page_title: Kičevo
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Kičevo / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Kičevo, Macedonia
context_page_description: Kičevo is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, located in a valley in the south-eastern slopes of Mount Bistra, between the cities of Ohrid and Gostivar. The capital Skopje is 112 km away. The city of Kičevo is the seat of Kičevo Municipality.
context_section_description: Kičevo was noted in one of the documents of the Byzantine emperor Basil II in 1018, and also mentioned by the Ohrid archbishop Theophilact in the 11th century.
  When the region was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, Kičevo was turned into the military and administrative center of the region. Notable monument of that period is a clock tower built in the foothills of the nearby hill called Kichevsko Kale.
  In the late 19th and early 20th century, Kičevo was part of the Manastir Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire.
  The activities of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) in the region of Kičevo were initiated by the priest Josif from the monastery of Bogorodica Prečista near the city, supported by many teachers from the neighbouring villages. On August 2, 1903, the Christian citizens of Kičevo participated in the Ilinden Uprising, led by Arso Vojvoda and Yordan Piperkata.
  In 1913 Kičevo and the whole region were incorporated in the Kingdom of Serbia. The city was occupied by the Kingdom of Bulgaria during the First world war. It became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918. From 1929 to 1941, Kičevo was part of the Vardar Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
  During World War II, Kičevo was occupied by forces from Fascist Italy and ceded to Albania. On September 9, 1943 after the Armistice of Cassibile, Macedonian and Albanian partisan units disarmed the Italian garrison and took temporary control of the city. Thus, Kičevo became the first city seized by the communist Partisans during the World War II in Macedonia. However, soon after the capitulation of Italy, Nazi Germany occupied that area. The Germans put Balli Kombëtar in charge of Albania under German rule. The city was finally seized by the Communists on November 15, 1944 after German retreat.
  In 1945 the area was ceded to Communist Yugoslavia. In 1991 the city became part of the newly proclaimed Republic of Macedonia.
caption: Kičevo in the 1930s
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