Kale – Skopje Fortress

In 1392 after taking down the city of Skopje, the Ottoman Turks set up their platoon in the city (on Kale), brought their colonists into the suburbs, established the government, and Skopje became the main base and the starting point for penetration into Bosnia, Serbia, etc. In the XV century, the fortress was restored, mainly along the route of the medieval city, so the entire defensive wall of the Kale along with the rifles, cannons and towers dates back to the period of Ottoman rule. 
The Skopje Fortress served as a military-strategic facility of great importance throughout the Ottoman rule. Records of travel writers, including Evliya Çelebi, state that barracks, warehouses, gunpowder shops were located on the Kale and the fortress was managed by a Dizdar (commander) commanding 300 people. Following the modernization of the Ottoman army, the Kale was modernized as well, with renovated barracks and two sanitary facilities. The administrative building and the apartment of Hivzi-pasha, the last nazir (manager) of the Skopje Sandzak, were also located there. In the following years, the new Vilayet Ukumat, housing the highest Vilayet administratives was built across of these lodgings. A post office and a prison were built next to the administrative building, followed by a new barrack. Kale has always had a military defense function, starting with the five centuries of the Ottoman rule, up until 1963, when the earthquake damaged the buildings. 
In 1915, prior to the Bulgarian occupation, during the First World War, a fire broke out in the Turkish barracks located in the Kale. At the time, the buildings were converted into hospitals treatin typhoid and similar diseases.