Pustec

Pustec
Пустец, Liqenas
Village

Pustec and the island of Maligrad
Pustec
Coordinates: 40°47′13″N 20°54′08″E / 40.78694°N 20.90222°E / 40.78694; 20.90222Coordinates: 40°47′13″N 20°54′08″E / 40.78694°N 20.90222°E / 40.78694; 20.90222
Country Albania Albania
County Korçë
Municipality Pustec
Administrative Unit Pustec
Elevation 861 m (2,825 ft)
Population (2000)
  Total 1,120
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

Pustec (Macedonian: Пустец, Pustets), known officially as Liqenas from 1973 to 2013, is a village in the Korçë County of eastern Albania. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Prespa within Pustec Municipality,[1] 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 Šulin, 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 first mentioned in documents from 16th century.

The "La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne" survey by Dimitar Mishev (D. Brankov) from 1905 shows that the inhabitants of the village of Pustec were in the bosom of the Bulgarian Exarchate[4]

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.[5]

In 1973, the official name of the village was changed to "Liqenas" by the Albanian government. In 2013, however, the original Macedonian name, Pustec, was once again made official.[6]

Demographics

The majority of the population are ethnic Macedonians.

Year Population
1900 410
1926 515
1945 565
1960 697
1969 788
1979 941
1989 1 035
2000 1 120

Culture

Bilingual road sign in Pustec

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.[7]

People from Pustec

References

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Pustec.
  1. Law nr. 115/2014
  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. D.M.Brancoff. "La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne". Paris, 1905, p.170-171
  5. Mazon, André. Documents, contes et chansons slaves de l’Albanie du Sud, Paris, 1936, p.3
  6. Pustec poveke ne e Liqenas
  7. 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. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Ta Pastrojmë Prespën Në Një Ditë" (in Albanian). Makedonium. 30 November 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
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