The Makedonium, also known as the Ilinden Insurgency Monument, was designed by Jordan and Iskra Grabuloska.
Built at the highest point of Gumenja Hill, it overlooks the town of Kruševo.
This monument commemorates the resistance fighters who took part in the 1903 Ilinden Uprising against the Ottoman Empire, while also remembering the partisan fighters during World War II.
The separatist territory of Kruševo held out less than two weeks before being suppressed by 176,000 Turkish soldiers and returned to Ottoman control.
However, these events invariably became a destabilizing factor that contributed to the fall of Ottoman rule and subsequent Macedonian independence.
In addition, this monument commemorates the local fighters of Kruševo who fought under the partisan flag to help liberate Macedonians from fascist occupation.
The monument is accessed via a path traced through the landscape.
Access is divided into several sequences deeply full of symbolism.
The beginning is punctuated by white concrete sculptures symbolizing broken chains.
First section is formed by a circular space called the crypt. Cylindrical sculptures with metal plaques containing names of places, people or dates related to historical events sprout from the walls.
The path continues towards the Amphitheater made of concrete and a ceramic wall with bright colors and geometric shapes.
Heart of the complex and the culmination of the memorial route is the monument itself.
The spherical sculpture in white concrete, about 20 meters in diameter, is characterized by large oval windows.
Each of the sides depicts significant events for Ilinden, for the national awakening and the struggle of the Macedonian people for liberation.
