The Haussmannian Paris and the neoclassical Skopje (The Skopje 2014 project)
The Haussmannian Paris and the neoclassical Skopje (The Skopje 2014 project)

Summary/Abstract: This paper aims to present historical, aesthetical, conceptualand ideological similarities between the Haussmannian reconstructionof Paris that took place between 1852 and 1870 and the neoclassical reconstructionof Skopje named “the Skopje 2014 project”. The similaritiesbetween these two reconstructive projects will be inspected, as wellas (some important) differences. The main line of comparison is thenotion of the nation that is being constructed; alongside it, the notion ofidentity, invention and (re)construction of the past (an important aspectof the creation of the collective vision, necessary in most, if not all nationalisticprojects). This notion is rooted in the past (always gloriousand idealistic), and it is aesthetically anachronistic and ideologicallywell contextualized. The creation of these urban plans will thereforeserve as a corpus for an analysis of the creation of the national mythand the creation of the nationalistic narrative through architecture andurban planning.

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