The Post over the years<br>The operation of the Post after the devastating earthquake in Skopje

Today, we are marking the 58 anniversary of the devastating earthquake in Skopje.

Not many people are familiar with the fact that Skopje 2 Post Office was located next to the famous railway station.

The building of the old Skopje 2 Post Office before the earthquake

(Source: Makedonska pošta, Makedonski telekomunikacii by Risto Kostovski)

This post office was the main postal traffic center in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. The building was completely destroyed during the earthquake but the operational process did not stop at all.

The building of the old Skopje 2 Post Office after the earthquake

(Source: Makedonska pošta, Makedonski telekomunikacii by Risto Kostovski)

There are several versions about who first sent the news of the earthquake that happened at 5:17 in the morning. Some say that it was the military personnel, but according to other sources, it is considered that the postal staff first established a telephone connection with Priština at 6:30 a.m. after putting into operation some of the communication devices in the destroyed building. They managed to establish a connection with Belgrade via Priština at 7:30 a.m. On the same day, at around 9 a.m., postal workers established a direct connection with Belgrade using the utility pole in front of the Josip Broz Tito High School.

After the earthquake, life in Skopje went on mainly in tent settlements. The Post quickly adapted to the new situation and opened its access points in those settlements. There were a total of four post offices in the city organized in tents. Idadija Municipality was served by the post office located in the City Park. The post office covering Kale Municipality was placed in the park behind the Theatre of the Minorities and the post office serving the Saat Kula Municipality was in the Avtokomanda settlement. Kisela Voda Municipality was served by the post office located in the yard of the Kuzman Josifovski-Pitu School.

Initially, postmen delivered mail to the recipients at the indicated address; however, if the recipients were not there the postal items were returned in the tent settlements or in the access points where the citizens could come and pick them up.

Delivery of postal items, especially in remote areas, was rather difficult. Postal carriers traveled tens of kilometers every day. According to the records from this period, they had to walk 18 km every day.

The reconstruction plan for Skopje envisaged building of urban and suburban settlements with post offices, health institutions, elementary schools, buildings for social activities and cultural and entertainment facilities.

In 1964-65 all postal facilities that were destroyed in the Skopje earthquake were replaced with temporary facilities – huts.

The first makeshift PTT office began operating on July 27, 1963.

Source: Makedonska pošta

In this period a total of 1544 mailboxes were installed. On average, one mailbox per 17 square kilometers, i.e. one mailbox served 1047 inhabitants.

A decade after the earthquake, the Skopje 2 Post Office was dislocated from the area next to the old railway station; the new Skopje 2 Post Office was situated within the new railway station, according to the Kenzo Tange plan.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the earthquake, Makedonska pošta issued a postage stamp.