Bosilovo

 

Bosilovo (Босилово) - a village in the Municipality of Bosilovo, near the city of Strumica. The village is the seat of the municipality. Bosilovo is located in the southeastern part of the Republic of Macedonia, in the central part of the Strumica Valley. The road Strumica-Novo Selo passes through the village. It is 15 km away from the nearest town Strumica. From the right side of the village passes the river Strumica while above the village passes the river Turija, which flows into the river Strumica near the village Turnovo.

The altitude in the village is 214 meters while the village covers an area of ​​8.1 km2. Of these, 708.6 hectares are arable land, 39.5 hectares are pastures and 1.4 are forests.

 

Geography and location

Bosilovo is located in the southeastern part of the Republic of Macedonia, in the central part of Strumica Kotlina. The Strumica-Novo Selo road passes through the village. It is 15 kilometers away from the nearest town Strumica. The river Strumica passes on the right side of the village, while the river Turia passes above the village, which flows into the river Strumica near the village of Turnovo.

The altitude in the village is 214 meters while the village covers an area of 8.1 km2. Of these, 708.6 hectares are arable land, 39.5 hectares are pastures and 1.4 are forests.

 

Destinations

Saint Athanasius — Orthodox church located in Bosilovo, Bosilovo Municipality.

History
The Christian temple in Bosilovo, dedicated to Saint Athanasius, was built in 1842 and is one of the oldest in the region. At first, the church was served in Greek, but after the teacher A. Kostentsev with a group of students participated in the service in Slavic language on the Day of the Savior in 1869, the majority of the villagers no longer wanted to hear about the Greek language in the church. After this case, villagers came here from the surrounding villages to hear words they understood.

The church was painted by "the humble painter Andon Petrovich, from the village of Gari, said Debar", as he signed himself.

 

History

Early period
It is not known today exactly when the settlement was founded, but it is assumed that it happened before the beginning of Turkish rule in this area. There are several legends about the origin of the village.

According to one legend, the village used to have a different location. It was located about half a kilometer north of the current location and was called Nejcino, and its neighboring village was Dragomirovo, which then lived about twenty Roma families, but this village was burned in the early twentieth century, ie 1913.

Ottoman Empire
During the Ottoman rule in this area, the territory where Bosilovo is today was the estate of several Turkish beys. Otherwise, in the area of ​​the villages Bosilovo and Dragomirovo at that time there were farms: Mehmed-bey, Zejni-bey, Riza-bey, Arif-bey and others. Some of the beys allowed the landowners to build primitive houses on the site of what is now a village. Thus, a farmer from Nejcino, according to folklore, named Bosiljan (Bosilko, Bosil), was the first to build a house on this place. Later, when the village of Nejcino was set on fire and destroyed, the beys helped build houses for the other elders around the new construction of Bosilko.

Thus, a new neighborhood was established on that place, which was named Bosilovo after the name of the first inhabitant Bosilko. Over time, Bosilovo began to grow, so the beys built their homes in it.

In 1842, the Macedonian population built the church "St. Athanasius". The church was first served in Greek, but after teacher A. Kostentsev with a group of students, on the Day of Salvation in 1869 participated in the service in the Slavic language, the majority of the villagers no longer wanted to hear about Greek in the church. After this case, villagers came here from the surrounding villages to hear words they understood.

There was also a mosque in the village, the remains of which were visible until 1895.

According to the statistics of Vasil K'nchov ("Macedonia. Ethnography and Statistics") in 1900 the village had 465 inhabitants, of which 430 Macedonians and 35 Turks. The village was under the influence of the Bulgarian Exarchate. According to the data of the Secretary of the Exarchate Dimitar Mishev ("La Macedoine et sa Population Chrétienne") in 1905 in the village lived 320 Macedonians under the supremacy of the Bulgarian Exarchate. In addition, there was an exarchate school in the village.

On March 25, 1907, the village of Bosilovo and neighboring villages were affected by a major flood from the Stara Reka and Turija rivers. One record states that the whole village was flooded and that the floods caused great damage to the local population.

After the start of the Balkan Wars, one person from the village was a volunteer in the Macedonian-Odrina volunteer detachments. According to the Carnegie Balkan Commission, during the war, the Muslim population in the Strumica area was first gathered in a mosque in the city on the orders of VMRO troops, and later 18 of the richest of them were tied up and taken to Bosilovo, where they were killed. After the end of the war, when the decision was made that the village and the Strumica region would belong to Bulgaria, the Greek armies committed a number of atrocities before withdrawing from these areas. Residents of Bosilovo complained to the Bulgarian regular army about the torture inflicted by Greek troops on the local population.

Yugoslavia
After the end of the Balkan Wars, the village was included in the Kingdom of Bulgaria. After the end of the First World War, according to the Nej Peace Treaty, the village was included in the Kingdom of SCS, together with the Strumica region.

Prior to the outbreak of World War II, not a single health facility in the surrounding villages in the Strumica region was reduced. Thus, one of the first to be opened in the region was in the village of Bosilovo. In the period between the two world wars, the village was under constant attack and raids by the Serbian police, who were looking for people connected with VMRO. The victims of this terror were often the peaceful local population of the village.

After the outbreak of World War II, in 1942-1943 the local population began to organize against the fascist occupier. After the established connections between the other settlements, the priest Risto Gavrovski joined the popular movement from the village, through Boro Johnny. After Bulgaria crossed over to the side of the anti-fascist forces, the 48th Bulgarian Regiment was stationed in the village and a meeting was held in the village between the Strumica partisan detachment and the Bulgarian side for joint actions against the German forces. During the war, the following people lost their lives in the village: Ginin Vancho, Gjorgiev Vancho, Dedejski Asen, Dedejski Nake, Karamazov Stojan and Paralidov Boris, while the list of victims of fascist terror includes: Gavrov Atanas, Gavrov Boris, Kostadinova Slava.

After the end of the Second World War, Bosilovo was included within the FR of Macedonia, as part of the SFRY.

 

Macedonia
After the disintegration of the SFRY, the village was formally included in the Republic of Macedonia. According to the territorial organization of the Republic of Macedonia, the village belongs to the Municipality of Bosilovo, as the administrative center of the municipality of the same name.

 

Population

According to the population census of Macedonia from 2002, the village has 1,698 inhabitants, of which 1,697 are Macedonians and 1 other.

According to the last census of 2021, 1,273 inhabitants lived in the village, of which 1,217 Macedonians, 4 Serbs and 52 people without data.

 

Self-government and politics

Polling station
In the village there are polling stations no. 1811 and 1812 according to the State Election Commission, located in the elementary school and the House of Culture.

In the 2019 presidential elections, a total of 1,394 voters were registered at these polling stations.

In the Macedonian parliamentary elections in 2020, a total of 1,400 voters were registered at these polling stations.

 

Personalities

Ivan Vasilevski (1947-2015) - Macedonian poet and novelist.
Eftim Vanev Vuchkov - Macedonian revolutionary.