Museum of Macedonian Struggle
Museum of Macedonian Struggle
Museum of Macedonian Struggle
4
About
The Museum of the Macedonian Struggle, being a specialized museum of historical exhibitions, was originally aimed to present the historical, cultural and revolutionary traditions of Macedonia and the Macedonian people in their perennial struggle to create a national state on the Balkans. It is a documented, contemporary and an objective directorial tool of the most important events and processes in the recent history of Macedonia. The historical exhibits display all ordeals suffered by the Macedonian people in the exercise of its libertarian vision, the original idea of the revolutionary struggle for the liberation of Macedonia, unification and the creation of an independent Macedonian state. Also, the museum displays reveal the struggling agony the Macedonian people experienced, their resistance against the communist dictatorship, sacrificing their lives for an independent, united and democratic Macedonia.
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4.0
263 reviews
Excellent
103
Very good
72
Average
53
Poor
16
Terrible
19
Gavin
22 contributions
Jan 2020 • Solo
No guided tour offered. I struggled to see half the exhibition, it was almost as if they hadn't bothered to turn the lights on. I came knowing little about Macedonian history and leave knowing only a little more. There were lots of amazing wax statues, and interesting props...but no coherent explanation of what I was looking at. And it wasn't really obvious where to walk or which direction to go or even which door to enter. And for 300mkd!
Overpriced, and a really wasted opportunity to teach an outsider about Macedonia.
Overpriced, and a really wasted opportunity to teach an outsider about Macedonia.
Written 24 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ronald L
Denver, CO2,934 contributions
Oct 2022
Walked across the Stone Bridge to the Museum of Macedonia’s Struggles for Independence. This is an extremely interesting glimpse into Macedonia’s history and the how they have fought so hard to be a free and independent nation. The museum contains wonderful paintings, lots of wax figures, memorabilia and displays with descriptions in several languages, including English.
Written 23 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
XaghraDream
Island of Malta, Malta11,345 contributions
Apr 2023 • Couples
The museum has more potential that sadly is not realised. I think lighting needs to be addressed and bigger signs indicating time periods and historical conflicts. Headlines seem to be lacking. As foreigners, we wanted something more digestible.
Also, bring the situation to the present. That is missing.
I am sure the museum was expensive to create. We enjoyed it but it could be better without masses of investment. An opportunity missed.
Also, bring the situation to the present. That is missing.
I am sure the museum was expensive to create. We enjoyed it but it could be better without masses of investment. An opportunity missed.
Written 3 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
proftrav
Port Vila2 contributions
Sept 2014 • Solo
A ghastly experience. The guide is obligatory so I was obliged to listen to a boring, nasty tirade of neo nazi, fascist, extreme nationalism. The Balkans gave the world war in 1914, apparently they would do so again if they could. The Museum's style is communist, the paintings very recent but in the style of the 1890's, the waxworks uninteresting. Please do not go!
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Written 13 September 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pdwschmidt
Roseville, MN293 contributions
July 2014 • Family
This new-ish museum has to be taken with a huge grain of salt. The idea of Macedonian identity is challenged heavily by neighboring countries, esp. Bulgaria and Greece, and the idea of a multi-ethnic state isn't wholly accepted, in light of the Albanian presence. So telling the Macedonian story inevitably contains a lot of propaganda. I'm a political science professor who has read a lot about Macedonia, so I can filter it. But focusing on the museum itself: 1) it is a new museum with a very cool space, lots of artifacts, and lots written in English. 2) The waxworks element here makes it interesting; some of it is well done, but it isn't Madame Tussads either--some are very plasticky, 3) as a result of the wax figures, you must go with a tour guide. Your experience will depend on the tour guide! The person I had was very well informed (a young Master's student in history) but he lectured like they do in the Balkans: "here is what you need to know in this room and now we are moving on to the next one", leaving no time for looking at any of the exhibits or reading anything. When a few of us started looking at cases while he was talking, he abruptly said, "if you do not want to listen, I can stop and you can just ask questions" but others in our group could sense that he was a bit perturbed and we asked him to continue. I had my kids along (ages 14, 11, 9) and they were BORED by the details about this guy named Todor and that guy named Goce, etc. As the guide said himself, Balkans history is very complex...it isn't easy to grasp, esp. with him buzzing through details for a full hour. 4) This is not a great museum for kids. Most of the main tour is fine, but the paintings that line the walls concern a lot of brutality, and there are wax figures of execution (hanging) and torture. Fine for kids of 11 - 12 and above, I would guess. There is a whole separate room and wing that is only for those 15 and older, but I didn't go in. It is the boredom, rather than the gruesomeness, that is the biggest challenge for kids--be warned! One hour of Balkan history is its own kind of torture! 5) This museum is solely a military and political history. There is no social history here or any real depth outside of the revolutionaries and the back and forth conflict of approximately 1870 to 1925. Then, the propaganda gets laid on particularly thick regarding the Communist era, which only presents the oppression of the early post-WWII rise of the communists, and nothing else about Yugoslavia. Overall, I'm glad I went. It's a lovely, modern museum. It just isn't for everyone, and it is helpful to know that there is a political project that led to the creation of this museum.
Written 6 July 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
PylypOrlyk
Kyiv, Ukraine6 contributions
June 2015 • Couples
You may just enter the museum with a guided tour, which you ARE NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE.Sounds at first not so bad, however, its a bit like a propaganda-tour about macedonian history. Due to guide all the time at different events 300 Makedonians fought against 10000 osman soldiers, all Makedonians are innocent victims, which were slaughtered by mercyless turkish soldiers.And of course all makedonians gave their lives with pleasure for liberation of their motherland. Its a bit TOO MUCH to listen to that 1,5 hours. Its a pity, cause there are a lot of interesting exhibits, which you even cannot see and read,cause guide has to press you through the museum due to his schedule. More like a makedonian Madame Tussauds with a very limited view to the liberation fight in Disneyland-style.
Written 1 July 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Vanessa - Real Greek Experiences
Athens, Greece196 contributions
Jan 2016 • Couples
***Disclaimer: I am Greek!***
This museum presents the history of the Macedonian struggle from a Macedonian perspective. It is quite big, and it mostly contains numerous wax statues of the main heroes of the Macedonian struggle, as well as several commissioned paintings. I found the presentation pretty cool, but also a little weird, given that museums normally contain original stuff from the past, of which there was very little.
It was only possible to visit the museum with a guided tour that lasted one hour, and was too fast in my opinion, given that the tour guide bombarded us with loads of information, and especially lots of names and dates. I didn't have time to read the signs in the museum, and I really wish that taking photos was allowed, so that I could have taken some to read them in my own time.
In terms of the history lecture: as a Greek, I have a very different understanding of the words "Macedonia" and "Macedonian" to those presented in this museum. I thought that the term "ethnic Macedonia" was rather confusing, and that some of the history presented contained some propaganda. Furthermore, given that there also exists the "Museum of the Macedonian Struggle" in Thessaloniki, Greece, which presents a different side of the story (possibly with a different propaganda...), this museum left me somewhat puzzled.
For anyone who visits, I strongly recommend a lot of reading before your visit - especially some of the history of the Ottoman Empire in the mid-late 1800s, and definitely the Balkan Wars. I will definitely catch up on those fields before my next visit!
This museum presents the history of the Macedonian struggle from a Macedonian perspective. It is quite big, and it mostly contains numerous wax statues of the main heroes of the Macedonian struggle, as well as several commissioned paintings. I found the presentation pretty cool, but also a little weird, given that museums normally contain original stuff from the past, of which there was very little.
It was only possible to visit the museum with a guided tour that lasted one hour, and was too fast in my opinion, given that the tour guide bombarded us with loads of information, and especially lots of names and dates. I didn't have time to read the signs in the museum, and I really wish that taking photos was allowed, so that I could have taken some to read them in my own time.
In terms of the history lecture: as a Greek, I have a very different understanding of the words "Macedonia" and "Macedonian" to those presented in this museum. I thought that the term "ethnic Macedonia" was rather confusing, and that some of the history presented contained some propaganda. Furthermore, given that there also exists the "Museum of the Macedonian Struggle" in Thessaloniki, Greece, which presents a different side of the story (possibly with a different propaganda...), this museum left me somewhat puzzled.
For anyone who visits, I strongly recommend a lot of reading before your visit - especially some of the history of the Ottoman Empire in the mid-late 1800s, and definitely the Balkan Wars. I will definitely catch up on those fields before my next visit!
Written 31 January 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Polly S
Sydney, Australia56 contributions
Nov 2016
I have to be honest and say that the museum itself is wonderfully curated, with easily over a hundred wax figures, detailed exhibits and a lot of money invested into the design of the experience in general - BUT - You may only enter with the guided tour, and the tour guide is a flop. Prepare to spend over an hour with a person who speaks extremely quickly and does not wait for the group to enter a room before rattling off dozens of names with zero context offered. He is extremely rushed and his accent was quite thick, meaning I only heard 50% of the information. I don't think I could remember a single thing from the tour. Also - Very odd, but he only spoke to a single man the entire tour! Even when other people asked questions, he would direct the answer to this random guy and ignore the questioners. Overall, great museum but the current system and guide need change and training. PS. Amazing paintings throughout.
Written 12 November 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Amy M
Su Thep, Thailand11 contributions
Nov 2016 • Couples
I was extremely disappointed by this museum. It had hundreds of wax figures and huge paintings that could have been used to tell a compelling story. Instead, we were forced to go on an absurdly rushed tour with a guide whose English was extremely difficult to understand and who spoke comically fast. He began speaking before anyone had even caught up with him. It was rapid fire facts with absolutely no context. Like being forced to listen to a robotic recitation of Wikipedia. There was a lot of assumed knowledge and, without a good understanding of Macedonian history, it was very difficult to follow. It was an exhausting and frustrating experience. They desperately need to develop an audio guide or let people explore at their own pace using the existing English language signs. Sadly, I would not recommend this museum, which I think could be great with some simple changes.
Written 12 November 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
highlandhiker
Brussels, Belgium82 contributions
Oct 2012 • Business
So, what to do when you have a guest visiting for the first time in Skopje. Well besides wandering about the central area and the interesting Old Town and hearing the comments about Skopje being turned into Disneyland, bad version of Las Vegas... We decided to visit the Museum of Macedonian Struggle. At the door we discovered that foreigners pay 300 denars and locals pay 100 denars for the entrance fee. When asked why is there a difference in price for foreigners and locals the attendant very rudely responded - you don't understand there is more to it than that! Whatever that was supposed to mean. He then said we would have to wait wait 30 minutes before we would be allowed in. We decided to leave and come back in 30 minutes instead of standing around staring at the floor. Three of us timed the 30 minutes and returned exactly on time. The ticket attendant very rudely asked why we came back as it had only been 15 minutes not 30. Almost in unison we all said we timed it and it was 30 minutes. He was obviously much smarter than all of us and got quite argumentative so our local guide told him we had better things to do than argue with him. Not a really great impression for our guest - but hey, as I explained, Macedonians generally have a lot to learn when it comes to customer service. I won't be going back anytime soon.
Written 9 October 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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