Kruševo is a small mountain town in western North Macedonia, set above the Pelagonia plain at about 1,250 metres. It is one of the country's most distinctive towns: steep lanes, old Vlach and Macedonian houses, cold clear air, and a revolutionary history that still shapes the way the place sees itself.
The town is most closely linked with the Ilinden uprising of 1903, when rebels declared the short-lived Kruševo Republic before Ottoman forces retook the town. That memory is everywhere, from the strange white Makedonium monument above town to Mečkin Kamen, where Pitu Guli and his fighters made their last stand.
Kruševo also has a softer side. Its old centre is good for slow wandering, with stone alleys, painted balconies, and mountain views opening between the houses. In summer the ridges above town are one of the Balkans' best-known paragliding areas; in winter, snow gives the town a quiet ski-village feel.