Bosilegrad ( sr-cyr, Босилеград; bg, Босилеград) is a town and municipality located in the

Pčinja District The Pčinja District ( sr, Пчињски округ, Pčinjski okrug, ) is one of nine administrative districts of Southern and Eastern Serbia. It covers the southern part of Serbia, bordering the disputed territory of Kosovo, along with Bulgaria ...

of southern Serbia. The municipality comprises an area of . According to 2011 census, town has a population of 2,624 inhabitants, while the municipality has 8,129 inhabitants. Along with Dimitrovgrad (Tsaribrod), Bosilegrad is an economic and cultural centre of Serbia's ethnic Bulgarian community.

History

Historically, Bosilegrad was part of Bulgaria. On May 15, 1917, Serbian paramilitaries (

Chetniks The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...

) under the command of Kosta Pećanac crossed the old Bulgarian border and, as part of the

Toplica Uprising The Toplica Uprising ( sr, Топлички устанак) was a mass uprising against Bulgarian occupation force, that took place in Bulgarian occupied Serbia during the First World War. The rebels were motivated by grievances against the Bu ...

, they captured Bosilegrad, which they then burned. Then Pećanac and his band withdrew to

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

, which was controlled by the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

. The

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

gained some territory from

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

as part of the

Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine (french: Traité de Neuilly-sur-Seine) required Bulgaria to cede various territories, after Bulgaria had been one of the Central Powers defeated in World War I. The treaty was signed on 27 November 1919 at Neuilly ...

, following the invasion and occupation of part of the

Kingdom of Serbia The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...

and subsequent

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

defeat of the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. From 1929 to 1941, it was part of

Vardar Banovina The Vardar Banovina, or Vardar Banate ( mk, Вардарска бановина, Vardarska banovina; sr, Вардарска бановина, translit=Vardarska Banovina; al, Banovina e Vardarit, italics=no), was a province (banate) of the King ...

. The Bulgarian army occupied Bosilegrad during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

from 1941 to 1944. At the end of the Second World War, Bulgaria switched the sides in the war and in October 1944 gave the occupied Western outlands back to Yugoslavia.Велизар Енчев, Югославската идея: исторически, политически и международни аспекти на доктрината за национално освобождение и държавно обединение на южните славяни, Захарий Стоянов, 2009, ISBN 9540902673, стр. 314.

Settlements

Municipality of Bosilegrad in District Pcinja en

Aside from the town of Bosilegrad, the municipality consists of the following villages:

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the municipality of Bosilegrad has a population of 8,129 inhabitants. Only 32.28% of inhabitants live in urban areas.

Ethnic groups

The majority of municipality's population are

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understo ...

, amounting to over 70% of total population. Other minor ethnic groups are

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

and

Roma people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

. The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Gallery

File:Bosilegrad-view.jpg, ''Town of Bosilegrad'' File:Bosilegrad1.JPG, ''Bosilegrad town street'' File:Bosilegrad5.JPG, ''Bosilegrad town hall'' File:Vasil Levski Bosilegrad.jpg, ''Unveiling of the monument of Bulgarian revolutionary

Vasil Levski Vasil Levski ( bg, Васил Левски, spelled in old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a national hero of Bulgaria. Dubbed t ...

'' File:Bosilegrad-school-2.jpg, ''School in Bosilegrad'' File:Serbian-Bulgarian border at Bosilegrad.jpg, ''Serbia–Bulgaria State border'' File:Bosilegrad-church-01.jpg, ''Bosilegrad Church'' File:Izvora-church-02.jpg, ''Church in Izvor, Bosilegrad'' File:Lisinsko jezero4.JPG, ''Lisinsko Lake in Bosilegrad''

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Populated places in Pčinja District Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia Bulgarian communities in Serbia Serbian war crimes World War I crimes by the Allies