Pesočani Explained

Pesočani (mk|Песочани) is a village in the municipality of Debarca, North Macedonia. It used to be part of the former municipality of Belčišta.

Name

The village in Albanian is known as Pesoçan.

History

Pesočani during the Ottoman period, was a village inhabited by Muslim Albanians until the onset of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913). In 1918, Pesočani was razed, and Albanians fled to nearby villages such as Radolišta where the families of their descendants are known by the village name of Pesoçan and were brutally killed.^[1] Between 1912 and 1918, the village was destroyed, and thereafter two new settlements were founded in its place: Novo Selo and Novo Aleksandrovo (both of which today became modern Pesočani). Pesočani was resettled with a Macedonian population.^[2]

Demographics

According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 95 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the village include:^[3]

• Macedonians 95

Notes and References

1. Book: Murtishi, Kaim. Ladorishti: Histori dhe Tradita. 2001. Asdreni. 86. "Fisi Pesoçan. Është një fis i vogël që numëron tre familje, të shpërngulura në Ladorisht, që në vitin 1918 kur u dogj fshati Pesoçan."
2. Book: Włodzimierz, Pianka. Toponomastikata na Ohridsko-Prespanskiot bazen. 1970. Institut za makedonski jazik "Krste Misirkov". 86. "Во турско време постоело едно албанско село - Песочани, со 360 жители во 1900 год., но во год. 1912-1918 тоа опустошело и на неговото земјиште биле основани две нови села: Ново Село и Ново Александрово (сега такво име не постои). Потоа с. Песочани пак се населило, но веќе со Македонци." p. 89. "Песочани било мусл. алб. село (Хан: 30 куќи, К'нчов: 360 жит.) до балканските војни."
3. Macedonian Census (2002), Book 5 - Total population according to the Ethnic Affiliation, Mother Tongue and Religion, The State Statistical Office, Skopje, 2002, p. 67.