One of the interesting cities in Macedonia to visit is Prilep. A city with rich history and famous stories and legends about King Marko, the city that is produced one of the best tobaccos in the world and where most famous cigarette makers, such as Marlboro, West, and Camel use Prilep’s tobacco. Just one interesting fact in 2014, 9531 tons of tobacco were produced in the Prilep Field, which represents 34% of the total quantity of tobacco produced in Macedonia.
Prilep is a city in Macedonia, located in the northern part of Pelagonia Valley, in the southwestern part of Macedonia. It can be reached by the main road A3 and it is located 128km southwest of the capital Skopje. It is known as “the city beneath Marko’s Towers” because of its proximity to the towers of the legendary hero, King Marko.
The city of Prilep in N.Macedonia has been famous for its tobacco production for 500 years. Fittingly, it is now home to one of the largest tobacco museums in the world. Formed in 1973, the collection includes more than 2,500 objects related to tobacco. Many of the items are quite valuable and have an interesting backstory, such as the chibouk belonging to Russian Tsar Nikolai Romanov, Queen Anna of Austria’s tobacco pipe, and various cigarette cases and other smoking artifacts that belonged to European royals. More about the museum you can find on the official website of Prilep Museum.
Hiking in Prilep
If you want to go outside of Prilep for hiking, tracking or to explore Prilep area we recommend several places where you can visit some of them. King Marko towers, Monastery of Holy Archangels monastery dates from the 10th century, with most of the current buildings built in the 19th century. Inside the monastery’s small chapel, you can see partial frescos from all the way back in the 13th century, which is pretty remarkable.
From Marko Towers you can hike to the monastery Treskavec. Treskavec Monastery is located 8km north of the city of Prilep. Built on the rocky Mount Zlatovrv, meaning “Golden Peak”, the entire monastic complex offers you a splendid view over the Pelagonija plain. The only monk left will reveal you the secrets hidden in every stone of the complex. The remains discovered following the archaeological excavations witness that the first Christian church on this site dated around 5th or 6th century, but the most of the architecture visible today is from the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century.
