Bukovo
| Bukovo Буково |
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 Bukovo
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| Coordinates: 40°58′59″N 21°19′59″E / 40.98306°N 21.33306°ECoordinates: 40°58′59″N 21°19′59″E / 40.98306°N 21.33306°E | |
| Country |  Macedonia |
| Municipality | Bitola municipality |
| Elevation | 821 m (2,694 ft) |
| Population (2002) | |
| • Total | 3,494[1] |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code | 7000 |
| Area code(s) | +389 047 |
| Car plates | BT |
Bukovo (Macedonian: Буково, pronounced [ˈbukɔvɔ]) is a village in the Bitola municipality near the town of Bitola in the Republic of Macedonia. The village has been famous since at least the late 19th century for its spicy paprika.[2]
[edit] History
Local legend has it that the first families to settle in Bukovo had come from a much older village called "Neoljani" which was completed destroyed in a firestorm. The discovery of the ruins of a church—attested in statistical documents—at the base of nearby mountains are usually cited as proof of this.
Similarly, it is widely claimed that the upper quarter of the village was settled by people from the now long abandoned village of "Magarevo" and the lower quarter by people from the abandoned village of "Selište". In both cases, the ruins of houses can be found in adjacent areas. Others, however, believe that the original settlers were the fleeing residents of the ancient city of Heraclea following its devastating earthquake.
During its most prosperous period, the village had approximately 5,000 residents and over 600 students enrolled in its grammar school. As a municipality in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Bukovo was twice visited by King Alexander I as the "most orderly" village in all of Yugoslavia.
Throughout the 20th century, many residents left for Australia, the United States, Canada and areas of Western Europe in search of work. There are approximately 2,000 natives of Bukovo in the ethnic Macedonian diaspora, more than 800 of whom live in Rochester, New York, affectionately referred to as "Bukovo City" by Macedonians who live there. A large number of people from Bukovo have also settled in Richmond, Australia.
The Bukovo monastery was once an important cultural center where monks would translate and copy sacred texts into the local vernacular. Time had deteriorated the monastery building leading residents to recently renovate it.
[edit] Demographics
19th century geographers write that Bukovo was once a completely Orthodox Christian village with a school run by the Patriarchate of Constantinople.[3]
According to the 2002 census,[4] the village had a total population of 3,494 people — 3,456 ethnic Macedonians, 11 Albanians, 14 Turks, 1 Aromanian, 6 Serbs and 6 declared as "other".
[edit] 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.
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