10th Urban and Landscape Days: Between Architecture of War and Military Urbanism; April 25-28 2013, Tallinn,

Estonia

Mladen Stilinovic, Bruno De Meulder, Bieke Cattoor

Cartographic Explorations into (Ex)Military Landscapes of Skopje and Bitola

The development of Skopje and Bitola, situated in the Western Balkans, has been characterised by consequent periods of war and strong army presence. Frequent and often abrupt changes of occupying military power combined with the local effects of ever-evolving military strategy had a dramatical impact on these two cities, leading to discontinuities and obliterations of urban patterns and structures. Only recently, the military abandoned its local domains, releasing their grounds for reclamation. Notwithstanding this unprecedented absence of barracks, the urban spaces and overall territorial settings of Skopje and Bitola continue to bear witness of former interactions between military and civil society. The interactions between the military and the civil society in the two interrelated cases of Skopje and Bitola are explored by cartographic exploration. The exploration includes reading archival maps as well as constructing new interpretative maps. The former is done through a critical analysis of various cartographic sources, taking into account the specic agency of mapping and its embedded narratives. As for the later, the existing maps and plans are combined with other elements such as representations of existing and planned infrastructures and elements of urban structure, locations of important military and/or civil institutions, events that are of interest to this topic etc. Through the simultaneous deconstruction of archival maps and construction of interpretative maps, the research looks at the interaction of the military and the city in a twofold way: on the one hand revealing process of appropriation through the act of mapping - in which the specic agency of the military plays a signicant role, on the other hand constructing Skopjes and Bitolas urban and territorial army-related narratives. Here, the emphasis is placed upon the acts of erasure, transformation and most importantly production of specic urban elements which may differ in form and scale.

Bitola

Skopje 1850-1910 1910-1945 1945-1991 1991-2013

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2 case stuides

4 time periods

4 illustrations per
time period

mapping at scales: urban and territorial

cartography of the domains

Case study : Bitola

1850-1910: The modern capital of the late Ottoman Empire
Towards the middle of 19th century, remains of the Ottoman Empire experienced a wave of modernisation. Bitola, back then known as Monastir, was designated an administrative capital, in an attempt for better governance over the inland areas. The domain becomes a new part of the city. Opposed to it are structures of closeknit traditional, yet segregated neighborhoods, surrounded by checkpoints. By replacing the medieval fortress, the new domain performs a rupture in the hinterland, thereby truncating the pre-existing network of settlements.
Fragment of Austro-Hungarian plan of Monastir (1905), Kriegsarchiv, Vienna

The (dis)appearance of the military domain

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Bitola, then Monastir around 1850, painting by David Lear

At rst the domain is represented as a part of the city , though in a way that single structures are opposed to the urban tissue

The main boulevard in Monastir around 1860, old postcard

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Part of the market in Monastir, 19th century, source unknown

Fragment from the map of Bitola and its surroundings (1915), made by the Service topographique de l Arme franaise dOrient 21-11 35 Monastir (30cm x 40cm) 1:20 000, Ecole Francaise dAthenes The domain in Monastir, around 1900, from French archives
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Mladen Stilinovic, Bruno De Meulder,Bieke Cattoor: Cartographic Explorations into (Ex)Military Landscapes of Skopje and Bitola 10th Urban and Landscape Days: Between Architecture of War and Military Urbanism; April 25-28 2013, Tallinn, Estonia

Case study : Bitola

1910 - 1945: Times of war and the to-be-aftermath
The end of the Ottoman rule in Bitola was only abeginning of long period of warfare. In the course of the First World War the city stood on the very frontline and erce battles and artillery shelling took place in the very urban tissue. In the ambitious post-war plans, the military connects to the city through symbols of youth. WWI military graveyards replicate certain spatial patterns. During WWI, the surrounding territory is transformed through the rules of artillery re and trenches. Lines and divisions appear, yielding patterns. Later on, the domain becomes an area in which different activities, either dened or not, would take place.

French army reconnaissance photo of Bitola during WWI

Regulation plan of Bitola (1929), made by Dusan Mirosavjevic (?), Archive of Macedonia, Skopje

Photo of Bitola during WWI, from French army archives

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Directional plan for the city of Bitola (1952), made by Urban Planning Institute Zagreb, from private collection

Photo of the destroyed barracks in Bitola, during WWI

In large scale topographic maps - considered as condental, the domain remains visible, without any specied use.

Russian troops marching into Bitola, during WWI

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A fragment of Yugoslavian topographic map, (1979), made by VGI-Belgrade

Mladen Stilinovic, Bruno De Meulder,Bieke Cattoor: Cartographic Explorations into (Ex)Military Landscapes of Skopje and Bitola 10th Urban and Landscape Days: Between Architecture of War and Military Urbanism; April 25-28 2013, Tallinn, Estonia

Case study : Bitola

1945 - 1991: The omnipresent Army in the border town
In the years after WWII, Bitola became a secondary town and a centre of a rather backward and isolated region - despite of the signicant role as a garrison city. Within such local society, Peoples Army was seen as a prestigious institution. Besides the domain itself, the military institutions occupy key positions in the urban structure. Ofcers and their families have designated housing areas. As the area towards the border becomes heavily controlled and the army is ever-prepared to move back into the mountains, new connections emerge. At the same time, the domain dissapears from the city plans, becoming a tabula rasa, a blank surface with restricted use

Partisans marching into Bitola, on 04.11.1945

Buildings in one of the ofcers district in Bitola, around 1960

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General Urban Plan of Bitola (1999), made by Town Planning Institute - Bitola

An aerial view of the centre of Bitola, around 1960

One of the remaining Ottoman barracks, around 1990

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a fragment from the Cadastral Survey for Bitola - the coverage in sheets of 1:1000 (1999)

Mladen Stilinovic, Bruno De Meulder,Bieke Cattoor: Cartographic Explorations into (Ex)Military Landscapes of Skopje and Bitola 10th Urban and Landscape Days: Between Architecture of War and Military Urbanism; April 25-28 2013, Tallinn, Estonia

Case study : Bitola

1991 - 2013: The hereafter of the military urbanism
After the withdrawal of the Peoples Army, the military domain continued to function in a rather inertial way - eventually becoming an area of slow decay. Only recently, new plans have been drawn up - mostly guided by a real-estate speculation. The new urban development plans aim at creating new ellite settlement, rather than integrating the area into the existing urban structure. The absence of the military provides new possibilities for the cross border region. The mountain passes are now being used for tourism and tracking. Gradually, the domain is rediscovered both as a browneld, a terra incognita, and is settled upon using new spatial patterns.

Sight from the abandoned military domain, 2011

Former training grounds in the military domain, 2011

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a fragment from Google Maps (2013), produced by users according to sattelite images

Former training grounds in the military domain, 2011

Former Ottoman fortress in Bitola, 2011

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The Detailed Urban Plan for the area of the former military domain, as proposed by the Municipality of Bitola (2011)

Mladen Stilinovic, Bruno De Meulder,Bieke Cattoor: Cartographic Explorations into (Ex)Military Landscapes of Skopje and Bitola 10th Urban and Landscape Days: Between Architecture of War and Military Urbanism; April 25-28 2013, Tallinn, Estonia

Case study : Skopje

1850 - 1910: The watchtower and the Ottoman town
Skopje, known as Uskub at the time, resembled a traditional Ottoman town whose urban appearance was not signicantly altered despite being reached by the railway and other advances of the age, while A view of the fortress and a check- the military oversees everyday life.
point, around 1900

Abandoning and contesting of the fortress

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In earlier maps, the fortress is represented as an open space along the main road, attached to the urban tissue.

The fortress uses the setting to control both the bridge and the road towards north. Neigborhoods are mostly situated in-between the hills. Different communication lines are pushed towards the fortress, despite of the outdated concept of such point of control.

An aerial view of the fortress, around 1910

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Fragment of Austro-Hungarian plan of Skopje (1905), Kriegsarchiv, Vienna

The marketplace beneath the fortress, around 1900

The marketplace beneath the fortress, around 1900

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Fragment of situational plan of Skopje (1932), made by State Cadastre, National Archive of Macedonia

Mladen Stilinovic, Bruno De Meulder,Bieke Cattoor: Cartographic Explorations into (Ex)Military Landscapes of Skopje and Bitola 10th Urban and Landscape Days: Between Architecture of War and Military Urbanism; April 25-28 2013, Tallinn, Estonia

Case study : Skopje

1910 - 1945: Le grand travaux and the Royal Army
Once the kingdom of Serbia took control of Skopje, the town grew and became an administrative capital of a wider territory. The national historic revival renounced Ottoman urban appearance by implementing some imported urban elements. The city crosses the river: ofcers district on the right river bank becomes an ellite neighborhood and military institutions are present in all public spaces. The spatial setting of the enlarged city is redened by newly established settlements and additional military domains (airport, motorised units etc.) Different plans are both transforming the fortress, as well as introducing lines of separation from the rest of the city.

A view of Skopje and the fortress, around 1930

The Ofcers House, around 1930

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Fragment of the regulation plan of Skopje (1914), made by D. Leka, National Archive of Macedonia

The fortress in Skope, around 1930

New disricts on the right bank of the river, around 1930

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Fragment of the regulation plan of Skopje (1948), made by L.Kubesh, National Archive of Macedonia

Mladen Stilinovic, Bruno De Meulder,Bieke Cattoor: Cartographic Explorations into (Ex)Military Landscapes of Skopje and Bitola 10th Urban and Landscape Days: Between Architecture of War and Military Urbanism; April 25-28 2013, Tallinn, Estonia

Case study : Skopje

1945 - 1991: The International City of Solidarity
The internationally supported post-disaster renewal that followed the dissastrous earthquake of 1963, gave way to creating a great national capital, which would made Skopje stand equal to other major cities of the then-Yugoslavia. Following the shift in scale of the city, military institutions develope new forms of presence, mostly disguising into the new infrastructural landscape. A new system of domains emerges, each having a distinct function, with shared facilities of regional importance, as well as territories of restricted use. As surrounding infrastructures create separation from the city, the fortress becomes an undened urban fragment.

The Ofcers House, after the eartquake in 1963

The destroyed fortress, after the eartquake in 1963

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Fragment of the competition entry for the renewal of the city centre of Skopje (1965), made by Kenzo Tange, from Skopje Resurgent

Military troops from various countries being deployed in Skopje, after the eartquake in 1963

Sight from the renewal of Skopje, around 1970

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Fragment from the current situation paln of Skopje (1982), made by the Town Planning Institute, from private collection

Mladen Stilinovic, Bruno De Meulder,Bieke Cattoor: Cartographic Explorations into (Ex)Military Landscapes of Skopje and Bitola 10th Urban and Landscape Days: Between Architecture of War and Military Urbanism; April 25-28 2013, Tallinn, Estonia

Case study : Skopje

1991 -2013: The capital city and the transforming Army
After the independence of Macedonia and the withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army, Skopje became a capital city of an independent country. In 2001, an armed conict in the hinterland has rendered Peoples Army partisan concept obsolete. In the new context, former military areas are now sites of spatial contestation between different entities, revealing new patterns of segregation. As military reduces its presence, hintreland becomes a stage of conicts, parrallel usage of infrastructures and urban sprawl possibilities. The undened urban fragment then becomes an isolated domain in itself, unable to relate to the surrounding tissue.

The new compound of the American embassy in Skopje, 2005

Police troops being deployed in the vicinity of Skopje, 2001

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Fragment from the US Government map of Skopje (1997), 1:20000, edition 3-NIMA, series M903 ,made by the National imagery and mapping agency, from http://www.lib. utexas.edu

Image from the civil unrests that led to closure of the fortress in Skopje, 2011

The proposed replica of the old Ofcers House in Skopje

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a fragment from Google Maps (2013), produced according to sattelite images

Mladen Stilinovic, Bruno De Meulder,Bieke Cattoor: Cartographic Explorations into (Ex)Military Landscapes of Skopje and Bitola 10th Urban and Landscape Days: Between Architecture of War and Military Urbanism; April 25-28 2013, Tallinn, Estonia

About the authors Mladen Stilinovic is a graduated architect-engineer from the SS. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Macedonia and a Master of Human Settlements from the Catholic University of Leuven. Currently living and working in Brussels, his research interests are in the eld of Urbanism and Cartography. Bruno De Meulder is Professor of Urbanism at the University of Technology Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. Bieke Cattoor is an urbanist and researcher at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium. She is preparing a dissertation on the potential of cartography to inform and to shape territorial urbanisms.

Also see: Bieke Cattoor, Bruno De Meulder Figures, Infrastructures An Atlas of Roads and Railways This cartographic book shows the impact of infrastructure on the development of a region in a unique way. The cartography proves to be a valuable instrument for urban research. published by SUN Architecture, Amsterdam