From 1944 until 1991 Skopje was the capital of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia . The city expanded and the population grew during this period from just over 150,000 in 1945 to almost 600,000 in the early 1990s . Continuing to be prone to natural disasters the city was flooded by the Vardar River in 1962 and then suffered considerable damage from a major earthquake , measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale , which killed over 1,000 people and made another 120,000 homeless . Eighty percent of the city was destroyed by the earthquake , and numerous cultural monuments were seriously damaged . The losses from the quake amounted to a massive 150 % of Macedonia 's GNP at the time and 15 % of Yugoslavia 's GNP . A major international relief effort saw the city rebuilt quickly , though much of its old neo-classical charm was lost in the process . The new master plan of the city was created by the then leading Japanese architect Kenzo Tange . The ruins of the old Skopje train station which was destroyed in the earthquake remain today as a memorial to the victims along with an adjacent museum
major earthquake
1963 Skopje earthquake
History of Skopje