Toše Fans

Makedonium, officially the Ilinden monument, is the extraordinary white structure on the hill above Kruševo. Its rounded form with protruding oval windows is one of the most photographed pieces of modern architecture in the country.

For fans it has a particular meaning: inside the dome, alongside the tomb of Nikola Karev, president of the 1903 Kruševo Republic, stands a bust of Toše Proeski.

The monument was opened on 2 August 1974, on the 30th anniversary of the Second Session of the Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia and the 71st anniversary of the 1903 Ilinden Uprising. It was designed by Jordan Grabuloski and Iskra Grabuloska and is dedicated to the revolutionaries of 1903 and the partisans of the Second World War.

The grounds cover about five hectares. The complex includes the domed hall with stained-glass upper windows, a plateau of sculptures called "Breaking the Chains", a crypt carved with names and events, and an amphitheatre decorated with mosaics. The four windows inside the dome face places linked to the Ilinden events, including Mečkin Kamen and the Pelagonia plain.

Makedonium is at the centre of Ilinden commemorations on 2 August, North Macedonia's Day of the Republic, when Kruševo fills with official delegations and visitors. The rest of the year it is a place for quiet visits and photographs of the town and the plain below.

• Remember that the monument honours fighters and victims of two uprisings; behave as you would at any war memorial.
• The bust of Toše is inside the dome; check locally whether the interior is open on the day you visit.
• Combine with Mečkin Kamen for the full Ilinden story.