The Museum of the Macedonian Struggle opened in 2011 as part of the "Skopje 2014" project and tells the history of Macedonian resistance to Ottoman rule, the Ilinden uprising of 1903, and the struggle for national identity from the 19th century through World War II and Yugoslav Yugoslavia. The museum uses life-size wax figures — more than 2,000 of them — to recreate historical scenes, battles, and moments of political drama.
It is an unabashedly patriotic museum, and some of its historical interpretations are contested. But it is also thorough and viscerally engaging — the scenes of the 1903 Ilinden Uprising and the World War II Partisan struggle are well staged and genuinely dramatic. Whether you accept the framing or not, it gives a good grounding in how Macedonians understand their own history, which is essential context for understanding the country.