At 5:17 in the morning on 26 July 1963. In twenty seconds Skopje stopped existing in the form people knew. An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, 1,070 dead, around 3,000 injured, more than 200,000 citizens left without a home. Sixty-three years later, a memorial plaque has been unveiled in the Old Skopje Bazaar for a man who fought to keep that bazaar standing.

The Polish urban planner Adolf Ciborowski was among the international experts working on the city's reconstruction plan. He led the United Nations project work on rebuilding Skopje, on the strategic and social development plans. The Japanese architect Kenzo Tange designed the recognisable „City Wall” and the central city area.

The man who said no to erasure

This is the part that rarely gets told. At the point when some of the proposals called for replacing the historic city core with entirely modern urban solutions, Ciborowski argued that the historical heritage should be built into the city's new vision.

The mayor of Čair, Izet Mexhiti, said the plaque is an expression of gratitude for that vision and for the contribution to preserving the Old Skopje Bazaar, which remains one of Skopje's most important historical, cultural and identity assets. Skopje mayor Orce Gjorgjievski called the plaque a small but significant act of gratitude to a man who helped preserve the spirit of the bazaar. Ciborowski's granddaughter Julia also attended, saying that history should serve to create a modern future.

Sixty-three years later

It is worth pausing on what this plaque means today. A foreigner, in a city levelled to the ground, fought to stop its oldest part from being erased - at a time when „modern” was the most powerful argument in any discussion about building. Had he lost that argument, the bazaar today would be a car park or an administrative block.

Since 1963, Skopje has been a global symbol of solidarity - help arrived from all over the world and the city got back on its feet. To mark the anniversary there is an exhibition, „63 Years - Skopje '63”, at the City Museum, and a concert, „Skopje, My Joy”, in the City Park.

The date of 26 July stays carved into the city's collective memory. Not because of the number of dead, but because of what came after - and because of people who, like Ciborowski, insisted that rebuilding must not mean erasing. That is a lesson every future city administration can read off the plaque in the bazaar, if it wants to.