The Ship of Doom

The Vardar, the river that flows through Skopje, is not navigable—and never has been. With a depth of merely 0.5 to 1.5 meters, even the bravest captain of an air mattress would hardly manage to drift downstream without risking their life. The health risks from chemical and biological pollutants, as well as the unpredictable currents of the watercourse—fed by meltwater from the Šar Mountains—are considerable.

Tourists rub their eyes in disbelief when they approach the banks or cross one of the numerous bridges. In the knee-deep water, galleys rise 15 to 20 meters into the air—and not just one, but three magnificent ships, each about 200 meters apart. Anyone approaching the ship right next to the famous Stone Bridge (Kamen Most), a 15th-century city landmark, will quickly recognize the charade: it is a kitschy stage-set building, a reinforced concrete structure on stilts that houses the Senigallia hotel and restaurant.

Now, this artificial galley is certainly not the only architectural misstep in Skopje. While it is a pleasant place to sit with a nice view of the Stone Bridge and the river, where you can be certain not to capsize or get seasick, the political powers-that-be thought big with the “Skopje 2014” project: Why have just one kitschy fake galley when you can build two or even three? The restaurant ships are a central element of this controversial major project. Financing and construction were largely handled through state channels. The project was initiated by the then-Macedonian government led by the national-conservative VMRO-DPMNE party. The goal was to fundamentally change Skopje’s cityscape to create a new national identity based on historical, often antique, motifs.

The ships were intended to visually enhance the Vardar as architectural highlights—even though they met with widespread confusion and criticism worldwide from a planning and functional perspective, as they are permanently anchored in the riverbed. Other elements of "Skopje 2014" include the sheer, incredible number of statues (about 284) and the construction of around 40 government buildings, which have earned Skopje the nickname "neoclassical Disneyland."

While the ship Senigallia is currently still in operation (as of 2026), the ship located further upstream appears abandoned: the entrances are secured with chains and sandbags, the paint is peeling, and a faded sign—"Royal Restaurant Makedonija"—is still visible. During the implementation, one or two cousins of those politically responsible surely got their share; "Skopje 2014" was accompanied by fierce corruption allegations. Originally estimated at around 80 million euros, the total costs ballooned to over 500 to 640 million euros—all taxpayer money.

If the second ship is already listing, all is lost for the third, downstream specimen. It is the true "Ship of Doom," where at most the undead pirates from Pirates of the Caribbean or the blind dead from the 1974 horror film (by Amando de Ossorio) could haunt. The ship is a picturesque "lost place," littered with trash, dirt, debris, and dead pigeons. Like a sinister ghost ship, it lies in the immediate vicinity of the "Bridge of Art" and seems ready to carry the souls of deceased Macedonian cultural figures on a journey to the afterlife.

The living should beware of boarding the ship, even if there are currently no barriers or warning signs. The wooden planks of the upper deck are full of holes, and in the tween deck, a burn hole allows a deep look into the bow. A fall here would likely be an involuntary check-in for a journey of no return.