Tuminec (, formally ''Bezmisht'' and ''Kallamas'';

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Macedonia * Mac ...

/ Bulgarian: Туминец) is a village just north of the

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 ...

n portion 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 ...

in the

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 ...

of the

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 ...

. The villages of Konjsko and Stenje are opposite the Albania-

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 ...

border from Tuminec.

History

According to archaeological evidence found in 2011, the Tuminec area was inhabited during

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

times. The nearby Church of the Holy Mother of God, a rock church, was built in the 14th century. The village was mentioned in the Slepche Beadroll from the end of XVI century. In 1900,

Vasil Kanchov Vasil Kanchov (26 July 1862 – 6 February 1902) was a geographer, ethnographer and teacher who served as Minister of Education of Bulgaria. Early life and education Vasil Kanchov was born in Vratsa. Upon graduating from High school i ...

gathered and compiled statistics on demographics in the area and reported that the village of Tumanets (Туманецъ) was inhabited by about 360 Bulgarian Christians. Following the

Ilinden Uprising Ilinden ( Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Илинден) or Ilindan ( Serbian Cyrillic: Илиндан), meaning " Saint Elijah's Day", may refer to: Events * Republic Day (North Macedonia) Republic Day () or Ilinden () is a national holiday in North ...

of 1903, Tuminec came under 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) ...

. According to a Bulgarian survey two years later, the village's population consisted of 520 Christian Bulgarians. Until 1970, the official Albanian name for the village was ''Bezmisht''; it then became ''Kallamas''. In 2013, the official name was changed back to ''Tuminec''.

Demographics

According to Yugoslav sources from 1981, the village was populated exclusively by Macedonians. A 2007 Bulgarian estimate made by a researcher from Albania put the village population around 950 to 1,000 residents and describes the inhabitants of the whole region of Mala Prespa as

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, ...

.Бело, Раки. Селищни имена в Мала Преспа - Албания, в: Македонски преглед, ХХХ, №3, стр. 130, 135

Culture

Tuminec is the nearest village to the Orthodox Church of the Holy Mother of God, situated on a rocky ridge about 10 meters from the Macedonian border. Some of the older paintings in the church date from the 18th century. It is also home to the Church of St Demetrius. Tuminec has a football club, FK Tuminec, that competes with other villages in the Prespa area of Pustec.

References

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