Maps of Power

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
136009 Belovodica, German Military Road Place A French map of the German military infrastructure in the region of Prilep and Bitola during the First World War, which is preserved in the archive of the Ecole française d'Athènes (EfA), hints to the existence of a German military road and a cable railway between the villages of Belovodica and Dunje. During our survey in May 2025 we tried to find remnants of both in situ. No traces of the cable railway were to be seen, but substantial remnants of the German military road, especially between the village of Belovodica and the pass of Ligurasa (1152 m above sea level).
135775 Bitola, German Military Cemetery Place The Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge began building the military cemetery in Bitola in 1932. The site is located on a mountain on the North-Western edge of today's Bitola over which the front line ran during a battle in 1916. German soldiers who died between 1915 and 1918 during the fighting on the Salonica Front are buried in Bitola. The cemetery is surrounded by a thick circular wall made of granite blocks. The entrance hall, built in the shape of a tower, is also made of the same material. The German Military Cemetery in Bitola was designed by Robert Tischler, who worked as chief architect of the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge from 1926 to 1959. He designed several military cemeteries and developed the concept of the so-called "Castles of the Dead" ("Totenburgen"), which were mostly built on hilltops and are strongly reminiscent of fortifications due to their design. The military cemetery in Bitola is another example of such a "Castle of the Dead". The construction work took almost five years, partly because the required heavy granite blocks had to be transported over a long distance. On 25 October 1936 the military cemetery, where 3,400 dead rest, was inaugurated. A local company repaired the site in 1969. In the course of time some granite blocks and large parts of the mosaic laid in the roof of the hall had become loose. The granite blocks could be rejoined or replaced. However, the mosaic depicting an eagle could not be saved. As a replacement, the German artists Franz Grau and Josef Eberl created a sgraffito that still exists today. Since the 1970s a road tunnel is crossing through the mountain on which the military cemetery in Bitola is located.
135236 Brusnik, Church of Sveti Dimitrij Place The Church of Sveti Dimitrij was erected in the first half of the 19th century and damaged in the fighting along the Salonica Front during the First World War. It was renovated between 1922 and 1926.
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").
135936 Dolenci, German Railway Bridge Place During our survey in May 2025 we were looking for the German narrow-gauge railway between the city of Prilep and the village of Kažani based on the attached map of the German railways in Macedonia during the First World War. Since our search for railway tracks was not successful in the village of Kažani itself, we turned to surveying the surrounding area. A local peasant called Fatmir described exactly to us where to find the only remnants in the region in the form of blocks of concrete. We managed to trace these remnants, which turned out to be the base of a railway bridge belonging to the aforesaid narrow-gauge railway, which is a sensational find indeed.
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.
135900 Elevation 1050 Place The Elevation 1050 (Кота 1050, Höhe 1050) was an important strategic position on the Salonica Front during the First World War. After the conquest of the peak Kajmakčalan by the Allied Forces in late September 1916, the fighting moved near the town of Bitola and the river Crna Reka. The Allied armies entered Bitola on 19 November 1916, after which the Central Powers retreated to the mountains around Bitola, from where the city was bombarded for a period of almost two years. The German Army realised that the loss of the Elevation 1050 would put the defense of all their positions in the bow of the river Crna Reka into question and would open the road for the conquest of Central Macedonia, so it put a great effort in its defense. Both warring sides paid great attention to this location, and a huge number of soldiers gave their lives in this area. After the transition to trench warfare, there was a reorganisation of the Allied armies, and this part of the Salonica Front was assigned to the Italian Army. In 1917 the Allied forces made an unsuccessful attempt to win the Elevation 1050, after which the Italian Army lost 68 officers and 2,149 soldiers and the Second Russian Brigade about 1,000 soldiers. During our survey on the Elevation 1050 in May 2025 we came across remnants of the German trenches and fortified positions.
135229 Gradešnica, Church of Sveti Nikola Place The Early Modern Church of Sveti Nikola (St. Nicholas) in the village of Gradešnica was built in the year 1862. On a German photograph from the First World War we are able to discern that the church was severely damaged during the fierce fighting along the Salonica Front. A Serbian inscription above the entrance states that the enemy destroyed the church in 1918 and that it was restored in 1923 during the reign of the King of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Aleksandar I Karadjordjević (reigned 1921-1934).
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.
135791 Gradsko, German Military Cemetery Place To the South-West of the village of Gradsko, i.e. in its immediate vicinity, is located a German Military Cemetery in the fields, which has not been documented by the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge so far. Once it was an impressive monumental complex, which is today in ruins. The main feature of the cemetery was a monument, showing a wounded German soldier in the middle, being led by two German soldiers on the left and the right. Photographs from the 1930s convey the monument's impressive dimensions. In front of the monument tombstones of German soldiers are to be found. At an unknown date (during or after the Second World War?) the site has been destroyed and remains in ruins. Since we only managed to find the cemetery at nightfall during our survey in May 2025, our photographs were taken in the dark. Still, the only existing feature of the monument, the boots of the German soldiers, can be discerned.
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.
135742 Kažani, German Narrow-Gauge Railway and Road Bridge Place During our survey in May 2025 we visited the village of Kažani looking for the German narrow-gauge railway and its terminal station based on the attached map of the German railways in Macedonia during the First World War. Miloš, an inhabitant of the village, provided us with the information that no tracks are in place anymore. He showed us a field, where tracks were to be found in former times, but which were used after the Second World War to build an apartment building with armoured concrete. We came across a road bridge in the village's center, which is similar to the German bridge at the road to Prisad.
135231 Krstoar, Church of Sveti Hristofor Place The Church of Sveti Hristofor is an Early Modern church, which was severely damaged in the fighting at the Salonica Front during the First World War and was restored in the interwar period. Originally, the church was erected in 1837. Photographs, preserved in France in the “Ministère de la Culture – Médiathèque de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine”, reveal that the church was destroyed by French artillery in 1916/17. This is clearly stated by the caption of the photograph: “Le Monastère détruit par notre artillerie”. According to a Serbian inscription above the entrance in the North, the church was renovated in 1925 during the reign of the King of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Aleksandar I Karadjordjević (reigned 1921-1934).
135829 Mariovo, German War Relics Place During a survey in June 2016 in the region of Mariovo Mihailo Popović came across German war relics (helmets, barbed wire etc.) from the First World War exhibited by the locals in their villages.
135968 Meglenci, Elevation Gradište, German Fortified Position Place During our survey in the area of research in May 2025 we came across the remnants of a German fortified position from the First World War embedded in an elevation called Gradište, which lies ca. 2,5 km South-South-West of the Elevation 1050 and, thus, formed a crucial part of the German defences on the Salonica Front.
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. A German photograph documents the Church of Sveti Ilija in Melnica, which is also called Vitoliški Manastir or Melnički Manastir. It was erected in the years 1870-1872, and its frescoes painted in 1881.
746 Monastery of Treskavec Place The Monastery of the Holy Mother of God known as Treskavec is located to the North of the city of Prilepat below the rocky mountain peak Zlatovrv. The oldest part of its main church (katholikon), dedicated to the Dormition of the Holy Mother of God, dates back to the end of the 12th century or the first half of the 13th century, whereas considerable construction works in the same church were carried out during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos (reigned 1282-1328) and several decades later, between 1330 and 1350. The upper part of one of the attached photographs shows the Monastery of Treskavec during the First World War. Its title "Kloster Varos" is misleading, because this monastery lies, as mentioned above, in the mountains to the North of the town of Prilep and is not situated in the Old Town (Varoš) of Prilep. During our survey in the area of research in May 2025 we took a photograph from the same angle as the one published in Bilder vom mazedonischen Kriegsschauplatz (München 1919), which facilitates a comparison and helps us to understand, in which way the monument has changed over time.
135845 Mountain Visoka, German War Relics Place During a survey on the mountain Visoka (1,471 m above sea level) in October 2006 the renowned archaeologist Viktor Lilčikj Adams found German war relics from the First World War, namely an identification tag of a certain Alfons Konik, a German coin and ammunition.
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.
135977 Orehovo, Elevation Kale, German Fortified Position Place During our survey in the area of research in May 2025 we came across the remnants of an excellently camouflaged German fortified position from the First World War on an elevation called Kale, which lies ca. 4 km to the South-East of the Elevation 1050 and ca. 4 km East-South-East of the Elevation Gradište, thus, forming a crucial part of the German defences on the Salonica Front.
135807 Palikura, Early Christian Basilica Place The toponym Crkvište (Manastir) - Palikurska Bazilika is located 800 m to the North-West of the village of Palikura, on the left (Eastern) bank of the Crna Reka and 1,4 km to the South-West of the ancient town of Stobi. An Early Christian basilica was discovered there in 1916. Karl Hald's report on the discovery of the basilica in Palikura during the First World War is gripping. He writes that a German road construction company was stationed in Palikura and had the task of building roads in the area. These pioneers noticed a pile of rubble in the area from which a marble column protruded. Neither a German landowner in Palikura named Jakob Zeisset (1861-1937), who had lived in the area for 33 years at the time and on whose land the pile of rubble was located, nor the other villagers could provide any information about it. So the German Field Marshal August von Mackensen (1849-1945) personally ordered the column to be dug up. The German soldiers then discovered a three-aisled basilica at a depth of 2 to 2,5 metres, which was documented by Hald in a drawing. It is a three-aisled basilica with a narthex (4th-6th century, five columns separate the nave from the aisles, mosaic floor, marble architectural elements, four adjoining rooms in the East, one of which is octagonal, therefore possibly a baptistery, tombs from the 4th to 6th century). Furthermore, around 50 metres to the North-East of the basilica, traces of a medieval cemetery with grave goods (9th/10th-13th century, mainly from the 12th century, jewellery), around the remains of a Late Roman building (horreum?), were found. The local memory of the German landowner Zeisset lives on to this day. His former house (now in ruins) in the village square of Palikura and the foundations of his dam and mill on the banks of the Crna Reka can still be seen.
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.
135382 Pretor, Church of Saint Archangel Michael Place The Church of Saint Archangel Michael in Pretor is a cemetery church, which was originally built in 1729. It was destroyed during the First World War and rebuilt in 1926. Another renovation took place in 1994.
135387 Pretor, Church of Sveti Sava Place The Church of Sveti Sava is in ruins today. It was most probably built in the 14th century and renovated in 1916/17.
135403 Prilep, Church of the Annunciation Place The Church of the Annunciation (Св. Благовештение) in Prilep was built in the year 1838. One of the attached German postcards shows the iconostasis during the First World War, which is preserved in its original form until today, as has been proven by a survey in May 2025. It is 16 m long and 6,2 m high. On the postcard it is noted in German Kurrentschrift ("cursive script") "Prilep. Inneres einer Kirche". Another German postcard from 1915, attached to this file, shows the church's bell tower, which was renovated in 1869 and is still preserved today.
135394 Prilep, Church of the Transfiguration Place The Church of the Transfiguration (Св. Преображение) was erected in the year 1871. There is no church tower to be seen on the postcard from the First World War. At a later unkown date during the 20th century a church tower made of concrete was erected.
135417 Prilep, Clock Tower Place Prilep's clock tower (Saat kula) is located in the city centre, was erected in 1858 (ca. 55 m high) and is still preserved.
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 The German Army established the military cemetery in Prilep in 1916 for the war dead of the Salonica Front. Between 1931 and 1932 the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge developed the area into a collective cemetery, which was consecrated on 9 May 1933. After the burial of more dead soldiers during the Second World War, the cemetery fell into disrepair and was eventually almost destroyed. The area was used as a pasture for cattle, among other things, and waste was also disposed of there. As there was no war graves agreement, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge was unable to carry out any maintenance measures for a long time. Talks held in the early 1970s about relocating the cemetery did not result in any concrete measures. Renewed negotiations took place in 2000 and finally, in July 2003, the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge received permission from the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of North Macedonia to restore the cemetery in Prilep. 1,683 German and 146 war dead from Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Turkey as well as eight from Albania are buried in Prilep. During the Second World War, around 50 dead German soldiers found their final resting place here. As part of the restoration of the cemetery from 2003, the cemeteries from the First World War were labelled with groups of symbolic crosses made of granite. The names of all war dead of the First World War known to the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge were engraved in granite stones. In a part of the cemetery that had not been used until then, war dead from the Second World War from Macedonia were buried in individual graves and provided with grave crosses with the names and dates of those buried. Groups of symbolic crosses made of white marble and a name plaque mark the graves of the Bulgarian war dead. A separate memorial plaque commemorates the Hungarian soldiers. The main path of the cemetery is lined with white and red roses. Benches and lime trees contribute to the design of the cemetery. The original entrance gate to the cemetery was reconstructed using a surviving photo. The Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge commissioned a local company to manufacture and install the gate. The work to restore the cemetery was completed in 2014. Heinrich Ebert, the 19 year old son of Friedrich Ebert (1871-1925), the first President of Germany from 1919 until 1925, was buried in the German Military Cemetery in Prilep. He was drafted into the Reserve-Jäger-Bataillon 11 in August 1916, was seriously wounded in the back and lungs by a shell splinter on 26 January 1917 and died in the military hospital in Prilep on 14 February 1917.
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 The photographs from 1915 show 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 photograph shows 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 photographs from the First World War show the railway station of the Central Powers in Prilep. This railway station is not preserved today. Possibly a part of the old platform remains. A new railway station was built at an unknown date on the same location, which we have managed to discern by comparison of our drone photographs and the photograph from the plane from 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.
135007 Prosek, "Mackensen Tunnel" Place The gorge of Prosek (Demir Kapija) in the valley of the river Vardar is a point of the utmost strategic importance being a link between the cities of Skopje in the North and of Thessalonica in the South. The railway between Skopje and Thessalonica was built by the Ottoman railway company "Chemins de fer Orientaux" in 1873. After the establishment of the Salonica Front, the German Army began to build and enhance roads along the front line and in its hinterland. One of these projects was the "Mackensen Tunnel" in the gorge of Prosek (Demir Kapija). The German Emperor and King of Prussia Wilhelm II (reigned 1888-1918) ordered his troops in 1916 to build a road tunnel and a road in the valley of the river Vardar, which is attested by the German inscription on the cliff above the Western entrance of the tunnel: "Wilhelm II Deutscher Kaiser König von Preussen befahl seinen Soldaten diese Strasse zu bauen 1916". Below this inscription is another one in a bay in the cliff, which reads: "Erbaut von der Baudirektion der 11. Armee 1.5.1916-8.7.1916". The situation on the ground, which we have established in the wake of two surveys (2016, 2025), is as follows: to the South of the river Vardar the railway with its tunnel still exists, to the South of it is a tunnel, which is still used today by local traffic and which we initially thought to have been the "Mackensen Tunnel", and to the South of this tunnel there is a bay in the cliff, which is closed today by a concrete wall and a door. A careful study of German photographs from the First World War has revealed that this closed bay was indeed the "Mackensen Tunnel". This becomes evident based on a German postcard from 1917 which shows the railway with its tunnel and the "Mackensen Tunnel". Thus, we have been able to establish the relation of these two features in the landscape. On another German postcard we can clearly discern the German inscription "Mackensen Tunnel" above today's bay, which attests the tunnel's name and does not exist any more. Another German photograph from the First World War shows a car leaving the "Mackensen Tunnel", again highlighting its name. What is more, this last photograph helps us to realise that the ground level has changed substantially over the last 100 years, when we compare it to our photograph of the bay (the former Western entrance to the "Mackensen Tunnel"). The use of this nowadays closed space is unknown. Also unknown is the date when the new road tunnel was built, but surely after the First World War.
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.
123480 Road of Prisad Place The prisadьsky putь (the "Road of Prisad") is attested in all three Serbian charters for the Monastery of the Holy Mother of God in Treskavec from the years 1334/35, 1343/44 und 1344/45 and runs over the pass of Prisad to the North-East of Prilep. Most fascinating and puzzling is the fact that the roads, which are attested in the charters of the Serbian King Stefan Uroš IV Dušan (reigned 1331-1355) for the monastery cannot be found in situ, i.e. the respective landscape, today. The only exception is the prisadьsky putь, which is named after the pass of Prisad and which connects the valley of the river Vardar (i.e. Veles) as well as of the river Babuna (via the place Izvor) with the plain of Pelagonia (i.e. Prilep). This road is not only attested in the medieval charters, but also in travel accounts or reports of the 19th and 20th centuries. During the Balkan Wars 1912/13 the Serbian army used this road in order to advance against Ottoman-held Prilep. In the First World War (1914-1918) the German army reconstructed and upgraded this road in order to supply its troops on the Salonica Front. During a TIB survey in June 2016 Mihailo St. Popović documented remarkable sections of the German road, which is surprisingly well preserved and which is still used by the indigenous population as a local road in order to transport wood and timber. Thus, the prisadьsky putь has a continuity at least from the Middle Ages until our time.
135752 Road of Prisad, German Bridge Place During a TIB survey in June 2016 Mihailo Popović came across a German bridge to the North-East of Prilep, which is part of the "Road of Prisad" constructed by the German army during the First World War. During a survey in May 2025 Mihailo Popović visited the site again. The bridge has no inscriptions on it, a similar is preserved in the village of Kažani to the North-West of Bitola.
135745 Sirkovo, Old Well Place German photographs from the First World War show an old well in the village of Sirkovo built, amongst others, with a spolium having a Latin inscription of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (reigned 117-138). During a survey in the region in May 2025 we visited the village of Sirkovo, where a local called Sašo explained to us that the well still existed (without inscription), when he was a child, and that it has been destroyed in order to build the main road through the village. Sašo showed us the place, where the well formerly stood.
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.
135952 Stobi, Cemetery Basilica Place The Cemetery Basilica is located about 250 m to the South-West of the Porta Heraclea (the main gate of the Roman and Early Byzantine city of Stobi). The basilica was discovered by the German Army in 1917/18 and has three naves with a narthex in the West. The main nave has a mosaic floor with geometric motifs (first half of the 5th century). The cemetery basilica was built in the 4th/5th century on a Late Roman necropolis and had a crypt (martyrium) on the Southern side. The cemetery is called the "Western Necropolis" (Zapadni Grobišta, graves from the 2nd century BC to the 6th century). Paul Clemen describes the archaeological endeavour by the German Army as follows: "Nur eine planmäßige größere Grabung ist während der Zeit der militärischen Besetzung unternommen worden. Im Gebiete der antiken Stadt Stobi hatten deutsche Offiziere von dem wichtigen Etappenort Gradsko aus Forschungen begonnen. Sie führten zur Entdeckung von drei Basiliken, deren eine, außerhalb der antiken Stadt in der Nähe von Palikura gelegen, fast ganz freigelegt, aufgeräumt und, infolge des lebhaften Interesses, das auch der Oberbefehlshaber, General-Feldmarschall von Mackensen, der Arbeit entgegenbrachte, soweit das unter solchen Verhältnissen möglich war, gegen Beschädigungen geschützt wurde. Die Fortsetzung der gleichfalls begonnenen Freilegung der beiden anderen Kirchen, die in der antiken Stadt gelegen sind, wurde von den bulgarischen militärischen Stellen gehindert. Als ich im Sommer 1917 nach Stobi kam, ergab sich mir, daß die auf halbem Wege steckengebliebene Arbeit kein wissenschaftliches Ergebnis zeitigen konnte, dagegen bei der unmittelbaren Nähe des großen Etappenortes die aufgedeckten Reste sicherer Zerstörung aussetzte, ehe sie wissenschaftlich verwertet werden konnten. Auf meine Verwendung bei Herrn Professor Filow fand sich die Direktion des Nationalmuseums in Sofia bereit, die Erlaubnis zur Aufdeckung bei den bulgarischen militärischen Stellen zu erwirken und diese zu vollenden, wozu die Landeskundliche Kommission Dr. Krischen zur Verfügung stellen konnte. Herr Krischen hat dann 1918, nachdem er zuvor schon die in der deutschen Etappenkommandantur aufbewahrten Fundstücke genau bearbeitet hatte, mit Unterstützung der bulgarischen Kommandantur in Gradsko, die eine Anzahl Soldaten zur Verfügung stellte, zunächst die große Begräbniskirche freigelegt, die wohl noch dem fünften Jahrhundert angehört. Die eingeschossige Basilika hatte einen prächtigen Mosaikboden, einen geometrisch geteilten und bis auf einige Felder mit Tierdarstellungen auch geometrisch geschmückten Teppich. Bei seinem ungünstigen Erhaltungszustande war an ein Fortschaffen oder an dauernde Erhaltung leider nicht zu denken. Doch sorgte militärische Bewachung für einstweiligen Schutz, bis eine genaue Aufnahme in großem Maßstab fertiggestellt war. Dann wurde in der großen Basilika inmitten der Stadt, die wohl zweigeschossig war wie S. Demetrius in Saloniki, weitergegraben und dort eine Fülle von Trümmern sehr schöner Marmorschranken mit durchbrochener Arbeit, Brocken von Stuckornamentik und Freskomalereien, Glasmosaiken und namentlich das oben S. 159 abgebildete prachtvolle Kapitell entdeckt. Alle diese fanden einstweilen in der deutschen Etappenkammandantur Gradsko Unterkunft, so daß hier allmählich ein kleines Museum entstand. Leider sind die zum Teil recht wertvollen Gegenstände dort vergebens geborgen worden und wahrscheinlich in der allgemeinen Katastrophe mit untergegangen."
135957 Stobi, Episcopal Basilica Place The (old and new) Episcopal Basilica is located to the West of the Roman Theatre in the Roman and Early Byzantine city of Stobi and was discovered by the German Army in 1917/18. It is the most important Christian monument in Stobi and was built in two phases. In the first phase, the old Episcopal Basilica was built in the first half or the middle of the 4th century. It had three naves, and the side naves were separated from the main nave by columns. In the second half of the 4th century, this basilica was extended to the East (narthex). The floor features a mosaic with geometric motifs and an inscription in the naos, which testifies that Bishop Eustathios renovated the church. In addition, remains of 4th-century frescoes (with geometric motifs, depictions of Saints and animals) are preserved on the Northern and Southern walls. In the first half of the 5th century, the second phase of construction began with the erection of the new Episcopal Basilica. This is evidenced by a Greek inscription on a lintel above the entrance to the naos, which names a bishop Philippos as the builder. The old Episcopal Basilica was not destroyed, but filled in and used as a substructure for the new Episcopal Basilica, so that the former lay up to 5 m below the latter. Benches and columns from the Roman Theatre (see above) were used in the construction of the new Episcopal Basilica. From the Via Sacra, one first entered the atrium of the basilica in the West, then the narthex (mosaic floor with geometric motifs and animal depictions, frescoes of Saints on the walls). The naos has three naves, with the main nave separated from the side naves by columns. It has a rich interior decoration (architectural sculptures in white marble, mosaic floors, marble floors, fresco remains, crypt in the apsis area). Paul Clemen describes the archaeological endeavour by the German Army as follows: "Nur eine planmäßige größere Grabung ist während der Zeit der militärischen Besetzung unternommen worden. Im Gebiete der antiken Stadt Stobi hatten deutsche Offiziere von dem wichtigen Etappenort Gradsko aus Forschungen begonnen. Sie führten zur Entdeckung von drei Basiliken, deren eine, außerhalb der antiken Stadt in der Nähe von Palikura gelegen, fast ganz freigelegt, aufgeräumt und, infolge des lebhaften Interesses, das auch der Oberbefehlshaber, General-Feldmarschall von Mackensen, der Arbeit entgegenbrachte, soweit das unter solchen Verhältnissen möglich war, gegen Beschädigungen geschützt wurde. Die Fortsetzung der gleichfalls begonnenen Freilegung der beiden anderen Kirchen, die in der antiken Stadt gelegen sind, wurde von den bulgarischen militärischen Stellen gehindert. Als ich im Sommer 1917 nach Stobi kam, ergab sich mir, daß die auf halbem Wege steckengebliebene Arbeit kein wissenschaftliches Ergebnis zeitigen konnte, dagegen bei der unmittelbaren Nähe des großen Etappenortes die aufgedeckten Reste sicherer Zerstörung aussetzte, ehe sie wissenschaftlich verwertet werden konnten. Auf meine Verwendung bei Herrn Professor Filow fand sich die Direktion des Nationalmuseums in Sofia bereit, die Erlaubnis zur Aufdeckung bei den bulgarischen militärischen Stellen zu erwirken und diese zu vollenden, wozu die Landeskundliche Kommission Dr. Krischen zur Verfügung stellen konnte. Herr Krischen hat dann 1918, nachdem er zuvor schon die in der deutschen Etappenkommandantur aufbewahrten Fundstücke genau bearbeitet hatte, mit Unterstützung der bulgarischen Kommandantur in Gradsko, die eine Anzahl Soldaten zur Verfügung stellte, zunächst die große Begräbniskirche freigelegt, die wohl noch dem fünften Jahrhundert angehört. Die eingeschossige Basilika hatte einen prächtigen Mosaikboden, einen geometrisch geteilten und bis auf einige Felder mit Tierdarstellungen auch geometrisch geschmückten Teppich. Bei seinem ungünstigen Erhaltungszustande war an ein Fortschaffen oder an dauernde Erhaltung leider nicht zu denken. Doch sorgte militärische Bewachung für einstweiligen Schutz, bis eine genaue Aufnahme in großem Maßstab fertiggestellt war. Dann wurde in der großen Basilika inmitten der Stadt, die wohl zweigeschossig war wie S. Demetrius in Saloniki, weitergegraben und dort eine Fülle von Trümmern sehr schöner Marmorschranken mit durchbrochener Arbeit, Brocken von Stuckornamentik und Freskomalereien, Glasmosaiken und namentlich das oben S. 159 abgebildete prachtvolle Kapitell entdeckt. Alle diese fanden einstweilen in der deutschen Etappenkammandantur Gradsko Unterkunft, so daß hier allmählich ein kleines Museum entstand. Leider sind die zum Teil recht wertvollen Gegenstände dort vergebens geborgen worden und wahrscheinlich in der allgemeinen Katastrophe mit untergegangen."
135233 Trap, Church of Sveta Petka Place The Church of Sveta Petka was originally built in the year 1830, damaged in the fighting along the Salonica Front during the First World War and refurbished after the 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.