Lisolaj
Village in Pelagonia, North Macedonia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lisolaj (Macedonian: Лисолај) is a village in the Bitola Municipality of North Macedonia. It used to be part of the former municipality of Kukurečani.
North Macedonia
Geography
Lisolaj belongs to the so-called Pelagonia Region, in the geographical area of Pelagonia and the foot of the mountain Drevenik, 17 km north of the city of Bitola. The village is hilly, at an altitude of 746 meters. Above the settlement is the church of St. Petka, which is from the 19th century.
History and Demographics
Ottoman Control
Lisolaj is attested in the Ottoman defter of 1467/68 as a village in the vilayet of Manastir. Alongside Christian Slavic names, an individual attested as a priest of the village (prift) bore the typical Albanian anthroponym, Gjergj.[1]
According to the statistics of the Bulgarian ethnographer Vasil Kanchov ("Macedonia, Ethnography and Statistics") from 1900, Lisolaj had 340 inhabitants, all Bulgarians.[2]
In 1904, Greek paramilitary units attacked the villagers of Lisolaj for switching their allegiance from the Serbian Church to the Bulgarian Exarchate. Until two years before, Lisolaj had been affiliated with the Serbians.[3]
According to the Bulgarian Exarchate Secretary Dimitar Mišev, ("La Macedoine et sa Population Chrétienne") in 1905 there were 400 Bulgarians in Lisolaj.[4]
World Wars
World War I
In World War I, the German Empire sent reinforcement troops to Lisolaj, where they had projectors to watch movies for millitary morale. The residents of Lisolaj were also allowed to watch with the occupying German soldiers.[5]
World War II
In World War II, the ethnic Macedonian from Lisolaj, Stojčevski Đorđi, was killed in Syrmia fighting the Yugoslavian Liberation War.[6]
According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 225 inhabitants.[7] Ethnic groups in the village include:[7]
- Macedonians 224
- Others 1
Mythology
Sport
Lisolaj has a soccer team called the FK Lisolaj (ФК Лисолаj). Their first recorded match is on 25 August 2019 against Crna Reka, and there is still continued recorded activity from team. The team captain is Zoran Sekulovski.[9] On 12 December 2023, the team was crowned autumn champions in the Bitola municipality.[10]
