 Project description
Through the project called “Cultural heritage - contribution to the future”, the local population, especially the youth, of Krivogastani has become aware of the value of own traditional heritage. The preservation, affirmation, and popularization of cultural heritage and the raising of awareness have taken place through debates, workshops and field investigation of traditional culture. Children have made traditional items of clay and have also made drawings displayed now in the ethnological museum collection, the first of this kind in the municipality. A book has been published entitled “Traditional Culture in the Municipality of Krivogastani”, in Macedonian and in English; the book may be obtained in the office of the women's association “Horizont” in Krivogastani.
Contact
Mence Klekackoska, Women's Organization “Horizon”, 3 Edvard Kardelj St., 7524 Krivogastani, 048/471-911, 070/ 964-312, horizont1@mt.net.mk
Location
Village of Krivogastani, southwestern Macedonia.
About Krivogastani
Krivogastani is located in the western part of the Prilep Valley which represents an integral part of the largest Macedonian valley of Pelagonija located at 609 metes above the sea level. The Krivogastani municipality covers a territory of 56 square kilometres and has some 6.300 inhabitants. The population has low economic and social status. The main source of existence is the growing of farming cultures - vegetables, tobacco, and cereal crops.
How to reach Krivogastani?
Transport connections to the municipality of Krivogastani are excellent. The travel from Skopje to Krivogastani lasts for some 2 hours; there is a regular bus line Skopje - Krivogastani - Krusevo, twice a day; there are buses driving from Prilep every 30 minutes, and from there you reach Krivogastani in 30 minutes as well. You can reach all settlements in the Krivogastani municipality (all located in a radius of 10 km) from the centre of the Krivogastani municipality, by using an asphalt road and regular bus lines.
Where to stay overnight?
Visitors may stay in the nearby towns of Prilep or Krusevo.
Local specifics
In Krivogastani, you can visit the village churches of St. Dimitrija and St. Nikola. The village possesses specific architecture dated from the end of the XIX and the middle of the XX century. Houses have large yards where the tradition is cherished of keeping lawns and flowers. Almost every house has preserved a whole wealth of various ethnological items: traditional costumes, woven handicrafts, household items (“vrsnik”, “gjum”, “kotle”, “karta”), tools (“kobel”, “butin”, “jarem” for working on land); several inhabitants have presented some of these items to the Ethno-museum collection in the elementary school of “Mancu Matak” that contains more than 150 pieces. Traditional customs and rituals are still organized for certain holidays.
While in Krivogastani, you can try natural eco-products - cheese, milk, fruits, vegetables, as well as traditional specialties such as “turi-potpeci”, “maznici”, “pitulici”, etc.. There are several picnic sites in the surroundings with meadows, mineral water springs, numerous springs and wells with clear fresh water.
What can you see in the surroundings?
In the vicinity of Krivogastani, the historic town of Krusevo is located, at a distance of 11 kilometres. You can also visit the town of Prilep where you can see many historic sites. The visitor will be interested to see the village churches of St. Bogorodica in the Bela Crkva village, the church in the village of Vogjani, the St. Atanas church in the village of Godivle, the church of St. Nikola in the village of Kruseani, and the church of St. Atanas in the village of Pasino Ruvci. In these churches you can also see items from the Hellenic time: marble plates with inscriptions, grave markers with relief, parts of architectural gypsum forms, remains of Hellenic constructions in yards, Roman statues and parts thereof, grave stones with relief inscriptions...
In the vicinity, you can visit the following settlements: from the Neolithic time - Vrojanska Cuka, 2 kilometres east from Slavej; from the Roman period - Petkov Vir, 300 metres northwest from the village of Borotino, and Seleste Mogilani, 1,5 kilometres northeast from Pasino Ruvci, and a settlement from the bronze time, 1 kilometre north from Borotino. Great archeological and cultural significance is attached to the Hellenic settlement of Stibera - an urban settlement from the Hellenic and Roman times, located very close several kilometres south from Pasino Ruvci and Bela Crkva, between the villages of Cepigovo and Trojkrsti. The remains of Stibera are located on a small hill called Bedem, on a surface of 13 hectares.
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