Trpejca ( ) 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 ...
at the foot of the
Galičica Mountain and along the shore of the
Lake Ohrid
Lake Ohrid is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of Europe's deepest and oldest lakes, with a unique aquatic ecosystem of worldwide importance, with more th ...
in
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
. Traditionally a fishing village, it has recently become an upscale vacation spot relying heavily on tourism during the summer months. Trpejca is home to around 303 inhabitants and has just one school, two shops, and a church recently built on the exact location of an older one. It is known as the Macedonian
Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez ( , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var departments of France, department and the regions of France, region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Southern France. It is west of Nice and east of Marseille, o ...
among locals due to its recent tourist influx.
Etymology

The name Trpejca (Trpezica) derives from the Greek Trapezitsa (Τραπεζίτσα) which means "table" because of the table like position of the village on the hill.
[Иванова, Олга (2014). ''Речник на имињата на населените места во Р. Македонија : (Б,Ѓ,Е,Ј,Н,Р,Т,Ќ,У,Ф,Х,Џ,Ш)''. Скопје: Институт за македонски јазик „Крсте Мисирков“. стр. 181. .]
History
Pre-Modern
Local stories tell a tale of the village being named after a woman who was the wife of a man called Trpe, in turn they called her Trpejca. Locals will date the village at various years of age but the common theory is that it began to be settled in the late 16th century. During this time it was involved in and relied heavily on fishing and trading its resources with
Ohrid
Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...
and surrounding Villages.
Present
In modern times it has become largely a tourist destination during the summer months with the locals relying less on fishing and more on tourism and hospitality. With the forces of
urbanisation
Urbanization (or urbanisation in British English) is the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It can also ...
at work the younger generation tend to reside in the cities of North Macedonia, mainly
Ohrid
Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...
and
Skopje
Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...
. This has led the population of Trpejca to stagnate and has kept it fairly low. Those who do remain continue to live mostly off the land with each family still relying heavily on
farm
A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used fo ...
ing their own food and
livestock
Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...
. In the summer most tend to open their doors as
bed and breakfast
A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house.
''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...
s for the large number of incoming tourists.
Demographics
As of the
2021 census, Trpejca had 320 residents with the following ethnic composition:
Total resident population of the Republic of North Macedonia by ethnic affiliation, by settlement, Census 2021
/ref>
*Macedonians 294
*Persons for whom data are taken from administrative sources 22
*Others 4
According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 303 inhabitants.[ 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. 151.
* Macedonians 303
Economics
Trpejca's residents rely quite heavily on the tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
boom in the summer without which there would be a severe lack of activity in the village. The last decade has seen a number of developments in the village hoping to cash in on the summer business. Many houses were built illegally without approval by the government during the boom period of tourism, and because of this had to be knocked down. Remnants of this are still visible today as many of the demolished houses including some of which are along the shoreline have not been cleaned up and the rubble remains. Most of the tourists entering the village are from North Macedonia
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
itself more specifically from the capital, Skopje
Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...
. Others include Greeks
Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
, 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, ...
and ex pats coming back to North Macedonia for holiday from places such as Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
or the US.
Culture
Trpejca has a rich culture and is almost exclusively Macedonian Orthodox. At the beginning of each summer the village celebrates by hosting the Sunset Festival which includes music, food and dancing. The local Church has been rebuilt in recent years with the new church on the exact site of the Old one. There is also a cemetery directly opposite the church. some of the local cuisine includes Gjomlek, Local Pastramka (trout
Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...
), Belvica and Fish Stew
Fish stew is a stew with a soup base or ingredient of fish as food.
List
Types of fish stew from around the world include:
* '' Asam Pedas'' ( Indonesian) and ( Malaysian)
* ''Bouillabaisse'' ( Provençal fish stew originating from Marseille, ...
. Tourists and locals alike also engage in a wide range of activities such as Snorkelling
Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming face down on or through a body of water while breathing the ambient air through a shaped tube called a snorkel, usually with swimming goggles or a ...
, swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...
, sunbathing
Sun tanning or tanning is the process whereby skin color is darkened or tanned. It is most often a result of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight or from artificial sources, such as a tanning lamp found in indoor tanning be ...
, hiking
A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time.
"Hi ...
, boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...
and fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
. The Village has deep ties to the Mountain of Galičica which stands directly over it. Locals are allowed free entry into the Galičica National Park due to this. Locals also have a small monastery called 'Zaum
() are the linguistic experiments in sound symbolism and language creation of Russian Cubo-Futurist poets such as Velimir Khlebnikov and Aleksei Kruchenykh. Zaum is a non-referential phonetic entity with its own ontology. The language con ...
' in which is only accessible via boat. they celebrate the day of Zaum in July with a feast held at the Monastery which is about an 8-minute boat ride south. Due to its proximity to Sveti Naum
The Monastery of Saint Naum () is a Macedonian Orthodox Church, Macedonian Orthodox monastery. It is named after the First Bulgarian Empire, medieval Bulgarian writer and enlightener Saint Naum who founded it. The monastery is situated in North M ...
, Locals also have strong ties with the day of the Saint Naum in early July.
File:Trpejca 2015 Maj.jpg, Trpejca panorama from the jetty
File:Church in Trpejca.jpg, Inside the new church in Trpejca
File:Ohrid lake and Trpejca.jpg, View of Trpejca from Lake Ohrid
File:Trpejca strand.JPG, The beach strip in Trpejca
File:Trpejca dorp.JPG, View of the village from the top
File:Trpejca kerk.JPG, Outside view of the new church
File:Trpejca-od-Ezero.JPG, Trpejca shoreline
File:Trpejca Ohridsko Ezero.jpg, Trpejca from the lake
File:Lake Ohrid near Trpejca.jpg, The Famous 'Stog' rock in Trpejca
File:Trpejca trappen.JPG, A typical street in Trpejca
File:Trpejca zajdisonce.jpg, Sunset over Albania from Trpejca
File:Trpejca zajdisonce 2015, Maj.jpg, Sunset panorama from Trpejca
File:Бескрајност,бр.3.jpg, Trpejca stog
File:Trpejca zajdisonce Maj 2015.jpg, Trpejca and Lake Ohrid panorama
References
{{Ohrid Municipality
Villages in Ohrid Municipality