Vodno summit · 66 m cross, 2002
A 66 m steel cross of 2002 on the 1,066 m summit of Vodno, reached by cable car from Sredno Vodno, with a view over the whole city.
These are the stories you can open in the 3D view, each at its own numbered point on the model.
The cross stands on Krstovar, the highest point of Mount Vodno at 1,066 metres. It is 66 metres tall, a lattice of steel, and was built in 2002 to mark two thousand years of Christianity. It was dedicated in August 2002 with about seventy thousand people present. It is lit at night.
The cross rises from a round platform. Twelve pillars stand round its edge; they are said to represent the twelve apostles. Since September 2018 a lift inside the cross takes visitors up, and in 2019 a restaurant and a souvenir shop opened beside it.
To the north the whole city lies on the plain of the Vardar, about eight hundred metres below. The Stone Bridge and the old town are about five kilometres away in a straight line, to the north-east. Beyond the city rise the mountains of Skopska Crna Gora, often in haze. The scene here draws the distant land closer than it is, keeping the angles you see from the top.
A cable car of cabins runs about 1.6 kilometres up from Sredno Vodno, at 557 metres, to this station. Older guides give a return fare of 100 to 120 denars and say it is closed on Mondays and on the last Tuesday of the month. Several tour operators report it closed for major repair from 29 April 2026; no official notice was found, so check before you go.
Vodno is the long mountain south-west of the city, with woods of oak and beech and some wild chestnuts on its slopes and a meadow on the top. From Sredno Vodno a path climbs to the summit in about one and a half to two hours (estimate). To the west the ridges fall towards the gorge of the Treska and Matka.
The cross was proposed by the government of the time, led by VMRO-DPMNE, after the conflict of 2001, and it was endorsed by the Macedonian Orthodox Church. Seen from Macedonia Square, it stands on top of the long ridge that closes the view to the south.
Typical prices are our estimates for orientation, not menu prices. Check opening hours on the spot.
Walk around the model, switch between day and night, and hear each story read aloud in English, Macedonian or Turkish.
Open in 3D
