Visok
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Visok (Cyrillic: Висок) is a region in eastern Serbia and westernmost Bulgaria that lies between the main ranges of the Balkan Mountains and Vidlič Mountain. It is located 35 km (22 mi) from Pirot, and about 350 km (220 mi) from Belgrade.
The Visok region is characterized by steep valleys with mostly short rivers. It is of tectonic origin, but it was through intensive erosion, mostly fluvial erosion, that it was shaped.
The drainage network of this region is well developed. The Visočica River, with its tributaries, forms the densest drainage network in Serbia. Another very important hydrological feature of Visok is Lake Zavoj.
Climate
The southwestern slopes of the Old Mountain are characterized by a moderate/continental sub-mountain/mountain climate, which gets colder and more humid from lower to higher elevations. The coldest month is January, and the warmest is July.
Population
The region is depopulating and sparsely populated. The massive seasonal leave in search for work (pečalba) has been recorded from the late 18th century. The seasonal workers mostly worked in the construction business. In the second half of the 19th century the workers mostly left for Romania, Ottoman Empire and the Zagore region in Bulgaria. In Romania and Bulgaria they mostly worked in the villages, building houses made of čerpić (non-baked, Sun dried brick made of mud and straw), in the naboj style (compacted earth). They were spreading building influence so much, that the village architecture in the regions of Zagore and Visok is almost identical. From the late 19th century to the Balkan Wars, economic emigration intensified and the conditions in the Visok were so bad that even women travelled as seasonal workers, waving cloth.[1]
The agriculture is barely possible because of the harsh conditions, so famine developed occasionally. In 1909 there were even reports of the deaths caused by starvation. In the late 19th and early 20th century, workers travelled mostly to Bulgaria, in groups of 10-15 people, called tajve. The working season was beginning around the Saint George's Day in early May, when the migrations would start, and was usually ending around Saint Demetrius Day in early November. After 1918 and World War I, as travelling in the foreign countries became problematic, population mostly migrated to Belgrade and the Serbian central region of Šumadija, but stayed mainly in the construction business.[1]
