Vernik (, , , ''Vrbnik'') is a village in the former

Qendër Bilisht Qendër Bilisht is a former municipality in the Korçë County, southeastern 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 ...

Municipality 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 ...

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 ...

, on the border with

Krystallopigi Krystallopigi () or Kroustallopigi (Κρουσταλλοπηγή), before 1926: Smardesi (Σμαρδέσι) is a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, community in Florina (regional unit), Florina regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality

Devoll Devoll may refer to: *Devoll (municipality), in Korçë County, southeastern Albania *Devoll (river) The Devoll (; sq-definite, Devolli) is a river in southern Albania. It is one of the source rivers of Seman. It is long and its drainage bas ...

. It is situated south of the

Small Prespa Lake Small Prespa Lake (, ''Limni Mikri Prespa''; ; , ''Malo Prespansko Ezero'') is a lake shared between Greece (138 km² drainage area; 42.5 km² surface area) and Albania (51 km² drainage area; 4.3 km² surface area). It is the ...

and is the easternmost settlement of Albania.

History

Vrabnik Petition for a Bulgarian School 1925

In 1873, then under 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 ...

, the village was listed twice in a demographic survey, once as a ''Verlink'', containing 86 households and 220 male

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, ...

, and again as ''Vrbnik'', containing 70 households and 205 male

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 ...

. According to another late 19th century estimate by Vasil Kanchov, the village had 600 Bulgarian

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

. In 1903, during 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 ...

, all 80 of the village's houses were burnt down. The population of the village was under the supremacy 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) ...

since 1904. At the outbreak of the

First Balkan War The First Balkan War lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and involved actions of the Balkan League (the Kingdoms of Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Greece, Greece and Kingdom of Montenegro, Montenegro) agai ...

, Vernik sent six volunteers to join the

Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps The Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps (, ; MAVC) was a volunteer corps of the Bulgarian Army during the Balkan Wars. It was formed on 23 September 1912 and consisted of Bulgarian volunteers from Macedonia and Thrace, regions still under ...

. During

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 ...

, the village was part of Greece. In the 1913 and 1920 censuses, it had 489 and 366 residents, respectively. In 1925, the village elders sent a petition to the Prefecture of Korça asking for the opening of a Bulgarian school in the village. In 1939, on behalf of 70 Bulgarian houses in Vrbnik the revolutionary Nikola Pandovski 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.

Demographics

The

Kostur dialect The Kostur dialect (, ''Kosturski dijalekt'') is a member of the Southwestern subgroup of the Southeastern group of dialects of the Macedonian language. This dialect is mainly spoken in and around the town of Kastoria, known locally in Maced ...

of the

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 ...

(or Bulgarian) language is spoken in the village. Due to religion having an influence on identity Macedonians of Vërnik view Orthodox

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, ...

as ''nash'' (ours) while Macedonian-speaking Muslims are not viewed as ''nash''. "Moreover, religion can have an influence on attitudes toward identity. Thus for example Macedonian-speaking Christians in Vrbnik (Vërnik) refer to Orthodox Albanian-speakers as nash 'ours' but do not consider Macedonian-speaking Muslims as nash, nor do those Muslims tend to identify as ethnic Macedonians.

People from Vernik

Nikolaos Dailakis Nikolaos or Lakis Dailakis () was a Slavophone Greek revolutionary of the Greek Struggle for Macedonia. Early life and family Dailakis was born in the village of Verniki, Monastir Vilayet Ottoman Empire (now Vernik in southern Albania. He was ...

, Greek revolutionary * Nako Grozdanov (1886 - 1969), member of the

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; ; ), was a secret revolutionary society founded in the Ottoman territories in Europe, that operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1893 in Salonica, it initia ...

* Boncho Nestorov (1906 - 1987), Bulgarian writer and journalist * Nikola Pandovski, Bulgarian revolutionary, member of the

Ognjanov, Mihail. Македония - преживяна съдба, ИК Гутенберг, София, 2002, стр.142, 143, 146, 151, 155. * Kristo Temelko, communist politician

References

{{Devoll div Populated places in Devoll (municipality) Albania–Greece border crossings Villages in Korçë County