History of Strumica

the census of 1570. In the 17th Century, Strumica became seat of a kadilik. At about this time, Strumica was visited by the Turkish travel writers Haji Kalfa (1665) and Evliya Çelebi (1670), who gave a description of the city making note of all Muslim buildings that were then found in Strumica. In the late 18th and early 19th Century, Strumica was part of the Solun sanjak. During the 19th Century the patriarchy movement picked up, and the number of pro-Greek citizens soared. This resulted in a strong anti-patriarchy movement during the 60s of the 19th Century. The first Macedonian school in the Strumica region was opened in Robovo in 1860, and its first teacher was Arseni Kostencev from Stip. This period coincided with the work of the great masters of fresco painting from Strumica – Vasil Gjorgiev and Grigorij Petsanov. They worked on the frescos and icons of many churches that were built in the Strumica region at the time. Following the Berlin Congress of 1878, when Turkey lost a sizable portion of its territory on the Balkans, including Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro, a stream of refugees flowed into Macedonia – some of them ending up in Strumica. These people were called muhajirs. The unbearable plight of the Macedonians under Turkish rule resulted in the formation of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO) in Salonica on October 23, 1893. The first to take up the ideas of VMRO in the Strumica region was Stojan Gjorgiev from Dabile, who formed the organization’s first local committee in Strumica. The Macedonian and Odrin Revolutionary Committee for the Ograzden county was formed and operated in these parts. One of the most prominent leaders of the revolutionary organization in Strumica was Hristo Chernopeev, who took part in the Young Turk Revolution of 1908-1909. The outcome of this effort did not bring freedom to the Macedonian people who still remained under Turkish rule.

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