Nižepole

Nižepole Нижеполе Nijopolea
Village
Modern architecture in Nižepole
Nižepole Location within North Macedonia
Coordinates: 41°00′38″N 21°14′43″E
Country	North Macedonia
Region	Pelagonia
Municipality	Bitola
Population  (2002)
• Total	186
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	7223
Area code	+389 47
Car plates	BT
Website	.

Nižepole (Macedonian: Нижеполе, Aromanian: Nijopolea) is a village in the municipality of Bitola, North Macedonia, and is an alpine settlement 7.85 kilometers from Bitola.

History

The population of Nižepole was made up of older inhabitants of Aromanians (Vlachs) and later Arvanito-Vlachs who formed a large part of the village population.[1] A small number of Muslim Albanians over time settled in Nižepole originating from the Korçë region.[1] During the first World War, Nižepole fell on the Allied side of the Macedonian front and its Aromanian villagers first fled to Florina and then most went to Katerini, Greece.[1] After the war, most Nižepole Aromanians preferred to remain in Katerini after a few returnees came back telling of the destruction of the village.[1] Only in 1923 with the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey and arrival of Greek refugees after the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) did some Nižepole inhabitants return to the village.[1]

Demographics

Nižepole, Greek language primary school and Orthodox church, early 20th century

Nižepole is attested in the Ottoman defter of 1467/68 as a village in the vilayet of Manastir. The inhabitants attested largely bore mixed Slavic-Albanian anthroponyms, such as Gerg son of Boris, Leko, or Gin son of Lavre.[2]

In statistics gathered by Vasil Kanchov in 1900, the village of Nižepole was inhabited by 1590 Aromanians, 250 Orthodox Albanians and 190 Orthodox Bulgarians.[3] According to the statistics of Bulgarian Exarchate secretary Dimitri Mishev (D. M. Brancoff), the town had a total Christian population of 940 in 1905, consisting of 780 Vlachs and 160 Patriarchist Bulgarians.[4]

According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 186 inhabitants.[5] Ethnic groups in the village include:[5]

• Vlachs 105
• Macedonians 47
• Albanians 30
• Romani 4

Notable people

• Theodoros Adam, Greek chieftain of the Macedonian Struggle

References

1. Koukoudis, Asterios (2003). The Vlachs: Metropolis and Diaspora. Thessaloniki: Zitros Publications. ISBN 9789607760869. p. 299. "One of the most noteworthy cases was quite a large group which settled among the older Vlach residents of Nižepole, close to Magarevo, making the Arvanitovlachs a significant part of the population of the village."; p. 352. "A small group of Moslem Albanians from the Korçë area gradually settled in Trnovo and Nižepole."; pp. 468-469. "The inhabitants of Nižepole, the only Vlach village behind Allied lines fled to Florina and, mainly to Katerini."; p. 470. "Most of the inhabitants of Nižepole opted to remain in Katerini when the first people to return brought home the news of the utter devastation of their village. It was not until 1923 and the arrival of the refugees from the Asia Minor disaster that some of them went back to Nižepole."
2. Murati, Qemal (2022). "EMRA VETJAKË TË PROVENIENCËS SHQIPTARE NË VILAJETIN E MANASTIRIT NË DRITËN E DEFTERËVE OSMANË TË SHEK. XV". Studime Albanologjike. ITSH: 35. NIZHO POLE Gerg, i biri i Boris-it. Leko; Gin, i biri i Lavre-s; Dimitri, i biri i Millosh-it; Dedie Millosh. Dede, i biri i Rajo-s; Molla (Mulla), e vejë
3. Vasil Kanchov (1900). Macedonia: Ethnography and Statistics. Sofia. p. 239.
4. Dimitri Mishev (D. M. Brancoff), La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne, p. 168
5. Macedonian Census (2002), Book 5 - Total population according to the Ethnic Affiliation, Mother Tongue and Religion, The State Statistical Office, Skopje, 2002, p. 71.

External links