page_title: Millennium Cross
section_title: Planning and construction of Millennium Cross
hierarchical_section_title: Millennium Cross / History / Planning and construction of Millennium Cross
caption_attribution_description: English: View of Millennium Cross, Skopje.
context_page_description: The Millennium Cross is a 66-metre tall cross situated on the top of Vodno Mountain in the Republic of North Macedonia above the capital city of Skopje. It is one of the tallest crosses in the world. It was constructed to serve as a memorial for 2,000 years of Christianity in Macedonia and to honour biblical passages citing the evangelisation activities of St. Paul within the region. The monument has become a symbol associated with or representing Skopje. As a landmark, the cross has turned into a tourist destination with the best observation point to see the panorama of the capital city.
context_section_description: Following the breakup of Yugoslavia and independence of Macedonia, different ethno-religious groups in the country competed with each other to leave their mark upon the urban landscape of Skopje, especially after the inter-ethnic conflict of 2001. As elections approached, Prime Minister Ljubčo Georgievski and his VMRO-DPMNE government raised the idea of constructing the Millennium Cross in his efforts to gain support. The Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC) endorsed the proposal and initiated the project. Construction of the cross in 2002 was an enterprise stemming from the pro-Orthodox policies of the MOC that had the backing of Prime Minister Georgievski. The Millennium Cross project was named by government officials as the Symbol of Christianity. The top part of a hill on Vodno Mountain was publicly owned land and selected as the site for the monument in an area of Skopje populated mainly by ethnic Macedonians and half a mile distance from a military base. In August 2002 a dedication ceremony was held for the Millennium Cross and 70,000 people were in attendance. Construction of the monument was completed in 2009.
  The construction of the Millennium Cross was funded by the Macedonian Orthodox Church, the Macedonian government and donations from Macedonians from all over the world. The cross was built on the highest point of the Vodno mountain on a place known since the time of the Ottoman Empire as "Krstovar", meaning "Place of the cross", as there was a smaller cross situated there. On 8 September 2008, the Independence Day of the Republic of North Macedonia, an elevator was installed inside the cross. In 2009, a restaurant and a souvenir shop were opened next to the cross. In 2011 the Millennium Cross ropeway was opened, and is three and a half kilometres long.
caption: View of Millennium Cross, Skopje.
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