The central district of Skopje has undergone monumental change in recent years as the Macedonian government under Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski has implemented the controversial Skopje 2014 project. The project, which began in 2010, has seen the construction of 20 new buildings and 40 new monuments in the area around the river in an attempt simultaneously to give the city a more uniform appearance and to help bolster Macedonian national pride and identity by linking the modern state to its forerunners, many of whose Macedonian credentials are in fact debatable.
Detractors bemoan the tens – if not hundreds – of millions of euros spent on the project to date, while others point out the inherently kitschiness of the plan, with its grotesquely stylised buildings, and blatantly nationalist leanings (the inclusions of Alexander the Great and Philip II of Macedon, for example, being interpreted by many as broad snubs to the Greek government, who object to Macedonia's interpretation of its ancient history).
But Skopje 2014 has at least given visitors lots of fountains, statues and other facades to photograph. Some prominent highlights include the construction of the Art Bridge and Eye Bridge over the Vadar River, both of which redefine kitschy; and the construction of the new National Theatre, a replica of the original building that once stood here on the riverside but was destroyed by the 1963 earthquake. Look out also for the new Museum of Archeology and the Porta Macedonia, a triumphal arch just off Skopje's main plaza.
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