The Natural History Museum of the Republic of North Macedonia turns 100

The centenary of the Natural History Museum of North Macedonia was officially celebrated on October 26, 2026, at the Macedonian National Theatre in Skopje.

The institution dates back to 1926, when the Zoological Department of the Museum of Southern Serbia was founded on the initiative of the Serbo-Croatian scientist Dr Stanko Karaman. This department later evolved into the Natural History Museum of North Macedonia, with Dr Karaman leading the institution until the outbreak of World War II. From the summer of 1941 to October 1944, the museum operated as part of the Natural History Institutes of King Boris III, under the direction of Academician Ivan Buresh. Management was then taken over by the Bulgarian entomologist Dr Krastyu Tuleshkov, whose active scientific and organizational work significantly advanced the museum’s development. Under his leadership, botanical and geological departments were established, and the museum moved into a new, more suitable building, where it remained until the catastrophic Skopje earthquake of 1963. On December 11, 1942, Dr Tuleshkov also founded the Natural History Society in Macedonia, launching extensive field expeditions and specimen collection efforts.

Today, the Natural History Museum of North Macedonia stands as one of the country’s most vital scientific and educational centers, housing approximately 380,000 natural specimens, including unique paleontological discoveries and rare, endemic flora and fauna.

The jubilee ceremony in Skopje brought together members of the scientific community from North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Serbia, and other European countries. Academician Gordan Karaman, son of the museum’s founder, attended the event to deliver a welcoming address. The Director of the Natural History Museum, Mr. Ivica Zarkadov, welcomed the international guests and presented honorary plaques to distinguished scientists, local municipalities, and private enterprises that have supported the institution over the decades. Among the honorees was paleontologist Prof. Nikolai Spasov, former director of the National Museum of Natural History, Sofia (NMNHS), recognized for his lifelong contribution to researching paleontological sites in North Macedonia. The contribution primarily relates to the study of the country’s fossil mammalian fauna, summarized in the first monograph on the subject, published in 2018 under the leadership of Prof. Spassov, and to subsequent paleontological excavations conducted over the last decade by a joint team from the two museums, which have led to impressive scientific discoveries.

Alongside current director Prof. Pavel Stoev, the NMNHS delegation included arachnologist Assoc. Prof. Hristo Delchev, Assoc. Prof. Georgi Markov (Head of Paleontology and Mineralogy), Assoc. Prof. Latinka Hristova (Scientific Secretary), paleontologists Vladimir Nikolov and Ralitsa Bogdanova, and archaeologist Yordanka Leshtakova. Many of these researchers have a long history of cross-border collaboration on joint scientific projects. To mark the 100-year milestone, the Bulgarian scientists presented their Macedonian colleagues with an official congratulatory address and a painting of a rare orchid species (Orchis genarii).