Bosilegrad
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Bosilegrad
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Town and municipality | |
Coordinates: 42°30′N 22°28′E / 42.500°N 22.467°E | |
Country | Serbia |
Region | Southern and Eastern Serbia |
District | Pčinja |
Settlements | 37 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Vladimir Zaharijev (Ind.) |
Area | |
• Town | 18.37 km2 (7.09 sq mi) |
• Municipality | 571 km2 (220 sq mi) |
Elevation | 696 m (2,283 ft) |
Population (2011 census) | |
• Town | 2,624 |
• Town density | 140/km2 (370/sq mi) |
• Municipality | 8,129 |
• Municipality density | 14/km2 (37/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal code | 17540 |
Area code | +381(0)17 |
Car plates | VR |
Website | www |
Bosilegrad (Serbian Cyrillic: Босилеград; Bulgarian: Босилеград) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. The municipality comprises an area of 571 km2 (220 sq mi). 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) under the command of Kosta Pećanac crossed the old Bulgarian border and, as part of the Toplica Uprising, they captured Bosilegrad, which they then burned. Then Pećanac and his band withdrew to Kosovo, which was controlled by the Austro-Hungarian Army.
The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes gained some territory from Bulgaria as part of the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine, following the invasion and occupation of part of the Kingdom of Serbia by Bulgaria and subsequent Allied defeat of the Central Powers in the First World War. From 1929 to 1941, it was part of Vardar Banovina. The Bulgarian army occupied Bosilegrad during the Second World War 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.
Settlements
Aside from the town of Bosilegrad, the municipality consists of the following villages:
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
1948 | 18,816 | — |
1953 | 19,751 | +0.97% |
1961 | 18,368 | −0.90% |
1971 | 17,306 | −0.59% |
1981 | 14,196 | −1.96% |
1991 | 11,644 | −1.96% |
2002 | 9,931 | −1.44% |
2011 | 8,129 | −2.20% |
Source: |
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, amounting to over 70% of total population. Other minor ethnic groups are Serbs and Roma people. The ethnic composition of the municipality:
Ethnic group | Population 1961 |
Population 1971 |
Population 1981 |
Population 1991 |
Population 2002 |
Population 2011 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bulgarians | - | - | - | - | 7,037 | 5,839 |
Serbs | 291 | 292 | 616 | 1,165 | 1,308 | 895 |
Macedonians | 40 | 58 | 49 | - | 42 | 38 |
Montenegrins | 10 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
Romani | 1 | 13 | 10 | 3 | - | 162 |
Muslims | - | 1 | 1 | 10 | - | - |
Yugoslavs | 2 | 255 | 3,976 | 1,649 | 288 | 20 |
Others | 18,024 | 16,675 | 9,538 | 8,811 | 1,253 | 1,173 |
Total | 18,368 | 17,306 | 14,196 | 11,644 | 9,931 | 8,129 |
Gallery
Unveiling of the monument of Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski