KRIVA PALANKA
Kriva Palanka is a city located in the north-eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia, 14 km from the border with Bulgaria. From the capital Skopje is just 99 km away, while from the near cities of Kumanovo is 60 km and from Kratovo is 44 km away.
The city of Kriva Palanka (which originates from the Turkish name, Egri Dere) was founded in 1634, during the rule of the Turkish vizier Bajram - Pasha, as a military and defense center whose goal was to strengthen their power in the region. To confirm this fact is a marble plate with a sign that states the year 1043 of the Muslim calendar (1633 of the Christian calendar) as the year of its foundation. The plate also reads twelve verses in Arabic, written by an unknown Turkish poet in honor of the founder of the town.
Being found as a Turkish settlement, the city used to have a Turkush name, Egri Dere, which means "curved river" in Turkish language. The name of the settlement came because of the river Kriva, which was passing by. Later, the word "palanka" replaced the word "dere" and the city got it's name Kriva (Egri) Palanka.
The region if Kriva Palanka has been used by the troops of the Macedonian Tzar Samoil in the 10th century, the army of the Serbian king Stefan Dečanski, the armies of the Turkish sultan Murat 1st on his way to Kosovo pole (1389) and of Mehmed 2nd - the Conqueror on his way to Bosnia.
Very soon from a settlement, Kriva Palanka became a small town. The city had been visited by numerous caravans, merchants and travelers, such as Evlija Čelebija, Hadzi Kalpha, Ami Bue, Constantine Ireček etc. As early as in 1661, Evlija Chelebija described Kriva Palanka as a town of approximately 800 households. Later, in 1689, the people from the north - eastern Macedonia organized an uprising against the Turks. The uprising, known as Karpoš, took part in the region of Kriva Palanka.
According to the census of the 19th century it was listed as a town with Christian and Turkish population. In 1870, Kr. Palanka had 4352 inhabitants (3252 Macedonians and 1100 Turks). It had a bazaar with 250 stores and rich merchants. Among them was Hadzi Stefan Beglikčija, remembered as the man who got permission from the Sultan to build the monastery of Saint Joachim Osogovski. It is assumed that the memorial in front of the temple speaks of the conformation, which also guaranteed its protection.
The people of the region took an active part in the Ilinden Uprising in 1903. Macedonia and Kriva Palanka were liberated from the Turkish rule in 1912. From 1912 till 1915, the region was governed by Serbs and from 1915 till 1918 by the Bulgarians. In 1918, Macedonia and Kriva Palanka became a part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians, regardless of the will of the Macedonian people. Between the two World Wars, Kriva Palanka experienced a decline instead of progress. During Second World War the Kriva Palanka was governed by the Bulgarian Axis forces. After the liberation (October 8, 1944), and the creation of a Macedonian state within Yugoslavia, a new phase of the development began.
Kriva Palanka is also related to the life, work and death of Joachim Krčovski, a priest and religious master, Macedonian educator and founder of the new Macedonian literature in the 19th century. In 1817 he founded a church school in the house of Enger, near the church of St. Dimitrija (built in 1833). Later, the new Kelijno School was formed in the yard of the church. The school was working until 1927. According to a legend, the great Macedonian educator Kiril Pejčinović was buried in the old graveyard in the yard of the church.
Apart from the well-known Monastery of St. Joakim Osogovski, famous for its beauty and importance, there is also the Monastery Church of St. Nikola near the village of Psača, which is an area full of hundred-year-old oak trees.
