| Type: | v |
| Official Name: | Gorna Goricë |
| Other Name: | Gorna Gorica Goricë e Madhe Горна Горица |
| County: | Korçë |
| Municipality: | Pustec |
| Municunit: | Pustec |
| Coordinates: | 40.8942°N 20.9028°W |
| Population As Of: | 2000 |
| Population Total: | 515 |
Gorna Goricë (Albanian: Gorna Gorica; Macedonian/Bulgarian: Горна Горица), previously officially known as Goricë e Madhe, is a village in the Pustec Municipality which is officially recognised as a Macedonian minority zone[1] located in the Korçë County in Albania.[2] It is situated west of Lake Prespa and the village of Tuminec, and northwest of the village of Dolna Gorica. The village is composed of ethnic Macedonians,[3] which form part of the larger Macedonian minority in Albania.[4]
Gorna Gorica is a proposed location of the ancient fortified settlement of Pelion.[5]
In the late 19th century, the village came under the Bulgarian Exarchate. The village had 33 houses and 404 Bulgarian Orthodox Christian residents at that time.[6] The "La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne" survey by Bulgarian Exarchate secretary Dimitar Mishev (D. Brankov) concluded that village had 360 Bulgarian Exarchists residents in 1905.[7] In March 1933, Albania deported 150 Bulgarian families from the village, after the Albanian side refused to ratify the Albanian-Bulgarian protocol of 1932.[8]
In 2013, the village's official name was changed from "Goricë e Madhe" to "Gorna Gorica".[9]
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1900 | 285 |
| 1926 | 511 (with Dolna Gorica) |
| 1945 | 201 |
| 1960 | 329 |
| 1969 | 369 |
| 1979 | 406 |
| 1989 | 489 |
| 2000 | 515 https://web.archive.org/web/20120211153317/http://www.rec.org.mk/Proekti/Prespa/ecotourismmk.pdf |
According to Bulgarian sources, including research by a Bulgarian scientist from Albania, the local inhabitants have Bulgarian roots.[10] [11]
The Church of Saint Demetrius in Gorna Goricë dates from the second half of the 19th century. Restoration work began on the church in 2023.[12]