Grabovë e Sipërme explained

Official Name:Grabovë e Sipërme
Other Name:Aromanian; Arumanian; Macedo-Romanian: Greãva, Aromanian; Arumanian; Macedo-Romanian: Grabuva
Type:v
County:Elbasan
Municipality:Gramsh
Municunit:Lenie
Coordinates:40.7953°N 20.4086°W
Elevation:1250

Grabovë e Sipërme (also: Grabova; Aromanian; Arumanian; Macedo-Romanian: Greãva,[1] Aromanian; Arumanian; Macedo-Romanian: Grabuva) is a village in Albania inhabited by Aromanians.[2] The village is located in the former municipality of Lenie. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Gramsh.[3]

History

Grabova was a medieval town created in the 10th century. Aromanians have left Grabova on several occasions, although the village has never been completely deserted. The first wave of depopulation took place in the 17th century, when Grabova shared the fate of Moscopole and during the inter-war period, starting with 1931, many of Grabovars emigrated to Elbasan and Lushnjë. In 1933, 15 families from the village emigrated to Romania; they initially settled in Southern Dobruja and then, in 1940, in the village of Nisipari, Constanța County, from where they moved to the larger nearby towns (Medgidia, Ovidiu, Constanta). Another important immigration began in 1950, when communist authorities used the craftsmen from Grabova to build the industrial units in Korçë, Pogradec, Gramsh, Elbasan, and Tirana.[4]

In the 18th century the Grabovë Church was built in the village. Owing to its past the town has another 18th century church: the church of Saint Paraskeva (Aromanian; Arumanian; Macedo-Romanian: Stãvinere) built in 1718, and the school of Simon Baba.

Most common names in Grabova

Family names

Bardhi, Buzo, Cyco, Canuti, Nishku, Trushi, Thano, Verushi.

Male names

Theodhor (Dhori), Andoni, Kristo, Dhimo, Jani, Jorgji, Llambi, Dhionis, Pandeli, Piro, Spiro, Sotir (Sotiraqi), Themistokli, Thoma, Vangjeli, etc.

Female names

Dhimitra, Margarita, Maria, Naunka, Parashqevi, Thomaidha, Violeta (Violta)

Notable people originated from Grabova

Notes and References

  1. Ewa Kocoj: Artifacts of the Past as Traces of Memory. The Aromanian Cultural Heritage in the Balkans, page 167, Res Historica 41, 2016
  2. Web site: Schwandner-Sievers. Stephanie. March 1999. The Albanian Aromanians' Awakening: Identity Politics and Conflicts in Post-Communist Albania. 2021-08-17. www.ecmi.de. European Centre for Minority Issues.
  3. Web site: Law nr. 115/2014 . sq . 6368–6369. 25 February 2022 .
  4. Nistor Bardu, "Among the Aromanians in Grabova (Greava), Albania. Sociolinguistic Observations", Among the Aromanians in Grabova (Greava), Albania, 2007
  5. Web site: Омарчевски. Александър. 2017-09-28. ЖИВОТ И ДЕЙНОСТ НА БЪЛГАРСКИЯ ПАТРИАРХ КИРИЛ (по повод 40-тата годишнина от неговата блажена кончина). live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170928124437/https://bg-patriarshia.bg/reflections.php?id=201. 28 September 2017. 2021-08-17. Bulgarian Orthodox Church. bg.
  6. Web site: Farka. Kurt. 24 February 2018. Si e njoha artisten e madhe me origjinë shqiptare, Lika Janko. 2021-08-17. Shqiperia.com. sq.
  7. Web site: Dimitrova. Svetlana. 1 December 2020. Lika Yanko's sacral world. 2021-08-17. bnr.bg. en.