Cultural Heritage

General Information

Cultural heritage on the territory of the park adds value to the protected area and can be the basis for the development of sustainable tourism and contribute to the development of a tourist brand. On the territory of the park, immovable and intangible cultural heritage are present in the protected area, while movable cultural heritage is present in populated areas.

Immovable cultural heritage mainly consists of archaeological sites in the form of settlements and necropolises from antiquity or the medieval period, as well as Christian and Muslim temples or places of worship. Cultural landscapes, such as mountain pastures, are also included in this category. In all the mountain villages, a specific architectural style is visible, using traditional building materials such as stone, wood, hay and wattle.

Although there are a large number of intangible cultural elements in the Sar Mountain National Park, only one intangible cultural heritage has been officially registered – the male two-part singing from the Lower Polog area, known as glasoechko (vocal).

Customs and Traditions

Illyrian carnivals (Bozovce) - this traditional holiday has a history of 3 thousand years and dates back to the oldest Illyrian times. Inherited by the new generations, the inhabitants of Bozovce managed to preserve it as a tradition. Dressed in sheep's fur, from March 13 to 21, they believe that they will chase away bad things and evil spirits, so that they are as far away from the village as possible and do not harm the sources of livelihood of the inhabitants of this village. In the past, this holiday was performed in the same way in other villages from the hilly-mountainous areas of Sar Mountain, such as Lisec, Veshala and Shipkovica, but today this event is organized only in Bozovce. The carnivals end with a joint lunch and traditional dishes in Bozovce.

Folk traditional games (Selce) - the inhabitants of the village of Selce have brought back the old tradition of traditional games that were part of the life of the Sar Mountain villages in the past.

Cultural Events

On the territory of the park and in the wider region, there is a long history of a number of festivals and cultural events with local and regional participation. Each of the municipalities and almost every village in the region has its own festivals and events related to religious holidays and traditions.

The most important activities from a regional character that are organized are the music festivals: Sari kendon (Sara sings), a manifestation where folklore is presented from various places where the Albanian people live, "Tetovo Folk Filigrees", "Ditet e Naimit" (Days of Naim) - international manifestation of poetry; "Teho" international competition of choral singing, "Bletezat" and "Tetovo Apples" children's music festival, "Book fair" presentation of Albanian language editions of publishing houses from Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo.

Sports Events

The first Sarplanina Cup was held in 1947, making it the oldest international ski competition in the Balkan region. In 1954 it became part of the FIS B competitions, while from 1969 to 1986 it was a competition for the European Cup in skiing. Due to the loss of the status in 1986, in 1999 it again applied for a competition for the European Cup.