Bitola

Bitola (Serbo-Croatian Bitolj), city in the southern part of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, capital of Bitola District, on the Crna River. The city, trade center of the Bitola Plain and the fertile Palagonija Valley, is a center for the production of hides, skins, leather, rugs, reed and rush matting, cordage, and grain. It is also the site of Bitola University (1979). Nearby are the ruins of the Greek settlement of Heraclea Lyncestis. Bitola became a bishopric in the 11th century, and from 1382 to 1913 it was part of the Ottoman Empire, under which it was called Monastir. The name is sometimes spelled Bitolia or Bitol. Population (2004 estimate) 95,385.