Dollna Goricë Explained

Type:	v
Official Name:	Dollna Goricë
Other Name:	Dolna Gorica Goricë e Vogël Долна Горица
County:	Korçë
Municipality:	Pustec
Municunit:	Pustec
Coordinates:	40.8772°N 20.925°W
Population As Of:	2007
Population Total:	550

Dollna Goricë (Albanian: Dollna Gorica, Macedonian : Долна Горица), formerly Goricë e Vogël, is a village on the western shore of Lake Prespa in the Pustec Municipality which is officially recognised as a Macedonian minority zone^[1] located in the Korçë County in Albania.^[2]

History

A survey in the late 19th century found Dolna Gorica to consist of 75 houses and 67 male Bulgarian Orthodox residents.^[3] In 1900, Vasil Kanchov gathered and compiled statistics on demographics in the area and reported that the village of Dolna Goritsa was inhabited by about 42 Bulgarian Christians.^[4]

In February 1996, the village hosted a conference attended by officials from the Republic of Macedonia on the subject of the ethnic Macedonian minority in Albania.^[5] In 2013, the village's official name was changed from "Goricë e Vogël" to "Dolna Gorica".^[6]

Demographics

A 2007 estimate put the village's population at 550.^[7] According to Bulgarian sources, including research by a Bulgarian scientist from Albania, the local inhabitants are Bulgarians.^{[8] [9]}

Demographics

Year	Population
1900	42
1926	511 (with Gorna Gorica)
1945	149
1960	108
1969	210
1979	271
1989	253
2000	364^[10]

Culture

In 2002, a library opened in the village consisting of primarily Macedonian-language books.^[11]

A monument commemorating the ethnic Macedonian refugees of the Greek Civil War was unveiled in the village in May, 2013.^[12]

Dolna Gorica is home to the annual "Day of Wine" event, occurring each December.^[13]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Macedonians. 19 June 2015.
2. Web site: Law nr. 115/2014 . sq . 6372–6373. 25 February 2022 .
3. http://www.vmro-rousse.hit.bg/bulgarite_po_sveta/Albania.html Българите в Албания I част
4. http://www.promacedonia.org/vk/vk_2_36.htm Васил Кънчов. „Македония. Етнография и статистика“. София, 1900, стр. 242. (Macedonia: Ethnography and Statistics, p. 242
5. Book: Vickers. Miranada. Pettifer. James. Albania: From Anarchy to a Balkan Identity. 11 May 2014. 2000. New York University Press. New York, NY. 205. 9780814788059.
6. News: Pas Pustecit, edhe 7 fshatra të Korçës me emertime maqedonase. 17 April 2013. Info Arkiv. Albanian. 29 July 2014. https://archive.today/20140805065450/http://arkivamediatike.com/lajme/artikull/iden/1047358646/titulli/Pas-Pustecit-edhe-7-fshatra-te-Korces-me-emertime-maqedonase. 2014-08-05. dead.
7. http://www.mni.bg/2017/11/selishta-v-mala-prespa.html Бело Раки (Belo, Raki). Селищни имена в Мала Преспа - Албания, в: Македонски преглед, ХХХ, №3, стр. 135.
8. http://www.mni.bg/2017/11/selishta-v-mala-prespa.html Бело Раки (Belo, Raki). Селищни имена в Мала Преспа - Албания, в: Македонски преглед, ХХХ, № 3, с. 134.
9. Пашова, Анастасия. Българите в района на Корча и Мала Преспа (Албания) - съвременна картина, Балканистичен Форум, 2005, №1-3, с. 113-129 (Pashova, Anastasija. Bulgarians in the region of Korcha and Mala Prespa (Albania) nowadays, Balcanistic forum, 2005, issue No: 1-3, pp. 113-129.)
10. Web site: Archived copy . 2008-04-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120211153317/http://www.rec.org.mk/Proekti/Prespa/ecotourismmk.pdf . 2012-02-11 . dead .
11. Web site: "The Temple of the Book" – Window towards the Fatherland. 4 March 2002. Culture.in.mk. 11 May 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140512220157/http://www.culture.in.mk/story.asp?id=2245. 12 May 2014.
12. News: Во село Горица поставен споменик за егзодусот на македонските бегалци. Janevska. Ubavka. 7 May 2013. Kanal 5. Macedonian. 12 May 2014.
13. News: Мала Преспа организира манифестација "Ден на виното". 23 December 2013. Lider. Macedonian. 12 May 2014. 12 May 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140512224652/http://lider.mk/2013/12/23/mala-prespa-organizira-manifestacija-den-na-vinoto/. dead.