The touristic development of Berovo is closely connected with the cultural activities and the organization of cultural events.

The municipality of Berovo became a remarkable touristic-cultural destination during the last few years. Many cultural events are organized and some of them are traditional and recognizable for this region.

Starting with the carnival Ratevski Bamburci, held annually on January 20^th, through the celebration of the Easter holidays, all to the culmination with the cultural events on the Ethno square and the expo “Maleshevo on the palm of your hand”, as well as the row of cultural events throughout the whole year, it manages to keep balance of satisfying all tastes of the different generations of visitors.

The house of culture “Dimitar Berovski” is the only institution connected to the field of culture and the main centre of events of the cultural and entertaining life in the town of Berovo.

After the liberation in 1946, the needs required founding of a Community college and a Public library. There were night schools organized to literate the citizens, different courses according to the needs of the working organizations, there were lectures and debates for the socio-political relations and happenings in the country. Within the Community college, which got the name Mosha Pijade, functioned folklore groups and individuals who participated on different events organized for public holidays in Berovo and the nearby places and sometimes even outside of the region. 

Later, within the Community college “Mosha Pijade”, the first cinema in the municipality was opened. The cinema “Malesh” started its work in the old hall of “Sokolana”, named before the war and afterwards renamed into “Partizan”. In 1953, with voluntary work “angarija”, another cinema was made, and that hall still exists, projecting movies and hosting concerts, theater plays and similar events.

By the end of the 60s, the first public radio in Berovo was founded – “Radio Berovo”, which worked in the House of culture till the end of the 70s when it separated and started its work as an individual legal entity.

In 1971, the delegates of that time in the municipal assembly made a decision to transform the Community college “Mosha Pijade” into the House of culture “Dimitar Berovski”, Berovo. The house of culture was named after Dimitar Pop-Gorgiev, one of the most important individuals in the Macedonian national history, especially from the second half of the 19^th century to the Ilinden Uprising. He was born in 1840, in a famous priest’s family in Berovo and because of that he takes the nickname Berovski. After finishing theology in the monastery St. Archangel Michael in Berovo, his destiny takes him to Odessa, Ukraine, where he studies spiritual seminary, and after that he goes to Belgrade to sign up to the military school. There, he fights for the Serbian army against the attacks of the Turks. After coming back to Berovo, the people name him a representative of the church administration in front of the Turkish rule and he becomes their first people’s teacher. Being restless about the turbulent times on the Balkans, Dimitar Berovski starts organizing the first uprising in Macedonia, known as the “Razlovci Uprising”, named after the village where it took place in 1876. After the defeat and his wounding, the village was set on fire, the uprising was suppressed with blood, but Dimitar Berovski didn’t give up his revolutionary action and fight for freedom. So, in October, 1878, he starts the “Macedonian Uprising”, also known as “Kresna Uprising”.

With the recruitment of the staff and with the change of the basis of work, in 1971, there appeared a requirement of new contents in the program, which corresponded with the needs of the citizens. As the primary forms of action of the House of culture, the accent was put on:

• Folklore

(A folk music group with more than 200 members)

(Ensemble “Raspeani Berovcani”)

(Quartet of zurnas and drums (zurli I tapani) 

• Amateur theater
• Library activities
• Museum activites
• Art and gallery activities

From 2005, the house of culture was transferred under the jurisdiction of the local community, but it still gets the finances for salaries from the Ministry of culture. All other finances needed for realization of the program are gathered by projects applied to the Ministry of culture, as well as to different international funds.

Public library

Within the House of culture works the main library “Narodna prosveta” as a public library of the Municipality of Berovo. It was founded in 1946 as an individual institution but it was then fused with the Community college “Mosha Pijade”, and after its transformation it was included in the work of the House of culture “Dimitar Berovski”. It was relocated to different premises for a few times and today’s premises do not satisfy the needs for its function. It is located in two rooms with a total area of 120 m². These rooms contain the reading space, the working space and the storage. Because of that, a new and modern building is needed. The House of culture initiates the building and in collaboration with UNDP and the local government they decided on the location – the city park. The Finish government is also interested in the project of building a new library following the example of the modern Finish libraries. We hope that this project will be realized soon and this problem will be solved.

In the current library, 2 people with high education are employed and the number of books is around 31.500 with 13.500 titles. Most of the books were purchased with finances from the Ministry of culture and a smaller number were purchased through the National and the University library, donations and personal finances of the House of culture. 

Besides the current work of receiving clients and renting books, the library also organizes a section of young librarians that shows their knowledge on annual competitions. There is also a reciting section which performs on different events and holidays.

The library also organizes competitions for primary and high school students for various occasions and especially for the “Book month” – October. It also organizes promotions of new books and books of local authors as well as literary readings and meetings with famous poets and authors.

Marking the big Christian holiday “Dormition of the Holy Mother of God” (Golema Bogorodica) on August 28^th, Berovo is the centre of events, every year, in the last weekend of August. It unifies the people who enjoy the rhythm of the ethno music contained in one of the biggest open air festivals – Ethno Square festival.

Ethno Square festival is a mobile museum of the most beautiful, primordial, priceless folkloric treasure, nurtured by our music ambassadors who are the heralds of the storm in which, through a moment of an eternal process of rebirth, our Macedonian identity is shown.

The music, as a universal language of the festival, is performed by our best ethno and folklore groups, which are also the biggest Macedonian culture and tradition world ambassadors.

Ethno Square festival also leaves space for the ethno sounds of the Balkans which contributes in the presentation of the characteristics of the Balkans and the tradition of our neighbor countries.

A special magic to the festival is added by the international expo of traditional products “Maleshevo on the palm of your hand”. The colorful and rich variety of products on the stands completely changes the spirit of the square. Here, you can find crafts, souvenirs and traditional or stylized carvings. You can taste honey, dairy products, juice, vinegar or pasta. They are all made in traditional manner, from natural materials.

Within the festival, there is also a kids’ festival called “Maleshevsko zvonche” (Maleshevian bell), which is an important part of the cultural life in Berovo and a starting point for many musical talents from the town.

“Bamburci” is a carnival held annually on the holiday St. John in the village Ratevo.

It started as a tradition of putting on leather costumes to chase evil spirits and it grew up to be a well known carnival on the list of cultural events in Macedonia. Around one hundred villagers from the Maleshevian village Ratevo, masked in animal leather and big, metal bells continue the long lasting tradition of chasing evil. They walk along the streets to the centre of the village where they are joined by more masked villagers from other villages as well, but with more sophisticated masks. 

This tradition that grew up to be a carnival “Ratevski Bamburci”, amazes many guests that are curious to see the ritual. The Bamburci (the masked people) wearing leather look scary. Everything resembles the ambient of thousands of years ago. Bamburci, in the dialect of Berovo, means something very scary that can only be chased by something scarier. That is why they make scary clothes out of animal skins – cows, sheep, goats and birds and it is a process that lasts up to 2-3 months. That was the way of dealing with evil and illnesses within the people and their stock for more than 1000 years in Ratevo.

The oldest villagers remember that this long lasting tradition connected with the holiday St. John, was never skipped.

The tradition of celebrating one of the biggest Christian holidays “Easter” is marked with a big celebration on the square “Dimitar Berovski” in Berovo.

The biggest attention is attracted by the competition of the best decorated egg and the hardest egg which get a symbolic money prize from the municipality of Berovo.

The celebration also contains a cultural-artistic program which gathers people on the square and they are usually entertained by the folklore group “Dimitar Berovski” from Berovo, which performs a few traditional Maleshevian male and female dances, and performances of Macedonian artists or groups.