Skanderbeg Square Плоштад Скендербег Sheshi i Skënderbeut | |
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Public square | |
Skanderbeg's statue in the square | |
Owner | Čair Municipality |
Coordinates: 41°59′57″N 21°26′14″E / 41.9993°N 21.4371°E |
Skanderbeg Square[1] (Macedonian: Плоштад "Скендербег"; Albanian: Sheshi i "Skënderbeut") is a square in Skopje, North Macedonia.
A statue of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg was installed in 2006 and the square underwent a refurbishment that began on 17 January 2012 and was completed in segments between 2014 and 2018. The total cost for the square is estimated at 10 million euros. The square covers 28,000 m2 (301,389 ft2) and extends from the Macedonian Philharmonic and Macedonian Opera to the Old Bazaar of Skopje. During the refurbishment process a portion of the square was built on top of Goce Delčev Boulevard. Aside from plenty of open space, the square contains an amphitheatre, a fountain, underground parking and murals depicting important figures and scenes from Albanian history.[2][3][4]
An equestrian statue of Skanderbeg, a medieval Albanian Ruler who fought against Ottoman forces, is located within Skanderbeg Square and symbolically serves to delineate the space for ethnic Albanians.[5] The bronze statue is seven meters high with Skanderbeg depicted with a deep gaze sitting upright on a horse with his right hand raised and sword placed in its sheath.[6] The Skanderbeg statue of Skopje shares a similar socialist aesthetic and equestrian posture with minor differences in detail to existing Skanderbeg monuments in Tirana, Pristina and other places in Europe.[7] Albanians use Skanderbeg Square to organise large gatherings that celebrate sporting or cultural and political events such as dates significant to the present and past of the Albanians.[5][8]
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