Rašica ( sr-Cyrl, Рашица) is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

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' ...

Blace Blace ( sr-cyr, Блаце, ) is a town and municipality located in the Toplica District of the southern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the population of the town is 4,865, while population of the municipality is 9,682. Settlements Aside fro ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. According to the 2002 census, the village has a population of 183 people.

Etymology

The toponym ''Rašica'' is found in two other places, both located in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. Rašica, Ljubljana, a settlement in the City Municipality of Ljubljana, and

Rašica, Velike Lašče Rašica () is a village north of Velike Lašče in central Slovenia. The area is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola and is now included in the Central Slovenia Statistical Region. Name Rašica was attested in historical sources in ...

, a settlement in the Municipality of Velike Lašče. This makes the name of the Village Rašica in Serbia likely to be of Slavic origin; however, the two other locations with the same name have different etymological origins. This also makes it likely for the village in Serbia to have a different etymological origin, despite both countries speaking Slavic. In Ljubljana, Rašica was attested in written sources in 1260 as ''Wrenschitz''. The Slovenian name of the village was originally ''*Vranščica'', derived from the personal name ''*Vran'' via the adjective ''*vranski'', referring to an early inhabitant of the area. In the past, the village was known as ''Uranschitz'' in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

. While in Velike Lašče, Rašica was attested in historical sources in 1230 as ''Reschwiz'' (and as ''Reschicz'' in 1260 and ''Rasczicz'' in 1436). The name was originally a hydronym, referring to Rašica Creek south of the village. The name is derived from the common noun ''raka'' meaning wooden cladding preventing water erosion of a bank' or 'cladded chute carrying water to a mill'. Both the Slovene and German names are ultimately derived from

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''arca,'' 'box'. Both etymologies are unrelated to each other, so it is likely that the same hypothesis applies in Serbia too. However, the

Slovenian language Slovene ( or ) or Slovenian ( ; ) is a South Slavic language of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family. Most of its 2.5 million speakers are the inhabitants of Slovenia, the majority of them ethnic Slovenes. As Slo ...

and the

Serbian language Serbian (, ) is the standard language, standardized Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the official and national language of Serbia, one of the three official languages of ...

are quite similar to each other, both being

southern Slavic languages The South Slavic languages are one of three branches of the Slavic languages. There are approximately 30 million speakers, mainly in the Balkans. These are separated geographically from speakers of the other two Slavic branches (West and East) ...

. Both ethnic groups migrated to the Balkans in the same time period, and both people are quite close genetically and ethnically, and historically too, in

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, for example, where they were united in one country. This makes it likely that the word Rašica is of Slavic origin, but it is not known what it means.

History

Toponyms such as ''Arbanaška'' and ''Đjake'' show a historic Albanian presence in the Toplica and Southern Morava regions. The Toplica region had an Albanian majority, which included Rašica. Rašica would’ve been spelled Rashica in the

Albanian language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...

. Rašica had 30 houses inhabited by

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

before the Expulsion of the Albanians took place in 1877–1878. All Albanians left the

region by force of the

Serbian army The Serbian Army () is the land-based and the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces. Its organization, composition, weapons and equipment are adapted to the assigned missions and tasks of the Serbian Armed Forces, primarily for operatio ...

and fled to modern-day

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

, which was back then the Vilayet of Kosovo of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. These Albanians became known as Muxhahirs. Demographically, these Albanians were of the Gheg dialect and were

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

. Some families from Rashica kept their surname as the village they were from; hence, today in Kosovo, we find the Rashica families.

References

Populated places in Toplica District Albanian communities in Serbia {{ToplicaRS-geo-stub