Strezimirovci ( Serbian and ; also ''Strezimirovtsi'', ''Strezimirovtzi'') is a divided village in easternmost

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 ...

and westernmost

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. The Bulgarian half of the village is part of Tran Municipality, Pernik Province, whereas the Serbian part belongs to

Surdulica Surdulica ( sr-cyr, Сурдулица) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. As of 2022, the population of the town is 9,242, while the municipality has 16,991 inhabitants. History Massacre during World W ...

municipality,

Pčinja District The Pčinja District (, ) is one of administrative districts of Serbia. It occupies the southernmost part of Serbia, bordering Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Sou ...

. The village has a

border checkpoint A border checkpoint is a location on an international border where travelers or goods are inspected and allowed (or denied) passage through. Authorization often is required to enter a country through its borders. Access-controlled borders of ...

, and its residents on either side of the border are mostly Bulgarian; however, its division has caused its population to decrease more than tenfold. It lies in the geographic region of Znepolje (Znepolјe), at , in a valley along the Jerma (or Erma) River, 830 metres

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

The village was first mentioned in Ottoman registers of 1451 as ''Stryazimirovtsi'' and in 1453 as ''İstrazumirofca''. Its name is derived from the personal name ''Strezimir'' (Стрезимир). From the

Liberation of Bulgaria The Liberation of Bulgaria is the historical process as a result of the Bulgarian Revival. In Bulgarian historiography, the liberation of Bulgaria refers to those events of the Tenth Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) that led to the re-establishme ...

in 1878 until the post-

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine of 1919, Strezimirovci was located in Bulgaria and was administratively part of the Tran district of Sofia Province. As Bulgaria participated in the war on the side of the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

, it was obliged to cede a Bulgarian-populated area of 1,545 km² to Serbia, a region afterwards known in Bulgaria as the "

Western Outlands The Western (Bulgarian) Outlands () is a term used in Bulgarian to denote several regions located in ex-Yugoslavia, today southeastern Serbia and southeastern North Macedonia, that were traditionally part of Bulgaria and which were predominant ...

". The new border did not take the location of extant communities, property, roads and rivers into account, it was drawn so as to give Serbia a strategic importance in future wars. Strezimirovci was among 25 villages more or less divided into two by the new Serbian-Bulgarian border. Reputedly, four locals even tricked the international commission sent to mark the border by moving the temporary border stones overnight in order to include more of the village in Bulgaria. As a consequence of this bisection, the village's population has declined significantly on either side of the border. For example, the Serbian part had a population of 485 in 1948; by 2002, it had decreased to 53, of whom 47

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

(88.67%), 4

Yugoslavs Yugoslavs or Yugoslavians ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Jugoslaveni/Jugosloveni, Југославени/Југословени; ; ) is an identity that was originally conceived to refer to a united South Slavic people. It has been used in two connotations: ...

(7.54%) and 2

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

(3.77%). The Bulgarian part of Strezimirovci is only inhabited by 25 people as of June 2008.

References

External links

Website about Strezimirovci
* {{Tran Municipality Villages in Pernik Province Divided cities Populated places in Pčinja District Bulgaria–Serbia border crossings

See also

References

External links