Porta Macedonia ( Macedonian: ''Порта Македонија'') is a memorial arch located on Pella Square in

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and List of cities in North Macedonia by population, largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Sk ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

. Construction started in 2011 and was completed in January 2012. The arch is 21 meters in height, and cost EUR 4.4 million. Its author is Valentina Stefanovska, sculptor who made several other grandiose monuments from

Skopje 2014 Skopje 2014 ( mk, Скопје 2014) was a project financed by the Macedonian government of the then-ruling nationalist party VMRO-DPMNE, with the official purpose of giving the capital Skopje a more classical appeal. The project, officially anno ...

project, including the statue dedicated to

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

officially named "Warrior on a Horse." During the opening ceremony, the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Nikola Gruevski Nikola Gruevski ( mk, Никола Груевски, pronounced ; hu, Nikola Gruevszki; born 31 August 1970) is a Macedonian politician who served as Prime Minister of Macedonia from 2006 until his resignation, which was caused by the 2016 Mace ...

admitted that he personally is the instigator of the Skopje 2014 plan. The arch is dedicated to 20 years of Macedonian independence and its outer surface is covered in 193 m² of reliefs carved in marble, depicting scenes from the history of Macedonia. It also contains interior rooms, one of which has a function of state-owned souvenir shop, as well as elevators and stairs providing public access to the roof, allegedly intended as space for weddings. The arch is facing criticism for its high cost. It is designed to match the almost equally tall statue of "

", erected in the capital's central square in summer 2011. Both constructions are part of the government-funded project named "

" with an estimated unofficial price tag €500 million. This considered, many Macedonians believe Porta Macedonia will encourage tourism. The

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Foreign Ministry has lodged an official complaint to authorities in the Republic of Macedonia following the inauguration of the arch which features images of historical figures including

.Athens complains about Skopje arch
Kathimerini, Thursday 19 January 2012

References

Buildings and structures completed in 2012 Buildings and structures in Skopje Monuments and memorials in North Macedonia Triumphal arches {{NorthMacedonia-struct-stub