Pitala Dived 338 Metres Into Vrelo and Became an Honorary Citizen of Skopje - Now It's the City's Turn to Protect Matka

On October 17, in the underwater cave of Vrelo in Matka Canyon, Polish diver Bartłomiej Pitala descended to 338 metres. That made Vrelo the deepest underwater cave in the world ever explored by a human. The Skopje City Council has now named him an honorary citizen of Skopje.

This is one of the rare stories this week that needs no interpretation. The "Vrelo 2026" expedition ran from October 10 to 17, with 15 divers from Macedonia, Poland and Italy. The previous record of 287 metres was beaten by 51 metres, and according to the expedition data, records were set in three categories: the deepest cave explored by a human, the deepest cave dive, and the deepest open-water depth dive. Vrelo now ranks ahead of Font Estramar in France and Elefante Bianco in Italy.

Mayor Orce Gjorgjievski called the feat a "huge opportunity" to bring more tourists, researchers and nature lovers to Skopje. "From today, our city is his too," he said. A nice gesture - and a deserved one.

But this is where the real obligation begins. Vrelo is a protected natural monument, and the City's own justification states that the cave is of special interest to the international cave-diving community. In its announcement of the honour, the City itself also stressed the duty to preserve this natural treasure.

Matka draws plenty of visitors even without a world record. If the record brings even more, the question is whether the canyon is ready - with a path, parking, waste handling and protection that can take the strain. Pitala finished his job 338 metres down. The City's job is up on the surface.