Resen Municipality


Resen is a municipality in southwestern Republic of North Macedonia. Resen is also the name of the town where the municipal seat is found. Resen Municipality is located in the Pelagonia Statistical Region.

Geography

The municipality borders Ohrid Municipality to the west, Demir Hisar Municipality to the northeast, Bitola Municipality to the east, and Greece and Albania to the south.

Demographics

According to the 2021 North Macedonia census, Resen Municipality has 14,373 inhabitants.
Ethnic groups in the municipality include:
Religious affiliation according to the Macedonia census and 2021 North Macedonia census:
  • Mother tongues according to the 2002 Macedonia census in the municipality include:
  • * Macedonian = 12,943
  • * Albanian = 1,885
  • * Turkish = 1,766
  • * Roma = 113
  • * others.
Orthodox Macedonians inhabit all populated settlements in the municipality of Resen. During the late Ottoman period, Torbeš used to reside in Podmočani and Slivnica, although the villages are now wholly populated by Orthodox Macedonians.
In Resen proper, a sizable amount of the Orthodox Macedonian population originates from the villages of Podmočani, Bolno, Malovišta and other villages from the Lake Ohrid area who settled in Resen during the middle of the 19th century. Orthodox Aromanians live, in small numbers, in Resen and in the village of Jankovec.
Most of the Muslim population living in Resen, in addition to those living in Drmeni, Carev Dvor, Lavci, Kozjak and some families in Grnčari and Gorna Bela Crkva speaks Turkish. In the late Ottoman period, a few Turks used to also reside in the village of Nakolec. The Turkish population in the Prespa region is believed by scholars to either be descended from Turks settled in strategic areas or the descendants of local Turkified Slavs during Ottoman rule.
The presence of Muslim Albanians in the Lake Prespa region dates to the Ottoman period consisting of southern Albanians who arrived from various areas of southern Albania, while some families consider their presence in the Prespa region to be indigenous. The speech and folklore of Prespa Albanians is similar to that of the Devoll and Korçë regions in Albania. Albanian-speaking Muslims are located in small numbers in Kozjak, Sopotsko, and Gorna Bela Crkva while forming a significant part of the village population in Dolna Bela Crkva, Grnčari, Krani, Arvati, Asamati and Nakolec.
During the Ottoman period the now former village of Bukovo, a Macedonian settlement that later became populated only with Torbeš and Albanians became depopulated after they left the village during the Balkan Wars. Of settlements with Prespa Muslim Albanians most are Sunni, except in Gorna Bela Crkva. A small number of Bektashi Albanians, known locally as Kolonjarë who trace their arrival from the region of Kolonjë, southern Albania between the late 18th and early 19th century lived in Ljubojno, Nakolec and Krani.
After the fall of the Ottoman empire and some population movements Kolonjarë inhabit Gorna Bela Crkva, Dolna Bela Crkva and Asamati. The Albanian population in Resen settled there during the first decades of the 19th century originating from the Yanya vilayet. In contemporary times Muslim Albanians live in small numbers within Resen. A small number of Albanian speaking Muslim Romani used to live in Krani and Nakolec which during the latter decades of the 20th century have migrated to Ohrid and Resen.
Traditionally a class and religious divide existed between the Bektashi Kolonjarë who formed the local former ruling Ottoman elite or bejlerë and now contemporary Prespa Albanian intelligentsia and Sunni Albanians villagers, referred to by Kolonjarë as arbutë or të vêndë.
Sunni Albanians from Sopotsko, Grnčari and Dolna Bela Crkva traditionally highlighted their religious identity over a linguistic one having closer economic and social relations with local Turks and Torbeš and being distant from Orthodox Macedonians. Differences between both Bektashi and Sunni Prespa Albanian communities over time have disappeared through intermarriage and closer communal and cultural relations. The local Prespa dialect of Tosk Albanian being on the periphery of Albanian speech has been strongly influenced by the Macedonian language resulting in the loss of vowel length and the phoneme h, while the alveolar trill has merged into the alveolar tap.

Inhabited places

There are 41 inhabited places in this municipality.
Inhabited PlacesTotalMacedoniansAlbaniansTurksRomaVlachsSerbsBosniansOthers
Resen Municipality14,37310,1301,3811,457314447012965
Resen79045357374108429429498479
Arvati1193782000004
Asamati16855911600006
Bolno1951910000004
Brajchino68610000214
Volkoderi88850000012
Gorna Bela Crkva21391098800007
Gorno Dupeni33300000003
Gorno Krushje55491000041
Grnchari311542304000122
Dolna Bela Crkva17911756000006
Dolno Dupeni1741640000019
Dolno Perovo1111033000005
Drmeni3613500600005
Evla51500000001
Ezerani1371370000000
Zlatari72690000003
Izbishta1281210000106
Ilino000000000
Jankovec110610206280145026
Kozjak85187400002
Konjsko13110000002
Krani3617426301300011
Kriveni15140000010
Kurbinovo1011010000000
Lavci1181369800001
Leva Reka41400000001
Leskoec000000000
Ljubojno1411310101007
Nakolec21278115070008
Oteshevo000000000
Petrino000000000
Podmochani2612542000203
Pokrvenik70691000000
Preljubje750000002
Pretor1161100000501
Rajca51510000000
Slivnica1701670000102
Sopocko152111310000010
Stenje30425100003048
Stipona000000000
Carev Dvor470388358001019
Shtrbovo1371290000006
Shurlenci75730000101