"Veles" Veles by Pijlmans

We visited Veles in 2010 on our way from Skopje to Stip. Pleasant surprises were the Castle, the Monastery of St Jovan Veterski and the Monastery of St Bogorodica, which we saw along the road from Skopje to Veles, next to the Pcinja river. These sights were not described in our guidebooks, but worth a visit!

The river Vardar divides Veles in two parts.

Veles, west bank of the Vardar river

On the left (east) bank we visited:

The small Church of St George
The modern Monument of the Thessaloniki Dynamiters
The World War II Monument on top of a hill at the entrance of Veles.

On the right (west) bank we saw:

The Clock Tower
The Monument for the Ilinden Rebels of Veles
The Statue of Koco Racin
The magnificent Church of St Pantelejmon
The City Park with its fountains
A New Church next to the City Park

Veles seen from Church of St Panteleimon

In 2012 we wanted to eat something in Veles on our way from Negotino to Skopje. We came from the south along the river Vardar and noticed a sign pointing to a "Kale" (fortress) and the Church of St Nedela. We stopped there and visited these sights, as well as the 14th century Church of St Nikolas and Monastery of St Dimitrija, the Chapel of St Ana and the recently built Church of St Petka that are all clustered together at this location. After we visited all these places we did not follow our original plan to eat something in Veles but we went directly to Skopje. Unexpected sights are the best!