Kočani ( ) is a town in the eastern part of North Macedonia, situated around east from Skopje. It has a population of 28,330 and is the seat of the Kočani Municipality. Geography and population The town spreads across the Northern side of the Kočani valley, along the banks of the Kočani river, where it leaves the mountain slopes and flows through the valley. North of the town there is the Osogovo mountain () and to the south the valley is closed by the mountain Plačkovica (). The town is above sea level. Kočani spreads over an area of and has population of 28,330 inhabitants which makes it the third regional center in the Eastern part of the country: 1948 - 6,657 inhabitants 1994 - 26,364 inhabitants 2002 - 28,330 inhabitants Demographics Ethnic structure According to the 1903 Austrian consular reports on ethnic composition of the kazas of the Sanjak of Skopje in 1903, the kaza of Kočani was populated by a total of 39,406 inhabitants, of whom 16,524 (41.93%) were Bulgarian Exarchists, 11,600 (29.44%) Ottoman Muslim, 7,800 (19.79%) Albanians, 1,680 (4.26%) Aromanians, 1,090 (2.77%) Patriarchists and 712 (1.8%) Romanis. According to the 2002 census, the ethnic composition of the city is as follows: Macedonian: 90.3% Roma: 5.0% Turks: 3.0% Vlachs: 0.5% Serbs: 0.2% Other: 1.0% Religious denomination Orthodox: 96% Muslims: 3% Catholic: 0.3% Other: 0.7% Climate The climate is humid subtropical (Köppen: Cfa), influenced by altered Mediterranean climate which penetrates along the river Bregalnica. The average temperature is with rainfall. History Due to its favourable geographic location, together with excellent natural climate characteristics, Kočani was inhabited as early as the ancient times first by the Paionians, Meds and Thracians. Later on, in the 6th century the Slavs inhabited parts of the region. More precisely, in the 7th century members of the Slavic tribe Smolyani colonized the Kočani valley and built a fortification. The founders of the Slavic education, brothers Kiril and Metodij (Cyril and Methodius), stayed in the valley from the year 845 to 855 and in the Bregalnica area (Morodvis) started to preach Christianity in Slavic language. Although the settlement existed long before that, Kočani was first mentioned in a charter from 1337 in which Despot Jovan Oliver donated the church of St. Dimitrija to Kočani. Archaeological finds in the town itself have revealed remains of a settlement here in the Roman and Byzantine periods. Early in the