Memorial center of ASNOM in Pelince
The Memorial center in Pelince village is dedicated to the First Assembly of ASNOM held on August 2, 1944 in the monastery St. Prohor Pchinski.
At the First Assembly of ASNOM, as a result of the participation of the Macedonian people in the Second World War and the National Liberation Fight against Fascism, the constitution of the Macedonian state was crowned as an equal federal unit in the newly established Democratic Federal Yugoslavia. This was a fulfillment of the centuries-long strive of the Macedonian nation for national freedom and creation of its own state.
The delegates at the first session of ASNOM, were elected from all parts of ethnographic Macedonia, from all social layers, confessions, and nationalities.
The assembly was opened by the oldest delegate, Panko Brashnarov, a teacher from Veles and Ilinden rebel, with these words:
„At this moment, at this historic place, the St. Prohor Pcinjski monastery and on this historic and holy day of Ilinden, when I pronounce that the First Anti-Fascists Assembly is open, joyfully in front of my misty eyes I see how all the rivers have stirred up, from Pcinja to Vardar, from Mesta and Bistrica, the whole Macedonian land is splashed, wanting to wash the ten century-long disgrace of the Macedonian nation from the collapsed Samoil state, in order to give birth today to a new, bright and free Macedonian state…..”
A Presidency was established, which in fact is the first Macedonian government. Metodija Andonov-Cento was elected president, Vice-Presidents were Panko Brashnarov and Emanuel Chuchkov, and secretaries: Ljupcho Arsov and Vladimir Polezhinovski. The presidium also had 17 members.
The ASNOM Memorial Complex in the village of Pelince is located beside the Pchinja River, about 8 km from the monastery of St. Prohor Pchinski. It was officially opened on 2 August 2004, marking the 60th anniversary of the First ASNOM assembly.
Besides the ASNOM Museum, the complex also has a restaurant, an amphitheater for performances, playground and a park which is one of the favorite places for relaxation of the local population.
The Memorial Center is built by the project of the architect Georgi Konstantinovski, and the monumental mosaic of the facade of the museum is the work of Rubens Korubin.
The museum houses a copy of the room of the Prohor Pchinski Monastery, in which the First Session of ASNOM was held, and next to it is a memorial room where documents from the session are presented.