicated to St. Nikola is located in the village of Manastir, in the atar of Mariova, about 20 kilometers from the town of Prilep in the southeast direction. The monastery was built about 50 m south of the village, in the immediate vicinity of the Black River. The village of Manastir in Mariovo is located at latitude 41° 10' N and longitude 21° 43' E. The Mariovo region is an isolated, partly mountain area east of the Pelagon lowland.The natural defense of the monastery was supplemented by defensive walls that protected the monastery community. The southwest corner of this original defensive rampart (probably from the 11th century) is still visible today at a height of two meters. The monastery complex contained buildings necessary for the smooth functioning of the monastery community. Auxiliary buildings, of smaller dimensions, either stood freely in the space, concentrated in the center of the monastery courtyard, around the catholicon, or were placed along the walls. Conceptually, the monastery settlement was divided into three dedicated zones: sacral, residential and economic. Apart from the catholicon, the accompanying chapels and the necropolis, the monastery's dining room also belongs to the cult group, because here the meal follows strict rules and is followed by prayers. Epigraphic data: Type and place of the first inscription: The founder's inscription in the nave is preserved on the south and north walls. It is written between the first and second zones of the painting, in one line, in black letters on a white background, in the form of a strip framed by a red border. It is badly damaged and illegible in several places. The beginning is located on the west side of the corner pilaster on the south side of the altar apse, and the inscription then runs along the south wall and continues on the north wall. Text of the first inscription: ἐν ἔτειa ς χ γ ἐπὶ τῆς βασιλ(εί)ας τοῦ εὐσεβεστάτ(ου) βασιλέως καὶ αὐτοκράτωρ[ος] ̔Ρωμαίων κυρ(οῦ) Ἀλεξίου τοῦ Κομν[ηνοῦ]. Διελθὼνb ἐν τόδεc τόπ(ον) ὁ περιπώθητο(ς) θεῖο(ς) τῆς βασ(ι)λ(εί)ας αὐτ(ῆς), κυρ(ὸ)ς Ἀλέξιος ὁ πρωτ(ο)στράτ(ω)ρ καὶ ἀρεστ(ὸς)d τὸν τόπον ἀνήγυρενe ναὸν ἐκ βάθρων τοῦ ἐν ἁγίοις π(ατ)ρὸς ἡμῶν ἀρχ(ι)εράρχου καὶ θαυματουργ(οῦ) Νικολ(άου) ... καὶ τιμήσεως αὐτῶ διὰ χρυσοβού[λλου] κτήμ(ατα) οἶκα προκυρῶσ(ε) καθ(ῶς)f τὸ βρέβαιων παραδηλῶσειν.g Ὁ ναὸς γὰρ ἦν σμικρώτ(α)τ(ος),h σαθ(ρὸς),i ῥακοθ(εὶ)ς δὲ καὶ διατετρω[μένος] ἀρ(ρ)αγῆςj καὶ μὶ φ(έ)ρων ὁρᾶν τὴν τοῦ ναοῦ σβέσιν ὁ πανοσιώτ(ατος) καθηγ[ού]μ(ενος) τῆς μονῆς ὁ κυρ(ὸ)ς Ἰωαν(ν)ίκιο(ς), ὁ καὶ διὰ τοῦ ἁγίουk σχίματο(ς) ἐπωνο[μασθεὶς] Ἀκάκιος καὶl χωρέ[σας] ὑπ(ὲρ) χρη(μά)των ἀν(α) χωρ(εῖ)m τοῦτον θεῖαν εὐσ(εβ)ῆςn ἐπιχωρῖνo καὶ ἐν ὑπηρεσί[α] ἄγειν ὁ καὶ πρ[ο]καλ[έ]σα[ς]p τοὺς ἐν Χρ(ιστ)ῶ ἀδε[λφοὺς] αὐτοῦ ... ἅμα καὶ εὐθ[ὺς] χαλάσ[ας] τὴνq ἐκ(κ)λη σίανr ἀνήγυρενs ἐκ βάθρ(ων) τὸν πάνσεπτον ναὸν τοῦ[τον] καὶ οραΐσ(ας) καὶ καλεῖ ἐν αὐ[τοῖς] τὸν ἐν χρωματουργίμασιν πικυλοτρόπ(οις) καὶt ἐν βαθεῖ γνόμ(ονας) χεῖρ(ας) ταπινότ(α)τ(ος) Ἰω(άννης) διάκον(ος)u καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν κρίσεωνv τ[ῆς] ἁγιωτ(ά)τ(ης) ἀρχ(ι)επισκοπῆς, καὶ ... [ἐν ἔτει ἐξακισχιλιοστὸ] καὶ ἑπτακοσιοστό τε ο δ, ἰν(δικτιῶνο)ς θ, ἀνιστορίθι δὲ ἐν ἔτι ς ψ ο θ, ἰν(δικτιῶνο)ς ιδ, [ἐπὶ τῆς βασιλ]είας τοῦ εὐσεβεστάτου μεγ(ά)λ(ου) βασλέως καὶ αὐτοκράτωρος ̔Ρωμαίων Δοῦκα Ἀγγέλου Κομνηνοῦ Μιχαήλ τοῦ Παλαιολόγ(ου) καὶ Νέου Κωνσταντίνου Translation of the first inscription: In 6603, during the reign of the venerable emperor and autocrat Roman master (kyr) Alexios Komnenos, passing through this region, the amiable uncle of the empire, kyr Alexios the Protostrator, loved this place and built a temple from the ground up among the saints of our father archbishop and miracle worker Nicholas ... and, as befits, he confirmed with a chrysanthemum of possession, as it stands in the crowd. Since the temple was small, neglected, damaged and dilapidated, persevering and not being able to bear the decay of the temple, the most holy abbot of the monastery kyr Joanikije, called Akakije in the holy shima, assumed devotion to money and with the help of his fellow believers in Christ ... immediately after the demolition of the church from then he raised this most holy temple and invited it to be decorated with various colors by the skillful hand of humble John, deacon and ἐπὶ τῶν κρίσεων of the most holy Archbishopric, and... , [year six thousand and]5 seven hundred 74, indicta 9, and paintings of the year 6779, indicta 14, for the governments of the venerable great emperor and autocrat Roman Doukas Angelos Komnenos Michael Palaiologos and New Constantine. Тype and place of the second inscription: The long inscription in the fresco technique was written in Greek letters in the form of a thin strip and ran below the row of martyr busts, on the south and north walls of the central nave. Тext of the second inscription: δέησις τοῦ δού]λου τοῦ θ(ε)οῦ Ἀκακίου ἱερο(μον)άχ(ου) κ(αὶ) καθηγουμ(έ)νου [...]ορεντος. κ(αὶ) δευτέρου κτήτωρ[ος] Тranslation of the second inscription: Prayer of the servant of God Akakije, hieromonk and abbot ... and another founder. Тype and place of the third inscription: On the southern facade of the church, in at least eighteen lines visible today, a text was written which, exposed to the weather for a long time, was almost completely washed away to the point of illegibility. Тext of the third inscription: The text is badly damaged and some words can be read as well as the last two lines with the founder's name. ΑΝΔΡΟΝΙΚΟС εΝ Χ(ΡΙСΤ) ω Τ ω Θ( ε)ω ΠΙСΤΟС ΒΑС[ΙΛ εΥС] ... ΚΟΜΝΗΝΟС Ο ΠΑΛΑΙ[Ο]ΛΟ[ΓΟС]. The voluminous text with the ruler's name at the end undoubtedly points to the conclusion that the chrysobull that the monastery received from the Byzantine autocrat Andronikos II was inscribed there Palaeologus (1282–1328) Description of the church: Church of St. Nikole is the oldest precisely dated architectural and artistic monument from the 13th century in Macedonia. According to the long inscription, made in the fresco technique, construction work on the restored architecture of the church was completed in 1265/1266. Catholicon of the monastery of St. Nicholas is basically a three-nave basilica. On the east side, it ends with a three-sided central apse. Both side aisles end up in the east with a small apse. Inside, the space of the sanctuary and the pastophoria have the shape of a conch. The basilica inside is divided into three naves, of which the central one is vaulted with a semi-barrel vault, and the side aisles are covered with single-gable wooden roofs. The separation of the nave from aisles is achieved by massive masonry columns and pilasters resting on arches, on which the upper parts of the walls of the central nave rest. In the course of several archaeological investigations, the existence of the narthex was not established. The Church of St. Nicholas in the village of Manastir had two entrances, on the west and south sides. In the reconstruction in 1939, the entrance on the west was walled up. The south entrance has its original location. Archaeological and conservation works: The first remodeling of the church was done in the nineteenth century. Conservation works were carried out in 1939, about which there is a carved inscription above the western entrance to the church. Architectural dating: From the long founding inscription in Greek from 1271, we learn about two different periods in the history of the monastery. According to the inscription the church was originally built in 1095 by Protospator Alexios, uncle of Alexios I Komnenos. The church was restored by abbot Akakije, formerly Joanikije in 1265/1266. Facade decoration: The greatest attention was paid to the construction and treatment of the eastern facade of the Church of St. Nicholas. It carries within itself a clear projection of the structure of the inner space it encloses. The central apse dominates the eastern facade and is placed across the entire width of the main nave of the church. The main apse of the church is three-sided from the outside, and on each side there is a large niche that is set back from the plane of the wall. The two side niches of the main apse are blind, while in the lower part of the central niche there is a window in the form of a bifora. The entire northern wall of the church was plastered made during the reconstruction in the 19th century before the conservation work on the architecture began. After the conservation work, the plaster was removed from the facade, so that its wall become visible. The western facade of the church suffered serious damage due to shelling during the First World War. It was later rebuilt in 1939. According to previous researchers, the central part of the western facade was completely walled up in 1939. The lower part of the southern facade is today covered with plaster in several layers from different periods. On the easternmost part below the niches, plaster remains are visible, over which a "cloisonné" facade wall was painted in the fresco technique, imitating the combination of a horizontal row of bricks with two vertical bricks. To the left above these remains is another fragment of fresco plaster lying in the same plane as the painted "cloisonné", but it does not have a painted opus, but is most likely a remnant of a painted figure or composition. The painted surfaces on the western part of the southern facade are more complex and have already been subjected to analysis. It is believed that a few decades after 1266, the old layer of plaster with painted "cloisonné" technique was removed in order to install a new layer of fresco plaster on which the image of the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Paleologus was painted, according to the copy of his charter given to the church of Saint Nicholas in the village Manastir. Furthermore, the figures of Saint George and Saint Demetrius were also identified as part of the same composition. Over parts of this layer of plaster, later in 1327 or 1370, a new layer of fresco plaster was placed with a representation of an unknown person and the patron saint of the church of St. Nicholas. What can be concluded is that the basic concept in decorating this part of the church was the painting of the facade. This is clearly seen in the presentation of the model of the church in the founder’s composition, where the founder - monk Akakije and the patron of the temple Saint Nicholas are represented, and where the church is painted as if it was built in the "cloisonné" technique. It is difficult to determine to what height this painted imitation of construction technique extended today. It can be assumed that such decoration was not painted in blind niches, and if they were painted, then the figures of saints were represented in them. Furthermore, the parts of the composition in which Andronikos II Paleologus and his charter are depicted cannot be connected with the first layer of plaster placed on the facade of the church, for the simple reason that the time of the construction of the church - 1266, precedes the beginning of the reign of Andronikos II Paleologus (1282 -1328). Analysis of the founder: There are several possible identifications of Alexios Protostrator, the first founder of the monastery. According to Franja Barišić, Alexios was the uncle or cousin of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, who remained in this position for a short time and was therefore not recorded in narrative sources. According to Petrula Kostovska, Alexios, the founder of the monastery church, can be identified with a personality well known in historical sources. We are talking about Alexios Komnenos, the nephew of the brother of Emperor Alexios I, otherwise the brother of the renegade duke of Durrës, John Comnenоs. In 1106, we find him in the sources as the duke of Durrës (Dirachion), at the time when Durrës was threatened by Norman attacks, i.e. at the time when Durrës was besieged by Bohemond of Taranto. Second founder: From two preserved inscriptions in Greek on the walls of the church, we learn that Joanikije or Abbot Akakije was the second founder of the Monastery of St. Nicholas. According to the founding inscription, hieromonk and abbot Akakije tried to restore this monastery in all its glory and splendor with his own funds in 1265/1266. The third date 1270/1271 gives us the year of completion of the restoration and painting of the church. Founder’s portrait: In the lower parts of the southern wall of the northern nave, the space between the first and second pillar is walled up in order to provide an adequate surface for painting of the founder’s composition. The composition is quite damaged and St. Nicholas, the patron saint of the church, who leads the founder by the hand towards Christ on the throne, is barely recognizable. The founder is visibly shorter than St. Nikola, and the lower part of the body was destroyed. However, the preserved head and torso allow us a precise description. The face is painted in a three-quarter perspective. A portrait of an elderly man with a high forehead and sparse hair was presented. His beard is wide and not very long, and he is holding a model of the church in his hands. The model of the church shows the painted cellular method of masonry, indicating the original way of decorating the facade of the church. The founder is dressed in a whitish felon with accented ruddy shadows and a hood that falls on his shoulders. A barely visible embroidered epimanikion artistically confirms one of the titles from the short founding inscription. Founder's Tomb: In the monastery, graves were recently discovered under the floor of the northern nave, which, judging by the absence of material grave finds, probably belonged to members of the monastic community. It is not excluded that the founder of Akakije was also buried in one of these graves. Not by chance, the founder's composition was painted under the scene of the Last Judgment, which occupies the upper parts of the walls of the northern aisle and, together with the portraits of numerous monastic figures in the lowest zone, embodies a complex idea of intercession in favor of the founder and abbot of the Monastery Akakija. Painting: The walls of the church are decorated with frescoes. The entire decoration is relatively well preserved, except for the vault and the western wall of the central nave, where the original frescoes were lost due to the reconstruction, as well as in parts of the northern and southern naves. The walls of the church are divided into horizontal strips. The altar apse is divided into three zones where complex liturgical compositions and themes are painted, and the side walls of the sanctuary are occupied by individual figures and busts of bishops and deacons. The only composition painted in the altar, which nominally belongs to the festive cycle, is the Annunciation, but the remains of the Mandylion are also visible. In the central nave, the south and north walls are divided, from top to bottom, into the zone of Great Feasts, where the scenes are separated from each other by a red frame; below it is a zone of an uninterrupted row of busts of martyrs; followed by a frieze in which a long founding inscription is written. The walls of the columns and pilasters are occupied by standing figures; while two friezes with Old Testament figures are painted on the lower spaces between the central nave and side aisles. The side aisles are very similarly designed. The higher southern wall of the northern aisle and the northern wall of the southern aisle are divided into three zones, and the opposite walls in the same aisles, due to their lower height, only into two zones. The west wall of the north aisle, despite the damage, appears to have been divided into three registers, the lower of which was filled with standing figures of monks, which continued on the north wall as well as on the pillar walls. The highest parts of the northern aisle were reserved for the complex composition of the Last Judgment, which consists of several segments. The western wall of the southern aisle contained, on its entire surface, the composition of Jacob's Ladder, and in the upper zone of the same nave there are scenes from the patron cycle of the temple of St. Nicholas. The lowest zone of the southern nave is painted with different categories of saints, including: bishops, holy doctors, warrior saints, apostles, hermits, monks, and holy women. On the south wall, below the central protagonists of the composition of the Last Judgment, stretches a belt of damaged busts of saints. The founder's composition is painted on the surface obtained by walling up the last two pillars. In terms of decoration, the northern aisle reveals many original details in the design of the space and the iconography of the program. Dating: From the data in the founding inscription the painting was executed in 1270/1271 Painters: In the monastery church of St. Nikola, due to the size of the building, probably four painters worked. From the data in the founding inscription, we learn that the construction work around the church was completed in 1266/1267 year, and painting in 1270/1271. Therefore, either the painting of the church did not start immediately, or the painters needed several years to complete the started activities. Several painters or assistants participated in the painting of the monastery church. This is evidenced by the frescoes themselves, which differ in the style of processing. The whole painted ensemble at first glance looks very diverse, as if it was painted by many different hands, in terms of quality, understanding and stylistic preferences. A few years after the completion of the ensemble in the Monastery, the fourth most talented artist, began to paint the church of the Archangel Michael Monastery in Varoš. The Church of Saint Nicholas was damaged in the fighting along the Salonica Front during the First World War.
135154	Melnica	Place	The attached photograph shows Bulgarian officers in the village of Melnica, which helps us to identify the extent of control of the Central Powers in the region.
135049	Ohrid, Trpejca	Place	This German photograph shows part of the shores of Lake Ohrid. It is entitled "Die alte Festung Orchrida (Mazed.) Partie an der Felsenküste des Orchrida-Sees. Im Hintergrund die albanischen Schneeberge." Its title is misleading. The photograph does not show the town of Ohrid, but most probably the surrounding area of the village of Trpejca.
135193	Pletvar, Transportation Hub of the Central Powers	Place	Photographs from the First World War attest the existence of a transportation hub in the village of Pletvar.
135015	Podmol	Place	An old photograph of Podmol, dated to 3 November 1917, shows German troops resting in front of a house. This photograph was found in Wikipedia. Its source is unfortunately unknown.
135149	Polčište	Place	In September 1918 the Serbian Army entered the village of Polčište.
135158	Prilep, German Airfield	Place	Several German photographs from the First World War attest the existence of a German airfield in Prilep. It was used by the JASTA (Jagdstaffel) 25. Its exact location is unknown for the time being.
135142	Prilep, German Military Cemetery	Place	Heinrich Ebert, the 19 year old son of Friedrich Ebert (1871-1925), the first President of Germany from 1919 until 1925, died in the military hospital in Prilep on 14 February 1917 and was buried in the German Military Cemetery in Prilep.
135042	Prilep, Hospital of the German 11th Army	Place	According to a photograph from Pentecost 1918 the German 11th Army had its own hospital in Prilep, which was used for the treatment of civilians after the defeat of the Central Powers in 1918.
135058	Prilep, Monastery of Saint Archangel Michael	Place	This photograph from 1915 shows the Monastery of Saint Archangel Michael (Varoški manastir) in the town of Prilep from the South. Above the monastery, the fortress of Markovi Kuli can be discerned on the hilltop. In the right corner of the photograph the ruin of the church "Sveti Atanasij" can be seen.
135186	Prilep, Ottoman Barracks and German Field Hospital	Place	The German photographs attest the existence of a German field hospital (Feldlazarett 210) in the courtyard of the former Ottoman barracks in Prilep.
135104	Prilep, Ottoman Bridge "Kjemerlija" and "White Mosque"	Place	Photographs, which were made during the First World War, show two monuments in Prilep, which have been destroyed. The first was a mosque called "Akmescit" ("White Mosque"). Neither the year of its erection, nor the year of its destruction are known. The second was an Ottoman stone bridge called "Kjemerlija" over the river Dabnica (Dabnička Reka), which was built at the end of the 19th century. It had three arches, was 12 m long and 4,95 m wide. The Macedonian word "kjemer" means "arched". The remnants of the bridge were torn down after 2012 and were replaced by a roundabout.
135244	Prilep, Ottoman Mosque "kaj Zibijata"	Place	The attached photographs show an Ottoman Mosque in a part of Prilep, which is called "kaj Zibijata". The mosque was apparently in ruins during the First World War. There is neither evidence on the building's history nor on the date of its destruction. The term "zibija" points to a site, where leather is processed.
135132	Prilep, Parking Place of the Central Powers	Place	The attached photograph shows the parking place of the Central Powers in Prilep during the First World War and the elevation Markovi Kuli in the background. Today, the stadium Goce Delčev is located on this spot.
135166	Prilep, Pilots' Mess of the JASTA 25	Place	German photographs from the First World War attest the existence of a pilots' mess of the JASTA (Jagdstaffel) 25 in Prilep. When the Serbian and French Armies took control of Prilep on 23 September 1918, the French documented some of the wall paintings in the former German pilots' mess as well. The exact location of the pilots' mess in the city is unknown.
135127	Prilep, Railway Station	Place	The attached photograph shows the railway station of the Central Powers in Prilep during the First World War.
135375	Prilep, Serbian Military Barracks and German Military Hospital	Place	The attached French photograph from the First World War has a French inscription, which reads: "Ancien hopitâl [sic!] Boche établi dans les casernes serbes. (Lazareth 210) Prilep." It informs us that the German Army had established a military hospital in the former military barracks of the Serbian Army in Prilep during the First World War. "Boche" was a pejorative term used by the Allies for the Germans (based on "tête de boche", which had the meaning of "tête carrée d'Allemand", German blockhead or imbécile). Today the military barracks still exist, are used by the army of North Macedonia and are called military barracks "Mirče Acev", named after the Communist partisan Mirče Acev (1915-1943). There is no trace of the Ottoman funerary monument, which is shown on the French photograph.
135033	Prilep, Sutlership of the German 11th Army	Place	The attached photograph shows French colonial soldiers in Prilep, who were captured by the German army. In the right part of the photograph we see a sign with the German inscription "Zur Marketenderei XI. Armee." and a directional arrow. This is proof for the existence of a sutlership, a sutler being a merchant who accompanied an army in order to sell provisions to the soldiers.
135345	Prilep, Turkish Cemetery No. 1	Place	German photographs from the First World War attest the existence of a Turkish cemetery in the South of Prilep.
135347	Prilep, Turkish Cemetery No. 2	Place	German photographs from the First World War attest the existence of a Turkish cemetery to the North-West of Prilep.
135112	Prilep, Wooden Bridge "Galata"	Place	The attached photograph from the First World War shows a wooden bridge, which crossed the Prilepska Reka. Its localisation is based on the background of the photograph, which shows the clock tower (Saat Kula) and the Mosque Čarši Džamija. The naming of the bridge is puzzling and cannot be explained for the time being.
135075	Rasim Begov Bridge	Place	The German photograph from the First World War shows the wooden bridge made beside the old stone bridge of Rasim Beg, which crosses the river Crna Reka.
135124	Road Drenovo Prilep	Place	The attached photograph shows a section of the road constructed by the Central Powers between Drenovo and Prilep during the First World War. Serbian prisoners of war and Bulgarian soldiers can be discerned on the photograph.
135007	Road Tunnel and Road of the German Emperor Wilhelm II	Place	In 1916 the German Emperor and King of Prussia Wilhelm II (reigned 1888-1918) ordered his troops to build a road tunnel and road in the valley of the river Vardar. The German inscription at the Western entrance of the tunnel reads: "Wilhelm II Deutscher Kaiser König von Preussen befahl seinen Soldaten diese Strasse zu bauen 1916". Below this inscription is another one, which reads: "Erbaut von der Baudirektion der 11. Armee 1.5.1916-8.7.1916". The road and its tunnel are used today by local traffic.
135052	Skopje, An Albanian Suburb	Place	This German photograph shows an Albanian suburb of Skopje, where German troops had been stationed. It is entitled "Leben und Treiben vor den Albanesenhütten in der Vorstadt Ueskübs, in denen auch deutsche Truppen einquartiert sind."
135055	Skopje, Marketplace	Place	This German photograph shows the marketplace in Skopje during the First World War. It is entitled "Das internationale Leben und Treiben auf dem grossen Markt zu Uesküb (Mazedon)."
135212	Skopje, Railway Station	Place	The attached photographs show the railway station in Skopje during the First World War.
135083	Skopje, Sultan Murat Mosque	Place	The Sultan Murat Mosque was built by the Ottoman Sultan Murat II (reigned 1421-1451) in 1436. It is the oldest surviving mosque in Skopje and was restored several times (for example in the 18th century and in 1912). The German photograph from 1916 shows the entrance to the mosque in the North.
135233	Trap, Church of Sv. Petka	Place	The Church of Sveta Petka was damaged in the fighting along the Salonica Front during the First World War.
135120	Trojaci, German Narrow-Gauge Railway Station and Cable Railway Station	Place	The German Cable Railway Drenovo-Prilep had an overall length of 36,1 km. Its first part from Drenovo to Trojaci was opened on 10 June 1916 and its second part from Trojaci to Prilep on 29 June 1916. The attached photographs show the German narrow-gauge railway station and the cable railway station (Feld- und Drahtseilbahnhof).
135115	Vodovrati, Mosque	Place	German (?) photographs from the First World War show men and children in front of the mosque in the village of Vodovrati. Unfortunately, the building itself is not shown, only very small parts of it. Today, there is still a mosque in the village, which seems to be this old mosque, but renovated in the meantime.
135226	Čebren	Place	The Monastery of Čebren was damaged in the fighting along the Salonica Front during the First World War.