The “Central office for protection of cultural monuments and natural rarities of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia” has existed since 1949. In 1960, the Central Office was renamed to “National office for protection of cultural monuments”, and granted the status of an independent cultural institution, with authority to execute activities of historic preservation. After the establishment of the Law on Protection of Cultural Heritage in 2004, the Ministry of Culture once again renamed the office to “National center for conservation” and narrowed down its responsibilities to dealing solely with preservation of immovable cultural heritage.