Pustec
Пустец, Liqenas
Village
Pustec and the island of Maligrad
Pustec and the island of Maligrad
Official logo of Pustec
Emblem
Pustec is located in Albania
Pustec
Pustec
Coordinates: 40°47′13″N 20°54′08″E / 40.78694°N 20.90222°E / 40.78694; 20.90222
Country Albania
CountyKorçë
MunicipalityPustec
Municipal unitPustec
Elevation
861 m (2,825 ft)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total1,120
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)

Pustec (Albanian: Pustec; Macedonian: Пустец) formerly known as Liqenas (1973–2013), is a village in Pustec Municipality, Korçë County, eastern Albania.[1] Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Prespa, it is home to much of the Macedonian minority in Albania.[2]

Geography

Church in Pustec

Pustec is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Prespa and is the nearest village to the island of Maligrad. It sits at an elevation of 861 metres (2,825 ft) above sea level.[3] To the northeast, along the lake, lies Shulin, while in the southeast is the village of Leska.

Pustec and the surrounding region lie within the Prespa National Park.

History

The village of Pustec was mentioned in the Slepche Beadroll from the 16th century.[4]

The La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne survey by Dimitar Mishev (D. Brancoff) from 1905 shows that the inhabitants of the village of Pustec (Bulgarian: Пустец)[5][6][7][8] were in the bosom of the Bulgarian Exarchate. There were 400 Bulgarian Exarchists in the village.[9]

The French linguist André Mazon in his study on Slavic folklore in Albania from 1936 noted Pustec as a Bulgarian village in the region of Mala Prespa.[10]

In 1939, on behalf of 70 Bulgarian houses in Pustec, Todor Postalov signed a request by the local Bulgarians to the Bulgarian tsaritsa Giovanna requesting her intervention for the protection of the Bulgarian people in Albania – at that time an Italian protectorate.[11]

In 1973, the official name of the village was changed to Liqenas by the Albanian government. In 2013, however, the original Slavic name, Pustec, was once again made official by the Albanian government.[12]

Demographics

Chapel in Pustec

The majority of the population are ethnic Macedonians.

Year Population
1900 410
1926 515
1945 565
1960 697
1969 788
1979 941
1989 1035
2000 1120

Culture

Bilingual road sign in Pustec written in both Albanian (top) and Macedonian (bottom)

The village of Pustec is situated near two centuries'-old rock churches. The first, Saint Michael the Archangel, is situated on the Lake Prespa shore. Its oldest frescoes date from the 12th century. The other, St Nicholas, contains only fragments of its original frescoes.[13] Pustec is home to an ethnographic museum, established by Spase Trpo in 2023.[14][15]

People from Pustec

References

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Pustec.
  1. ^ "Law nr. 115/2014" (PDF) (in Albanian). pp. 6372–6373. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  2. ^ Naumovski, Jaklina (25 January 2014). "Minorités en Albanie : les Macédoniens craignent la réorganisation territoriale du pays". Balkan Courriers. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  3. ^ "Liqenas". Geoview.info. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  4. ^ Гергова, Иванка. Поменици от Македония в български сбирки, София, 2006, с. 29.
  5. ^ сп. "Македонски преглед", Македонски научен институт, год. ХХХ, 2007, бр. № 3. Бело, Раки. Селищни имена в Мала Преспа - Албания. стр. 133 - 138.
  6. ^ Olga M. Mladenova, Definiteness in Bulgarian: Modelling the Processes of Language Change, Walter de Gruyter, 2008, ISBN 3110198894, p. 393.
  7. ^ Mangalakova, Tanya (2004). Ethnic Bulgarians in Mala Prespa and Golo Brdo. Sofia; International Centre for Minority Studies and Intercultural Relations (IMIR).
  8. ^ Tashev, S. Bulgarians in Albania. The Long Path to Recognition. Orbel, Sofia – Toronto, 2020. pp. 202-209, ISBN 978-954-496-138-1.
  9. ^ D.M.Brancoff. "La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne". Paris, 1905, p.170-171 (in French)
  10. ^ Mazon, André. Documents, contes et chansons slaves de l’Albanie du Sud, Paris, 1936, p.3 (in French)
  11. ^ Елдъров, Светозар. Българите в Албания 1913-1939. Изследване и документи, София, 2000, стр. 324-326.(in Bulgarian)
  12. ^ Pustec poveke ne e Liqenas
  13. ^ Angeličin-Žura, Goce. Пештерните цркви во Охридско-Преспанскиот регион (Р. Македонија, Р. Албанија, Р. Грција) (PDF). Ниш: В: „Ниш и Византија IV: зборник радова“; Симпозиум „Ниш и Византија IV“, Зборник радова IV, Ниш, 3–5 юни 2005. p. 397. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 October 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  14. ^ "E veçantë, mësuesi i historisë krijon muzeun etnografik në Pustec". Fol Shqip.
  15. ^ "Еуроњуз Албанија: Спасе Терпо од Пустец со свои сили изгради музеј, го направи она што со години власта не успеа". Skopsko Eho. 13 March 2023.
  16. ^ a b "Ta Pastrojmë Prespën Në Një Ditë" (in Albanian). Makedonium. 30 November 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
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