Sopotnica () is a village in
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
. It used to be a separate municipality but is now part of the
Demir Hisar Municipality
Demir Hisar ( ) is a municipality in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. '' Demir Hisar'', which means "iron fortress" in Turkish, is also the name of the town where the municipal seat is located. The Demir Hisar Municipality is part of th ...
.
The area of Sopotnica includes a mix of rural and urban environments. Settled areas range from smaller villages such as
Boište, Cerovo and
Virovo, located in the mountainous area of Sopotnica, to places with elements of urban living, such as Sopotnica, the administrative centre of the former Municipality of Sopotnica.
A key characteristic of the area is the contrast between the wild landscapes and the man-made features of cultivated areas.
The area of Sopotnica is rich in natural resources, and has significant cultural and historical heritage.
Demography
Demographic history
According to
Vasil Kanchov
Vasil Kanchov (26 July 1862 – 6 February 1902) was a geographer, ethnographer and teacher who served as Minister of Education of Bulgaria.
Early life and education
Vasil Kanchov was born in Vratsa. Upon graduating from High school i ...
's study of Macedonia in 1900, ''"Macedonia, Ethnography and Statistics"'', (), counted the village as having 560 inhabitants, all of whom were counted as Bulgarian Christians.
Dimitar Mišev's 1905 study of the
Bulgarian Exarchate
The Bulgarian Exarchate (; ) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953.
The Exarchate (a de facto autocephaly) ...
, ''Macedonia and its Christian population ()'', counted 640 exarchists in the village.
[D.M.Brancoff. "La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne". Paris, 1905, р.164–165.]
Demographics today
According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 929 inhabitants.
[ Ethnic groups in the village include:][Macedonian Census (2002)]
''Book 5 – Total population according to the Ethnic Affiliation, Mother Tongue and Religion''
The State Statistical Office, Skopje, 2002, p. 314.
* Macedonians 926
*Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...
3
The majority of the population was elderly and the proportion of young people was below the national average.
Notable people
* Radovan Cvetkovski, (''1931 – '') – author and writer
References
Villages in Demir Hisar Municipality
{{DemirHisar-geo-stub