Sveti Nikole ( mk, Свети Николе ; meaning ''Saint Nicholas''; rup, San Nicole) is a town in

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 ...

. It is the seat of

Sveti Nikole Municipality Sveti Nikole ( mk, Свети Николе ) is a municipality in eastern Macedonia. ''Sveti Nikole'' is also the name of the town where the municipal seat is found. Sveti Nikole Municipality is part of the Vardar Statistical Region. Geograph ...

and a center of a

plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

called

Ovče Pole Ovče Pole ( mk, Овче Поле, literally 'sheep plain') is a plain near Sveti Nikole's River, which is a tributary of the Bregalnica River in east-central North Macedonia. History The Battle of Ovche Pole occurred during the First World Wa ...

(''Plain of sheep''), famous for

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

farming,

lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

meat, and dairy products of all kinds.

History

According to legend, the town was named after the church of Saint Nicholas (''Sveti Nikola''), built in the beginning of the 14th century. It is said to have been the biggest of all 42 churches in this area at its time. The former settlement of ''Arbanaško'', itself derived from ''Arbanas'' (an old South Slavic ethonym for Albanians), is in present-day Sveti Nikole, suggesting either direct linguistic contact with Albanians or the former presence of an assimilated Albanian community.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census, the town had a total of 13,746 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the village include:Macedonian Census (2002)
''Book 5 - Total population according to the Ethnic Affiliation, Mother Tongue and Religion''
The State Statistical Office, Skopje, 2002, p. 173. * Macedonians 13,367 *

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

80 *

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

52 * Roma 72 *

Aromanians The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgaria, northern and ...

149 * Others 25

Sports

Local football club FK Ovče Pole plays in the Macedonian Third League (Southeast Division).

Notable people from the town

Lazar Koliševski Lazar Koliševski ( mk, Лазар Колишевски ; 12 February 1914 – 6 July 2000) was a Yugoslav communist political leader in the Socialist Republic of Macedonia and briefly in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He was clos ...

(1914-2000) - Macedonian politician, prime minister and president *

Kiril Lazarov Kiril Lazarov ( mk, Кирил Лазаров, born 10 May 1980) is a retired Macedonian handball player and current coach of the North Macedonia national handball team and RK Alkaloid. Lazarov holds the record for most goals scored in a single ...

(b. 1980) -

Team handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the ...

player

References

External links

Sveti Nikole
{{Authority control Towns in North Macedonia Sveti Nikole Municipality