Pustec (; ) formerly known as Liqenas (1973–2013), is a village in

Pustec Municipality Pustec Municipality (; ), previously known as Liqenas Commune () from 1973 to 2013, is a municipality in the Korçë County of Albania. The population at the 2011 census was 3,290, in a total area of . The municipality's flag features the Vergina S ...

Korçë County Korçë County (), officially the County of Korçë (), is a Counties of Albania, county in the Southern Albania, Southern Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the largest by area and the List of counties of Albania by population, fifth most p ...

, eastern

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. Situated on the southwestern shore of

Lake Prespa The Lake Prespa is located on the tripoint of North Macedonia, Albania and Greece. It is a system of two lakes separated by an isthmus: the Great Prespa Lake, divided between the three countries, and the Little Prespa Lake, mostly within Greec ...

, it is home to much of the Macedonian minority in Albania.

Geography

Pustec is located on the southwestern shore of

and is the nearest village to the island of

Maligrad Maligrad (, also ''Qytet i Vogël'' "small city"; , ''Mal Grad'' "small city/town") is an island situated deep within the Albanian part of Lake Prespa, with many caves suitable for wildlife and a circular cliff. Shaped like a tadpole, it contains ...

. It sits at an elevation of above sea level. To the northeast, along the lake, lies

Shulin Shulin may refer to: * Shulin, Albania * Shulin District Shulin District () is an inner city district in southwestern New Taipei City, Taiwan. History On August 1, 1946, seventeen urban villages () were divided from Yingge Township and ...

, while in the southeast is the village of Leska. Pustec and the surrounding region lie within the Prespa National Park.

History

The village of Pustec was mentioned in the Slepche Beadroll from the 16th century. The survey by Dimitar Mishev (D. Brancoff) from 1905 shows that the inhabitants of the village of Pustec () were in the bosom of the

Bulgarian Exarchate The Bulgarian Exarchate (; ) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953. The Exarchate (a de facto autocephaly) ...

. There were 400

Bulgarian Exarchists Bulgarian millet () was an ethno-religious and linguistic community within the Ottoman Empire from the mid-19th to early 20th century. The semi-official term, was used by the Sultan for the first time in 1847, and was his tacit consent to a ...

in the village. The French linguist

André Mazon André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal, ...

in his study on Slavic folklore in Albania from 1936 noted Pustec as a Bulgarian village in the region of Mala Prespa. In 1939, on behalf of 70 Bulgarian houses in Pustec, Todor Postalov signed a request by the local Bulgarians to the Bulgarian

tsaritsa Tsarina or tsaritsa (also spelled ''csarina'' or ''csaricsa'', ''tzarina'' or ''tzaritza'', or ''czarina'' or ''czaricza''; ; ; ) is the title of a female autocratic ruler (monarch) of Bulgaria, Serbia, and Russia, or the title of a tsar's wife ...

Giovanna Giovanna is an Italian feminine first name. It is the feminine counterpart of the masculine Giovanni (name), Giovanni, which in turn is the Italian form of John (given name), John; it is thus the Italian equivalent of Joan (given name), Joan, etc. ...

requesting her intervention for the protection of the Bulgarian people in Albania – at that time an Italian protectorate. In 1973, the official name of the village was changed to ''Liqenas'' by the Albanian government. In 2013, however, the original Slavic name, ''Pustec'', was once again made official by the Albanian government.

Demographics

The majority of the population are

ethnic Macedonians Macedonians ( ) are a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. The large majority of Macedonians identify as Eastern Orthodox Christians, ...

Culture

The village of Pustec is situated near two centuries'-old rock churches. The first, Saint Michael the Archangel, is situated on the Lake Prespa shore. Its oldest frescoes date from the 12th century. The other, St Nicholas, contains only fragments of its original frescoes. Pustec is home to an ethnographic museum, established by Spase Trpo in 2023.

People from Pustec

Trajan Gjorgjiovski Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldie ...

partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

Mitre Kolevski The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in traditional Christianity. Mi ...

, partisan *

Edmond Temelko Edmond Temelko () is the former president of the Macedonian Alliance for European Integration. He has been mayor of the Pustec Municipality from local elections held in 2007 until 2019, before which he was councilor in the municipal council. He i ...

, mayor of Pustec Municipality and president of the

Macedonian Party The Macedonian Alliance for European Integration (Macedonian Party) (; ) is a political party of the ethnic Macedonians in Albania. It was established on 30 October 2004 under the name ''Macedonian Alliance for European Integration'' and was regis ...

References

{{Pustec div Populated places in Pustec Municipality Villages in Korçë County Macedonian communities in Albania