Rrajcë is a village and a former municipality in

Elbasan County Elbasan County () is one of the 12 counties of Albania. The population is 266,245 (2021), in an area of 3199 km². Its capital is the city Elbasan. Administrative divisions Until 2000, Elbasan County was subdivided into four districts: Elbas ...

, in eastern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. As of the 2015 local government reform, it became a subdivision of the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

of Prrenjas. The population at the 2019 census was 12,121.2011 census results
The subdivision consists of seven villages: Rrajcë Fushë, Sutaj, Skenderbe, Skenderbe Bardhaj, Urakë, Katjel, and Kotodesh. The village of Rrajcë is found within the boundaries of

Shebenik-Jabllanicë National Park The Shebenik-Jabllanicë National Park ( sq, Parku Kombëtar Shebenik-Jabllanicë) is a national park in eastern Albania adjacent to the border with North Macedonia. It encompasses and is specifically marked by a mountainous landscape supplied ...

. The nearby forest was declared part of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

's transnational natural site, The Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe.

Demographics

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 Rrajcë was inhabited by 840

Bulgarian Muslims The Bulgarian Muslims or Muslim Bulgarians ( bg, Българи-мохамедани, ''Bǎlgari-mohamedani'', as of recently also Българи-мюсюлмани, ''Bǎlgari-mjusjulmani'', locally called ''Pomak'', ''ahryan'', ''poganets'', '' ...

.Vasil Kanchov (1900).
Macedonia: Ethnography and Statistics
'. Sofia. p. 254. Other villages in the modern day municipality were not included in those demographic statistics. During the 2000s, linguists Klaus Steinke and Xhelal Ylli, seeking to corroborate villages cited in past literature as being Slavic speaking, carried out fieldwork. Rrajcë was noted as being fully Muslim and Albanian speaking while the linguists found no contemporary speakers of Slavic languages in the village, with local elderly people stating they spoke only Albanian. "Die Suche nach weiteren Ortschaften mit slavischsprachiger Bevölkerung verlief ergebnislos. Vor allem die für den Raum Korça, Bilisht, Pogradec und Librazhd in der Literatur häufiger genannten Dörfer wie Miras (Božigrad), Bulgarec, Tren, Buzëliqen (Zagradec), Buçimas (Starova), Proptisht und Rajca haben, wie die Überprüfung vor Ort zeigte, keine slavischprachige Bevölkerung mehr.... Überall spricht man aber ausschließlich Albanisch, und bereits die ältere Generation hat angeblich nur diese Sprache benutzt.... Buçimas und die Nachbardörfer wie Zagorçan usw. (Informant: Shaban Hoxha) sowie Rajca (Informant: Spase Tanasov) haben eine rein moslemische Bevölkerung, und man spricht dort nur Albanisch."

References

Former municipalities in Elbasan County Administrative units of Prrenjas Villages in Elbasan County {{Elbasan-geo-stub