Topolčani


Topolcani is a village in the Prilep Municipality of North Macedonia. It used to be a municipality itself and its FIPS code was MKA7.

History

After the establishment of the Bulgarian Exarchate, Topolčani left the Greek Patriarchate and joined the Exarchate. According to Serbian sources, the Exarchate "Bulgarized" the school in the village in 1881. However, the Bulgarian teacher in the village was later expelled by the villagers.
The Serbian authorities took advantage of the situation and sent two Serbian teachers in the village, which were funded directly by Serbia. The now-Serbian school in the village worked illegally and was closed several times by the Ottomans, until 1898 when it was finally legalized.
The village, now under Serbian influence, left the Bulgarian Exarchate in 1890.
According to Bulgarian sources, the priests in the village were bribed to switch side to Serbia.
In 1907, the IMRO revolutionary Pavle Naumov sent a letter addressing the villagers of Topolčani, where he tells them that in Topolčani there are no Serbs, nor Greeks, nor Bulgarians, but only Macedonians. The villagers answered the letter after 11 days, claiming that they and Europe are aware that they are Macedonians, but the neighboring states brainwashed the people by dividing it in more nations, and that they can't give up their Serbian feelings. Pavle Naumov responded to their letter, accusing them of being scared, and that foreign people scare them, forcing them being Serbs. The villagers didn't respond to this, and gave the letter to the Serbian consul in Bitola. He wrote to Belgrade that certain Bulgarian vojvode named Naumov sent a letter to the village of Topolčane, while the Bulgarian terrorist organization became aggressive and tried through letters, to persuade the village to join the Bulgarian side.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 449 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the village include: