Fire of Skopje 1689

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In 1689 AD the Austrian General Enea Silvio Piccolomini led an army to capture Kosovo, Bosnia and Macedonia (region) from the Ottoman Empire. During the offensive, the city of Skopje, present-day capital of the Republic of Macedonia, was plagued by epidemics of cholera. To prevent the outburst of the disease, or, by other accounts, to retaliate for the siege of Vienna (1683), General Piccolomini ordered the city to be burned.

The fire of Skopje started on 26.10.1689, lasted for two days, and burnt much of the city, except some stone-built structures, such as the fortress, some churches and mosques. The fire had disastrous effect on the city: its population declined from around 60.000 to around 10.000, and it lost its regional significance as a trading centre.

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