Belica (Macedonian: Белица) is a village in the municipality of Kičevo, North Macedonia. It used to be part of the former Drugovo Municipality.

Belica
Белица
Village
Belica is located in North Macedonia
Belica
Belica
Location within North Macedonia
Coordinates: 41°24′07″N 20°56′51″E / 41.401925°N 20.947570°E / 41.401925; 20.947570
Country North Macedonia
Region Southwestern
Municipality Kičevo
Population
 (2002)
 • Total
103
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Website.

Geography

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The village is located in the area of Kopacka region, in the southern part of the territory of the Municipality of Kičevo, on the south side of the Kičevo Valley, whose area rises on the eastern slope of Ilinska Mountain and touches the area of the Municipality of Debarca. The village is hilly, at an altitude of 760 meters. It is 21 kilometers away from the city of Kičevo.[1]

Demographics

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The village is attested in the 1467/68 Ottoman tax registry (defter) for the Nahiyah of Kırçova. The village had a total of 69 houses, excluding bachelors (mucerred).[2]

According to the statistics of Vasil Kanchov from 1900, the village of Belica had 750 inhabitants, all Bulgarians.[3] According to the Bulgarian Exarchate Secretary Dimitar Mišev, in 1905 Belica had 824 inhabitants who belonged to the Bulgarian Exarchate.[4] According to the 1942 Albanian census, Belica was inhabited by a total of 913 Bulgarians.[5]

Belica was affected by significant depopulation, as the population decreased from 702 inhabitants in 1961 to 115 inhabitants in 1994, Macedonian population. [6]

According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 103 inhabitants.[7] Ethnic groups in the village include:[7]

Culture

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Every year during the summer, the "Belica's Meetings" are held, an artistic cultural manifestation where people unite through folk music.[8]

References

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  1. ^ Панов, Митко (1998). Енциклопедија на селата во Република Македонија. p. 24
  2. ^ Qerim Dalipi. "NAHIJA E KËRÇOVËS SIPAS REGJISTRIMIT TË VITEVE 1467-1468 (Aspekte shoqërore)". Gjurmime Albanologjike - Seria e shkencave historike 47:29-48.
  3. ^ Vasil Kanchov. "Macedonia. "Ethnography and statistics." Sofia, 1900, p. 256
  4. ^ Brancoff, D.M. "La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne. Avec deux cartes ethnographiques", Paris, 1905 р. 154-155
  5. ^ "Ethnic/Religious composition of Dibër and Tetovë prefectures".
  6. ^ Панов, Митко (1998). Енциклопедија на селата во Република Македонија. p. 24
  7. ^ a b Macedonian Census (2002), Book 5 - Total population according to the Ethnic Affiliation, Mother Tongue and Religion, The State Statistical Office, Skopje, 2002, p. 236.
  8. ^ Kicevo MK. Село Белица како пример за останатите села во кичевско. 19 February, 2013.