Nikola created
The Skopje2014 Kitsch Tour
Take a tour through the craziest city
redecoration project on the planet! This walk around the capital of Macedonia
tells the story of Skopje2014 – an entire fortune spent on changing the look, history and
life of a city. Discuss kitsch, corruption and public spaces while enjoying the
new monuments and buildings in theme park capital of Europe!
·
Knock on the fake plastic walls of the new historical
buildings ·
Take a photo with thetourist
guardof costumed children as ancient warriors ·
See
the pirate
ships docked on the Vardar river turned into restaurants and casinos ·
See the buildings with
new classical facades on the front, and the old modern look on their back. ·
Learn
about the Catalan Latin dialect spoken in Macedonia over the centuries ·
Try to
keep your eyebrows down when you learn about the biographies of the sculptors,
architects and artists who created Skopje2014! ·
Enjoy a
sunny afternoon under the shadows of the palm trees in this continental city ITINERARY: Step 1: Welcome and guidelines. More Info: Group gathers in front of the Old
Railway Station to see the sharp contrast of the old and new in Skopje.
Guidelines for the tour. Brief intro to city’s history and the Skopje2014project. Step 2: Mother Theresa memorial house More Info: Walk down Macedonia Street and witness
the current changing of the old modern facades and the replacement with the new
classical ones. Discussion about art history, genres and kitsch. Step 3: Main City Square More Info: The biggest horse sculpture in Europe
has an impressive fountain on the bottom and it is dedicated to Alexander the
Great, but there is great trivia why it carries the name “Warrior on a Horse”.
The dozens of monuments surrounding it with numerous technical errors make this
square look like an exhibition venue and all of them hide amazing stories about
their existence. Visitors learn more about the history of Skopje2014. Step 4: Karposhovo Vostanie Square More Info: just across the river of this square is
another one with a monument of a muscular figure raising its fist in the air
saluting Alexander. It is his father Phillip the II that has his own
disproportionate sculpture and square with surrounding sculptures and
fountains. The landmark Stone Bridge is outshined by gloomy new buildings,
pedestrian bridges, sculptures inside the river and pirate ships placed within
a stone throw of this cultural heritage. The sculptural composition and
fountain on this square depicts Alexander’s childhood with his mother
Olympia, father Phillip and pet lions, is a good moment to discuss gender roles
and family relations in ancient times and today and how this millennial gap is
bridged by the current nationalism. Step 5: The River Bank More Info: Stroll down the left bank of Vardar as
you pass by a string of ridiculously shaped buildings serving no purpose or making
any sense at all. You can knock on their walls and they sound like card boxes.
The hundreds of statues of historical persons placed every few meters are
resting in the shadows of the life-supported palm trees. The group discusses
other obvious errors in sculptures and architecture. Step 6: The Woman Fighter Park More Info: This Park right across the national
assembly was once dedicated to the brave women in World War II, but is now
saturated with dozens of sculptures and monuments of men in militant historical
poses – all placed there by the Skopje2014 project. The dominant monument in the
park dedicated to the fallen soldiers for Macedonia is inspired by Greek
mythology, but holds a Latin encryption that hides a code that historically
connects this small country in South-East Europe to Catalonia! The tour ends
with observations of the traces on the walls from the recent colorful
revolution and discussion about the resistance to the project.
18.0 USD