Travel Guide Ljubojno

Here, beautiful stone houses restored by the diaspora stand side by side with sad ruined buildings. This village, which had a population of almost 1,000 in 1981, has seen 85% of its population move to North America. Such is the case of one of the country's stars. Pop singer Lambe Alabakovski, born here in 1987, moved to the USA in 2010, not so much for economic reasons, but to make himself forgotten after his violent nationalist stance. He returned in 2021 with his small Macedo-American family and now lives between Skopje and Ljubojno. For those who have stayed, daily life is less glamorous, with most of the population working in agriculture (especially apples). As for the large school in Ljubojno, which trained some of the country's intellectuals at the turn of the 20th century, it remains gutted in the center of the village. As for the six churches, including the 14th-century St. Nicholas chapel, they are mostly closed. Some, however, open their doors when the "Americans" return in summer.