Grdovci ( mk, Грдовци) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality ...

Kočani Kočani ( mk, Кочани ) is a town in the eastern part of North Macedonia, situated around east from Skopje. It has a population of 28,330 and is the seat of the Kočani Municipality. Geography and population The town spreads across the Nort ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

. The village is located in the

Kočani Valley Kočani ( mk, Кочани ) is a town in the eastern part of North Macedonia, situated around east from Skopje. It has a population of 28,330 and is the seat of the Kočani Municipality. Geography and population The town spreads across the Nort ...

, and according to the last census of 2002 the village had 1,288 residents.

Geography

Grdovci is located in the heart of the Kočani Valley, between the

Bregalnica River Bregalnica (, ) is the second largest river in North Macedonia. It starts as a spring near the mountain city of Berovo and it passes near the cities of Makedonska Kamenica, Kočani, Vinica and Štip, before joining the river Vardar on its way t ...

and Orizarska River. The village is 3.7 kilometers from the center of

and it is the most well-urbanized village in the Kočani region. 80% of the roads in the village are paved with asphalt. Water and sewage systems were installed in the early 1980s. 3 substations provide constant electricity to the village.

History

Grdovci is one of the oldest inhabited regions in area around the

. The first mention of Grdovci was from a traveler's mention of the area in 1371, in which Grdovci was mentioned in reference to the economic and religious center of the time - Morozbizdon/Morodvis. The name Grdovci comes from the

Old Church Slavonic Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with standardizing the language and using it in translating the Bible and other ...

word "grd" which has multiple meanings: * proud * brave * conceited The name supposedly referred to characteristics of the first inhabitants of the area in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. In the 19th century, Grdovci was part of the Kočani

Kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

, an administrative division of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. In 1900, according to the Bulgarian ethnographer, Vasil Kančov, the village had 505 residents, of which 380 were Christian Bulgarians and 125 were Turkish. In 1905, according to the Bulgarian Dimitar Mišev, the village had 504 Christian Bulgarian residents.

Economy

The main form of work for the inhabitants of Grdovci is agriculture, in particular the harvesting of what the locals call "white gold" - rice. In the fields located around Grdovci, rice of the highest quality from the region is produced. This rice is well known throughout the region and is a main feature of the municipality. The largest number of the working residents work in

. Grdovci is the local village with the most stores and restaurants per resident. Currently there are 6 food stores, 2 markets for various goods, 3 cafés/bars, 2

kafana Kafana is a distinct type of local bistro (or tavern), common in former Yugoslav countries and Albania, which primarily serves alcoholic beverages and coffee, and often also light snacks ('' meze'') and other food. Many kafanas feature live ...

, and one internet cafe. Likewise the village has a privately owned factory for the preparation of rice as well as a factory that produces automobile parts.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census, Grdovci has 1,288 residents. 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. 118. * 1281 are Macedonians * 7 other Today, Grdovci has above 1,600 residents and around 400 households. As of 2021, the village of Grdovci has 930 inhabitants and the ethnic composition was the following: * Macedonians – 886 * Albanians – 1 *

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their ...

– 1 *

Bosniaks The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, ...

- 1 * others – 1 * Person without Data - 40

Culture and sports

The village has a football club named "Argos", which regularly competes in the regional football league, as well as in the Ilendenski Sports games in Češinovo and the Bogorodični tournament in the village

Dolni Podlog Dolni Podlog ( mk, Долни Подлог) is a village in the municipality of Kočani, North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a cou ...

References

{{Kočani Municipality Villages in Kočani Municipality