Reconstruction of Skopje 1963
Plan for Skopje 1963 was the urban and architectural plan put forward to rebuild the city of Skopje following the 1963 Skopje earthquake. The plan was organised between 1963 and 1966 by the government of Yugoslavia and the United Nations. The rebuilding of the city attracted large international attention, this led to the involvement of a large number of high-profile architects. The UN invited Kenzo Tange and his team to participate in an international competition for the urban design of the city centre in 1965; as one of several Yugoslav and international architecture teams. Architects that participated in the plan include Greek architect Constantinos Doxiadis and Polish architect Adolf Ciborowski. Dutch architects Van den Broek and Jaap Bakema. Luigi Piccinato (Italy) and Maurice Rotival (USA). Yugoslav participants included Aleksandar Dordevik, Slavko Brezoski, Edvard Ravnikar, Radovan Miščević and Fedor Wenzler.
Urban and architectural master plan for Skopje City 1963 by Kenzo Tange
Skopje City Master Plan 0033 01
Skopje Cite Master Plan 0033 02
Post Office Skopje
The 1963 Skopje earthquake was a 6.1 moment magnitude earthquake which occurred in Skopje, SR Macedonia, then part of the SFR Yugoslavia, on July 26, 1963, which killed over 1,070 people, injured between 3,000 and 4,000 and left more than 200,000 people homeless. About 80 percent of the city was destroyed.
First hours after the earthquake
Destroyed apartment building in downtown Skopje.
From John F. Kennedy Library: National Security Action Memorandum No. 267 Disaster Assistance for Skopje – NARA – 193638, written and signed on October 18, 1963, by president Kennedy's national security advisor McGeorge Bundy
Symbol of the earthquake: The Old Railway Station in Skopje. The clock stopped at 5.17 on July 26, 1963. Today the building is used by the Museum of the City of Skopje (Muzej na grad Skopje).
