Štip Штип
Coat of arms
Štip Location within Macedonia
Coordinates: 41°44′15.01″N 22°11′36.81″E / 41.7375028°N 22.1935583°E / 41.7375028; 22.1935583Coordinates: 41°44′15.01″N 22°11′36.81″E / 41.7375028°N 22.1935583°E / 41.7375028; 22.1935583
Country	Macedonia
Municipality	Štip municipality
Founded	1st century AD
Population ([citation needed])
• Total	47,796
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	2000
Area code(s)	+389 32
Car plates	ŠT
Website	www.Stip.gov.mk/

Štip (Macedonian: Штип [ʃtip] ( listen)) is the largest urban agglomeration in the eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia, serving as the economic, industrial, entertainment and educational focal point for the surrounding municipalities. As of the 2002 census, the Štip municipality alone had a population of about 47,796. Štip is the largest textile production center in the country; Center of the fashion industry in Macedonia, as well as the location of the sole public university in Eastern Macedonia, Goce Delčev University of Štip. The city of Štip is the seat of Štip Municipality. The first known opera performance in Republic of Macedonia was staged in Štip in 1925.^[1]

Geography and Climate[link]

Snow-covered Otinja river

The city is located at the intersection of the Lakavica, Ovče Pole, and Kočani valleys. Two rivers pass through Štip, the Bregalnica which is the second largest in the Republic of Macedonia, and the Otinja which bisects the city center. The hill Isar, with its early medieval fortress on top, dominates the city and provides for the common reference as "The city under the Isar'. The area surrounding the city is suffering from deforestation which is contributing to the temperature extremes, summers being hot and dry with mean temperatures around 32 °C (90 °F) and days above 40 °C (104 °F) being common. Winters are short (less than 2 months usually) and mild (though considered cold for the area) with normals around −2 °C (28 °F), but with occasional drops down to −10 °C (14 °F). Spring usually comes in February, when most of the foliage is regenerating, although freak snow storms could appear as late as May.

The soil is mostly sandy, and has large patches of red soil (Macedonian: Црвеница, crvenica) which indicates large percentage of Iron in the soil. The geographical area of the city of Štip is bordered by the mountain Plačkovica east, by the Krivolak valley south-east, the estuary of the river Bregalnica in the south-west, and by its alluvial plain in the north.^[2]

History[link]

St. Nikola Church

Štip (or Astibo/Astibos/Astibus) has its heritage in being the ancient capital of the Paeonian tribe who were situated in the region west of the fertile river Axius basin, around the fifth and fourth centuries BC. The two tribes that lived along the river Astibo, an estuary to the Axius, were the Derrones, named after their god of healing, Darron, and the Laeaeans, who minted their own heavy coins as a sign of their sovereignty following the example of the Greek city-states on Chalkidiki.^[3] Although these tribes were heavily weakened by the Persian invasion of 480 BC, led by King Xerxes I, they remained a formidable power and a well-organized people, renowned for the production of their exceptionally heavy coins with emblems including domesticated specimens of the wild aurochs for which Paeonia was also famous. They were absorbed into the Macedonian empire by Alexander I before 360BC.^[4]

The area itself is first mentioned in the writings of the historian Polien form the 3rd century BC, who talks of a river named Astibo which is presumed to be the river Bregalnica today. Polien also states that the Paeonian emperors were crowned ^[5] in the vicinity of today's Štip. The first mention in written sources of a settlement in this area is from the time of the Roman emperor Tiberius 14-37 AD, when it is mentioned as an important settlement in the Roman province of Paeonia and the second stop on the Roman road from Stobi to Pautalia^[6]

During the second half of the 3rd century BC the barbarian tribes, especially the Goths destroyed much of the northern settlements in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, among which Astibo as well. However, a new settlement - Estipeon - was soon founded on the same site which thrived though the late Roman and the Early Byzantine period.^[7] Between the 5th and 6th century AD the joint Slavic and Avar tribes attacks destroyed the Byzantine settlement, and the Slavic tribe of Sagudats permanently settled in this area, and gave the town its current name Štip. During the 10th century, the Saints Cyril and Methodius, after creating the first Slavic alphabet, came to preach to the Slavic tribes in this area before continuing their route to Great Moravia, thus the Slavic population from this area were the first Christians among the Slavs ^[8]

Štip at the end of the 19th century

Many rulers controlled the area of Štip during the early Middle Ages. Štip was part of the Bulgarian Empire but after the Byzantine victory in the Battle of Kleidion in 1014 it fell again under Byzantine rule until the reestablishment of the Bulgarian Empire in 1185. From the mid 13th century the town changed hands several times until 1330 when the Serbian king Stefan Dečanski conquered it and incorporated it into the Serbian Kingdom. Serbian rule lasted only until 1395 when Ottoman Turkey conquered the area, and renamed the city to Ishtib and made it the capital of the local county. There is little information about the development of Štip during Turkish occupation which would continue for the next five centuries, interrupted only during 1689-1690 when the city was liberated by the Austrians for two years. After the Balkan Wars, Štip and the surrounding territory was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbia. Events concerning the Kingdom of Serbia itself meant that Štip would shortly become a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia together with the rest of Vardar Macedonia. On 6 April 1941, when the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was attacked by Nazi-Germany, the city was bombed by German planes which took off from Bulgaria.^[9] During the Second World War the Axis-allied Bulgarian forces occupied the city until early September, 1944, after which it was taken by German troops. Štip was retaken by the Macedonian National Liberation Army and the newly-allied Bulgarian Army, now part of the anti-Axis coalition on 8 November 1944.^[10][11] Thus 8 November is celebrated as 'Liberation Day' in the city and municipality of Štip, and is a non-working holiday.

Demographics[link]

According to the National Census of 2002 the populations of Štip Municipality breaks down as follows:

Economy[link]

Today, Štip is the center of the country’s textile and fashion industry. Formerly the home of such industrial giants in Former Yugoslavia like the Cotton Industry "Makedonka" - Štip, with its enormous suburban campus, and the Fashion Industry "Astibo". From their ashes many private mini-factories were created, mostly by former managers in the socialist giants, which employ most of the women in town today, fashion and textile still being the core skills of the city population, as maintained by the educational system. Some of the larger private textile and fashion houses in Štip are: Albatros, Beas-S, Kit–Go Teks, Gracija, Modena, Mavis, Maksima, LARS, Briteks, Stipko, Stip-teks, Longurov, Vivendi, D&A, Amareta, Anateks, Angroteks, EAM, Milano, Vabo, Zogori, Metro Premier, Tekstil Invest-Denim, Tekstil Logistik and Eskada. Stip has four construction companies (among which the most famous is Aktiva).^[12]

Government[link]

The current mayor of Štip is Zoranco Aleksov (Macedonian: Зоранчо Алексов).^[13] Mr. Alexov holds the title of Doctor of Information Sciences of Southwest University “Neofit Rilski” in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. He is a former Director of the "Central Register of Republic of Macedonia", in charge of registering new private enterprises.

The city is ruled by the "City Council" which is elected every four years. The counselors are usually members of the strongest political parties. Every City Council elects President. The President of the City Council leads the sessions and also signs the decisions together with city mayor.^[14]

Transportation[link]

The public transport is organized in suburban services and inter-city. The suburbs of Babi, Senjak, Prebeg, Makedonka, Kezhovica, etc. are served by a fleet of municipal buses running 7 days a week and connecting several locations in the city center with the suburbs. The inter-city services are provided by the public transportation company "Balkan Ekspres" (Macedonian: Балкан Експрес) which has connections to all cities in Republic of Macedonia as well as some neighboring countries. The train station located in the northern suburb "Zheleznichka" provides links to Kočani in the east, and Veles and Skopje to the west. There is a large fleet of private taxi vehicles in the city, with very competitive prices.

You can visit Stip traveling by car using the highway M-5 (Stip-Kocani-Delcevo) in Republic of Macedonia, and the connection to E-75 highway Stip-Veles. Travel direction in the region goes via route R-601 (Stip-Plackovica) and R-526 that goes through the city and connects to freeway M-5.

Education[link]

There are numerous pre-school, elementary/primary and middle school institutions in Štip. There are five high/secondary schools, each somewhat specialized in a particular field, according to the educational policy of Republic of Macedonia. The five high schools are as follows:

• Medical Secondary School "Jane Sandanski" (Macedonian: Државно Средно Медицинско Училиште) - web site
• Music High School (Macedonian: Музички Училишен Образовен Центар) - web site
• Textile Secondary School "Dimitar Mirasčiev" (Macedonian: Државно Средно Текстилно Училиште „Димитар Мирашчиев“)
• Secondary School for Children with Special Needs — Iskra - web site
• Electro-Technical Secondary School "Kole Nehtenin" (Macedonian: Државно Средно Електротехничко Училиште) - web site
• Lyceum "Slavčo Stojmenski" (Macedonian: Државна Гимназија „Славчо Стојменски“) - web site

^[15]

The city is also the home of one of the four public universities of Republic of Macedonia, the Goce Delčev University of Štip. The private music high school "Oksia"^[16] completes the list of educational institutions in the city.

Architecture and sights[link]

Statue of Alexander the Great in the City Square

Štip has a well preserved 14th-century monastery and the ruins of its old castle which keeps a watchful eye on the town from the Isar Hill. The Bezisten, a massive stone building which used to be a closed bazaar (now an art gallery) is a remnant of the Ottoman influence in the city. In the old parts of the town (and especially in Novo Selo) some houses built in the Old Macedonian style of architecture can still be found. The town also boasts the healing powers of the Kežovica mineral spa and with the ruins of the ancient city of Bargala.The ancient town Bargala is located at the foot of mountain Plackovica. Nearby is the river Kozjacka and small village called Kozjak. It is believed that the ruins found there belong to ancient town Bargala. The town was built in the early 4th century, because there are some Roman documents found, containing information that the city gate of Bargala was built by Anthon Alipius, administrator of the province.

Arts and culture[link]

Štip boasts the largest festival of pop music in Republic of Macedonia, called MakFest. It has been held every November in the cultural center, "Aco Šopov", for over two decades. Another large cultural event in Štip is the "Štip Summer of Culture" (Macedonian: Штипско Културно Лето), which is a month long festival held from 1 July to 1 August, since 1987.^[17]

Sports and recreation[link]

Štip has three professional football teams, FK Bregalnica Štip which plays in the Macedonian First League, FK Astibo which play in the 3rd League East and "Kezovica" which plays in the regional league. The Gradski stadion Štip is the main stadium and will be hosting the 2011–12 Macedonian Cup final.

RK Tekstilec is the handball club from Štip and they play at the hall OU Tošo Arsov.

Media[link]

Štip has many media establishments. The first private television in Macedonia (and also in former Yugoslavia) was founded in Štip by Mr. Mile Kokotov in 1989. It was "TEKO TV", which is not operational any more. The other currently operational local TV stations аrе "TV IRIS" and "TV STAR".

Important radio stations are "Kanal-77", "Radio Štip" Macedonian: Радио Штип and the Roma language radio station "Radio Cherenja" Macedonian: Радио Черења.

Тhe local newspaper is called "Štipski Vesnik" (Macedonian: Штипски Весник).

Notable people[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official web site of the city of Štip
• Official web page for National Broadcast Radio Network Kanal77
• Štip Online No web site is configured at this address.
• Tv Star
• Iris Tv
• Radio Štip
• Radio Čerenja

v t e Štip Geography Bregalnica River Eastern statistical region Kežovica Lakavica Ovče Pole Otinja Plačkovica Landmarks Astibo Bargala Estipeon Sports FK Astibo FK Bregalnica Štip RK Tekstilec City Stadium Štip Events MakFest Education Goce Delčev University Medical School SOU Jane Sandanski People List of people from Štip

v t e Cities and towns in the Republic of Macedonia Berovo · Bitola · Bogdanci · Debar · Delčevo · Demir Hisar · Demir Kapija · Gevgelija · Gostivar · Kavadarci · Kičevo · Kočani · Kratovo · Kriva Palanka · Kruševo · Kumanovo · Makedonska Kamenica · Makedonski Brod · Negotino · Ohrid · Pehčevo · Prilep · Probištip · Radoviš · Resen · Skopje · Struga · Strumica · Sveti Nikole · Štip · Tetovo · Valandovo · Veles · Vinica

Peter John is a German sprint canoer who competed in the late 1990s. He won a bronze medal in the C-2 1000 m event at the 1999 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Milan.

References[link]

• ICF medalists for Olympic and World Championships - Part 1: flatwater (now sprint): 1936-2007.
• ICF medalists for Olympic and World Championships - Part 2: rest of flatwater (now sprint) and remaining canoeing disciplines: 1936-2007.

This article about a German canoeist is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2009)

Ice cubes in a glass of iced tea

Ice cubes are small, roughly cube-shaped pieces of ice, conventionally used to cool beverages. Ice cubes are sometimes preferred over crushed ice because they melt more slowly; they are standard in mixed drinks that call for ice, in which case the drink is said to be "on the rocks."

Ice cubes that are crushed or sheared into irregularly-shaped flakes may add an interesting aesthetic effect to some cocktails. Crushed ice is also used when faster cooling is desired, since the rate of cooling is governed by the number and average radius of the ice particles.^[1]

Melting ice cubes sometimes precipitate white flakes, commonly known as "floaties". This is calcium carbonate which is present in many water supplies and is completely harmless.^{[citation needed]}

Origin[link]

Gorrie's ice machine.

American physician and humanitarian John Gorrie built a refrigerator in 1844 with the purpose of cooling air. His refrigerator produced ice which he hung from the ceiling in a basin. Gorrie can be considered the creator of ice cubes, but his aim was not to cool drinks: he used the ice to lower the ambient room temperature. During his time, a dominant idea was that bad air quality caused disease. Therefore, in order to help treat sickness, he pushed for the draining of swamps and the cooling of sickrooms.

Methods of production[link]

Ice cubes are produced domestically by filling an ice cube tray with water and placing it in a freezer. Many freezers also come equipped with an icemaker, which produces ice cubes automatically and stores them in a bin from which they can be dispensed directly into a glass.

Ice cube tray[link]

Ice cubes in a tray

Ice cube trays are designed to be filled with water, then placed in a freezer until the water freezes to ice, producing ice cubes. Trays are often flexible, so the frozen cubes can be easily removed by flexing the tray. Twist ice trays have a simple spring loaded mechanism with a lever that is used to turn the tray upside down and flex at the same time such that the cubes drop are collected in a removable tray below and return the ice cube tray to its upright position without removing it from the freezer which can save time and reduces accidents and mess, though the tray has to be removed to be collected and the ice cube tray still has to be removed to be refilled. An alternative system is an aluminum tray with a lever that raises the ice cubes, freeing them from the tray. A motorized version of this is found in most automatic ice-making freezers.

While the usual shape of the ice 'cube' is roughly cubical, there are trays that dispense hemispherical or cylindrical blocks. These are commonly referred to as ice tubes. Some novelty trays produce blocks of ice in seasonal, festive or other shapes.

The first rubber ice cube tray was invented by Lloyd Groff Copeman. One day in 1928, while walking through some woods collecting sap for maple syrup, Copeman noticed that slush and ice flaked off his rubber boots rather than adhering to them. Having recalled this incident over lunch with his patent attorney, he conducted experiments using rubber cups. Later, he set about designing and then patenting different types of tray: a metal tray with rubber separators, a metal tray with individual rubber cups, and a tray made completely of rubber.^[2]

The first flexible stainless steel, all-metal ice cube tray was created by Guy L. Tinkham in 1933. The tray bent sideways to remove the ice cubes.

Several companies now offer pre-filled disposable ice trays for home freezing, which they claim provide better taste and reduced risk of contamination.^[3]

Large-scale ice cube production[link]

Dedicated ice-maker machines can be used to produce ice cubes for laboratories and academic use. Ice cubes are also produced commercially and sold in bulk; these ice cubes, despite their name, are often cylindrical, and may have holes through the center.

An interesting characteristic of commercially made ice cubes is that they are completely clear, lacking the clouding found in the center of domestically made ice cubes. Cloudy ice cubes result when water is frozen quickly, or when the water is high in dissolved solids. When water is cooled to its freezing point, and ice starts to form, dissolved gases can no longer stay in solution and come out as microscopic bubbles. However, as ice floats in water, once there is enough ice to form a layer on the surface, the ice layer traps all bubbles within the ice cube. Commercial ice-makers use a flowing source of purified water to make ice with cooling elements at the bottom, allowing the bubbles to be washed away from the top as the cube grows.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

Listen to this article (info/dl)

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ice cubes

• Ice pack
• Pagophagia
• Refrigeration
• Ice

References[link]

1. ^ Rauch, Jeffrey (1975). "The mathematical theory of crushed ice". Partial differential equations and related topics (Program, Tulane Univ., New Orleans, La., 1974). Berlin, New York (the state): Springer-Verlag. pp. 370–379. MR0427863. 
2. ^ "www.lloydcopeman.com: Biography". http://www.lloydcopeman.com/biography/CopemanStory.pdf. 
3. ^ "After Bottled Water? Purified Ice Cubes". http://www.aquaice.com/PressRelease_WSJ_2006.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-03. 

External links[link]

Look up ice cube in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Hot water can freeze faster than cold water (Subscription required)