Bukovo ( mk, Буково, pronounced ) is a village in the

Bitola municipality Bitola ( mk, Битола ) is a municipality in the southern part of North Macedonia. ''Bitola'' is also the name of the city where the municipal seat is found. The municipality is located in the Pelagonia Statistical Region. Geography The mun ...

approximately three kilometers' distance from the city of Bitola in

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

. Not unlike most other larger villages in the country, locals typically distinguish an "upper" (''горна'') and "lower" (''долна'') quarter ('' маала''). Historically, the latter developed from the expansion of the former. The neighborhood ''Bukovski Livadi'' (Буковски Ливади, "Bukovo Meadows") comprises ten residential streets and is located at the entrance to the village; often considered a part of Bukovo, it is actually a suburb of the City of Bitola. The village collectively celebrates the

Feast of the Transfiguration The Feast of the Transfiguration is celebrated by various Christian communities in honor of the transfiguration of Jesus. The origins of the feast are less than certain and may have derived from the dedication of three basilicas on Mount Tabor.' ...

as its local holiday — referred to as "the Day" (''Денот'') — after the village's eponymous monastery. The celebration of

Lazarus Saturday , observedby = Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Christians , date = Variable , date = , date = , date = , relatedto = Raising of Lazarus, Great Lent, Palm Sunday , frequency=Annual Lazarus Saturday in Eastern Christianity (consisting of the Ea ...

is also upheld devotedly, a tradition which has very nearly died out in the rest of the country. The village is famous for its

crushed red pepper Crushed red pepper or red pepper flakes is a condiment or spice consisting of dried and crushed (as opposed to ground) red chili peppers. This condiment is most often produced from cayenne-type peppers, although commercial producers may use a var ...

chilli flakes Crushed red pepper or red pepper flakes is a condiment or spice consisting of dried and wiktionary:crushed, crushed (as opposed to ground) red chili peppers. This condiment is most often produced from cayenne pepper, cayenne-type peppers, although ...

which it is credited with inventing.

Demographics

19th-century geographers write that Bukovo was once a completely

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

Christian village with a school run by the

Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...

. In statistics gathered by

Vasil Kanchov Vasil Kanchov ( bg, Васил Кънчов, Vasil Kanchov) (26 July 1862 – 6 February 1902) was a Bulgarian geographer, ethnographer and politician. Biography Vasil Kanchov was born in Vratsa. Upon graduating from High school in Lom ...

in 1900, the village of Bukovo was inhabited by 120 Muslim Bulgarians and 90 Muslim Albanians. According to Geographers Dimitri Mishev and D. M. Brancoff, the town had a total population of 2.400 people in 1905, all Patriarchist

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 unders ...

.Dimitri Mishev and D. M. Brancoff
''La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne''
p. 166 According to the 2002 census, the village had a total population of 3,494 people: 3,456

ethnic Macedonians Macedonians ( mk, Македонци, Makedonci) are a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. The large majority of Macedonians identi ...

, 11 Albanians, 14

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

, 1 Aromanian, 6

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 6 declared as "other".

References

# Шопов, А. Из живота и положението на българите във вилаетите, Пловдив, Търговска печатница, 1893, стр. 269 - 270. #
Министерство за Локална Самоуправа. База на општински урбанистички планови
# D.M.Brancoff. "La Macedoine et sa Population Chretienne". Paris, 1905, р. 166-167. #
Produttori di paprika bukovka
# Macedonian Census (2002)
''Book 5 - Total population according to the Ethnic Affiliation, Mother Tongue and Religion''
The State Statistical Office, Skopje, 2002, p. 70. {{Bitola municipality Villages in Bitola Municipality