Municipality of Vinica (433 km2) is located in the central part of the East Planning Region. According to estimates in the municipality there are about 19,000 inhabitants. The municipality includes the town Vinica and 15 other settlements.
The Municipality of Vinica is a cultural treasury with many preserved monuments from the earliest times to the present. The big number of archaeological sites is the witness for this. In the official archaeological map of North Macedonia, over 100 archaeological sites have been registered on the territory of the Municipality of Vinica.
Among them the most significant place is the archaeological site Vinicko Kale(Vinica’s Kale). The Archeological Site Vinicko Kale is in the south-eastern part of Vinica. Vinicko Kale is an ancient ruin located on the hill above the town. It is located on the left side of the Grdečka River, on a hill about 400 meters above sea level.
Vinicko Kale was discovered in 1954. Its timeless life can be traced back from the Prehistoric era to the Middle ages. In 1978, 5 fragments of terra-cotta icons were discovered in Vinicko Kale, which shows that it was inhabited from Neolithic times to the Middle Ages.
Vinicko Kale was a Late antiquity fortress built during the 4th to 6th centuries near a regional road leading from Stobi to Pautalia (today Kyustendil). It is also a significant Early Christian center. Vinicko Kale covers an area of 2.5 hectares and so far more architectural contents have been discovered: the defensive wall with 12 defensive towers, warehouse spaces, two baths, a fountain, two Early Christian basilicas, a water tank and several residential buildings, and much more, but also numerous items of clay, iron, bronze, glass, bone, coins, jewelry and more.
The “Terracotta Icons” unique of its kind in the world. The terracotta icons from Vinica are plates made of clay, molded with a mold, with which relief emblems with certain iconographic content are made on the front side of the plate. Motives are taken from the Bible from the Old and the New Testament, depicted saints and illustrated psalms.
Vinica City Museum “Terracota”
The museum “Terracotta” was opened in 2006, located in the very center of the city as part of the building of the municipal assembly, with accessibility from all sides and secured parking.
Besides the numerous museum objects, the museum also has the largest collection of terracotta icons in the Republic of Northern Macedonia. Terracotta icons testify the high artistic achievements of the ancient Christian art created in the dawn of the Middle Ages and undoubtedly indicate that the roots of Christianity are in Vinica.
The Museum of Vinica presents a modern, successful and innovative museum that follows contemporary museum theories and practices. The permanent museum exhibition presents over 300 significant archaeological objects, which are chronologically conceptualized, tell the story of the region from Prehistory to the Middle Ages.
The museum regularly organizes educational workshops, lectures, presentations and temporary exhibitions, within various cultural manifestations. A number of activities related to the protection of cultural heritage are realized.