Debar (Дебар) - a city in the western part of Macedonia and the administrative center of the Municipality of Debar, which includes 17 more villages. It is located in Debar Field, next to the shore of Lake Debar. It is the center of the far western region, which is mainly inhabited by Macedonians of Muslim faith.
Many scholars claim that the name of the
city of Debar is of Macedonian origin, ie with origin and meaning
from the Macedonian, Old Slavic and other Slavic languages. In the
Old Slavic language, the noun debar (дьбръ) means valley, valley,
which corresponds to the location and the environment in which the
city of Debar is located. In Macedonia there are several names of
villages, areas, areas and other toponyms derived from the noun
Debar such as the area, and also valley, ethnographic area and
municipality of Debrca in Ohrid, villages Debreshe (Gostivar),
Debreshte (Prilep), Debrec (Kajlar region), Debrishte (Kavadarci
region) (in older records and the Tetovo village Dobroshte is found
as Debreshte), the locality Debrevnik (Strumica region), with a
common feature that they are located in valleys and valleys, ie
foothills of mountains where the valley or plain part begins in the
valleys. Also, the Macedonian educator, revivalist and teacher
Jordan Hadzi-Konstantinov - The Giant in his writings, travelogues
and published articles in the fifties of the 19th century, often
uses the word debrina, debris for valleys and valleys. Hence it can
be concluded that the name (toponym) Debar is formed from physical
geographical, ie orographic terms meaning valley, ie valley. Having
in mind the location of the city of Debar and the Debar Field, today
mostly submerged under the artificial lake, as well as the wider
area of Gorni and Dolni Debar, in the valley between the mountains
Deshat, Stogovo and Jablanica, and also the area where the valleys
of the rivers Radika are composed. and the Black Drim, it can be
safely concluded that the city got its name from its indigenous
Macedonian population and its language, as a result of its
geographical position.
However, the name Debar is mentioned
even before the arrival of the Slavs, ie the word Debar is known to
history before our era. Thus, in "History Unnov" on page 86 it is
written: "In 268 BC ... The Goths with 6000 lies and 320,000
soldiers entered St. Gora, they besieged Thessaloniki, they came to
Debar where they collided with the Roman cavalry ... This thesis is
confirmed by the Czech historian Ireчеek, who, among other things,
says that the word is not Slavic, but derives from the Latin
deboros, meaning valley, valley.
The legends of the folk
narrator interpret the origin of the name Debar differently: At one
time Debar was a large village, whose inhabitants were engaged in
crafts and renting. The tenants, traveling on steep roads, tired the
horses, especially when they returned, because they were very
loaded. They drove the tired horses with "Di-bre, di-bre! "And over
time this name remained to be used for the settlement.
First
entries for the name
The first written document that mentions the
name Debar is the map of Claudius Ptolemy, made around the middle of
the 2nd century in which it is called Deborus. The Byzantine emperor
Basil II knew of its existence, while Felix Petancic mentions it
under the name Dibri in 1502.
Jastrebov writes in "Old Serbia
and Albania" ("Monument to the Serbian Kraljevo Academy", p. 41):
"That city (Debar) did not exist during the time of Skenderbeg".
Skanderbeg started the war with the Turks in 1444, which means that
even then the city of Debar did not exist. According to Jastrebov,
on the site of today's city of Debar, was the village of Orovnik. He
concludes this from the statements of some old Albanians. However,
someone Mustafa Dzuf from Lusna told Jastrebova that Orovnik should
mean a locality that stretched from today's Debar to the north near
the village of Grazhdani.
The chronicler Acropolis (1257)
says that on the road from Durres, through Mat to Debar he was
forced to stay longer than he should, because the road was dangerous
for the rebellious population. However, here the question arises
whether the name Debar means a city or a province. Most scholars
believe that this is a province because there is a lot of evidence
for the existence of the name Debar in the XII and even in the XI
century.
First of all, the Arab scholar Idrizi wrote in 1153:
"The road Via Egnatia to Skopje passed from Durres-Tirana-Debar
under the valley of the river Radika, Mavrovi Hanovi, Gorni and
Dolni Polog through the Thirsty Mountain to Skopje."
For the
first time the city of Debar under his name in the geographical maps
is written in a map issued in 1545 with "Dibri". Then Barlett, a
biographer of Skanderbeg in 1577, says "he himself was in the town
of Gorni Debar". From this it follows that at the end of the XV and
the beginning of the XVI century we have reliable data on the
sinking of the city of Debar.
In the immediate vicinity of Debar (immediately after the sign on the left side) is the village of Rajchica, which is actually its suburb, in which is located the women's monastery of St. George the Victorious, which is a metoch of the richest Macedonian monastery of St. Jovan Bigorski. The monastery was restored in 1999 and today St. George's Day is celebrated there again. The famous Debar baths are located near the Debar villages Baniste and Dolno Kosovrasti. In Debar, you can still find some extinct trades such as carpenters, joiners and other trades that still exist in the bazaars in Prilep and Bitola. Debar master masons, as well as Debar drummers and pipers, are also well known.
The city of Debar is located in the Debar Basin (Pole), in the
extreme western part of Western Macedonia and in general the Republic of
Macedonia near the border with Albania. It is 131 km away from Skopje,
and the nearest cities to it are Struga (52 km) and Gostivar (71 km).
Debar lies in the south-eastern part of the Debar Field at the foot of
Mount Deshat (Krchin) at an altitude of 625 meters. Debar is also
surrounded by the mountains Stogovo to the east and Jablanica to the
south, which separate the Debar area from the neighboring areas of
Kichevsko and Drimkol in Struško. The city of Debar is located on the
very coast next to the artificial Lake Debar, which was dammed by the
construction of the Špilje dam in 1969 at the confluence (mouth) of the
Radika River in Crn Drim, immediately at the southern end of the city.
The mountains and hills of Krcin, Tikvartsi and Pashina Livada give the
city a rather beautiful appearance.
Several streams pass through
Debar such as Vakufska Reka, Banski Potok, Cintsaroska Reka and some
smaller ones. The water from these rivers flows into the Black Dream.
The climate in the city is a mixture of continental and mountainous
with distinct features of the Mediterranean (Mediterranean) climate
which are the result of the strong climatic influence from the Adriatic
Sea that comes and is felt from the west along the valley and the stream
of the Black Dream. Winters in Debar are characterized by abundant
snowfall, and due to the high mountains, the Adriatic influence and the
existence of the artificial lake, spring and autumn are characterized by
high humidity and precipitation, while summers are characterized by
pleasant freshness.
The settlement of the Slavs in the Debar region took place in the 7th
and 8th centuries. Geographical and topographical nomenclatures say from
the 17th and 18th centuries that the Debar area was inhabited by a
Slavic population. Thus, out of 122 village names in Debarsko, 103 have
Slavic names, while the other 19 have Turkish names. Until the invasion
of the Turks, the Slavic and Albanian population in the Debar area was
Christian. But since then Islamization begins. Probably, in the
beginning, this Islamization was carried out at the request of the local
population itself. It was caused by purely economic reasons - preserving
property, not paying taxes and receiving various other privileges that
the Turkish government gave to Muslims.
The general movement of
the Macedonian population from the countryside to the city is recorded
from the 17th century onwards. This is caused by frequent atrocities and
intensified robberies. The biggest evictions were recorded from the
villages of Dva Brata Planina. However, Debar especially grows around
the middle and end of the 19th century.
The Turkish travel writer
Hadji Kalfa in the first half of the 17th century in his travelogue
about Debar says: "Dibre is seventeen days' walk from Constantinople
(Istanbul) and is located between Kalkandela (Tetovo), Kirchova (Kicevo)
and Ohrid."
In 1832, a mandatory tax - "bedel" - was introduced
for the Christian population. It leads to the Islamization of many
Christian families. At that time there were large movements from the
villages to Debar and beyond. This relocation continues throughout the
19th century. Albanians settled in place of the Macedonian population.
There, many Albanian words are found in Debar speeches. Many Macedonian
families who moved to Debar kept their family names after the villages
they came from, such as Kochishki, Broshtički, Osolnički, Banishki,
Raički, Makelarski, Obochki, Radoeshki, Otishtanski, etc. Han recorded
in 1865 that the city of Debar had 2,000 houses with 10,000 inhabitants,
while Shemsedin recorded in 1891 that Debar was inhabited by 20,000
inhabitants. As can be seen, Debar was mostly populated in the 19th
century, mostly because the city was an important traffic crossroads and
one of the largest Macedonian trade centers. The main road Via Egnatia
passed through Debar. At the same time, the city covered all the
provinces on both sides of the middle course of the Black Dream - from
Struga to Prizren, from Tirana to Kicevo and from Elbasan to Gostivar.
All that attached great importance to the economic center on the western
side of the Balkan Peninsula. Long columns of caravans moved through
Debar in various directions, to Albania, Thessaloniki, Skopje. Debar had
the closest commercial contact with Elbasan, then with Bitola,
Thessaloniki and Skopje. Grain, goods and manufactures were imported
into Debar, and a significant amount of skins was exported, mostly from
small goods, then cordage and earthen vessels. Debar developed until the
establishment of the border between Yugoslavia and Albania, when its
importance began to decline sharply. During that period, Debar lost its
power as a commercial center.
In addition to trade, craftsmanship
was highly developed in Debar. The most developed trades were Kojundzhi,
Tervi, blacksmith, mason, then opincar, dyer, painter, Kazandzhi, etc.
It is interesting that only the Macedonian population was mostly
involved in crafts, while the Albanian population was more commercial.
The surrounding population was more engaged in agriculture and less in
animal husbandry. At the beginning of the 19th century in Debarsko, the
printing industry began to develop. This migrant work gave rise to the
feudal order. The land was in the hands of the aghas and beys. It was
cultivated by the poor Macedonian population, and to a lesser extent by
the Albanian population. The rewards for the effort put in were
miserable. And they had to look for ways for their survival and that of
their families. Mass migrant migrations began in Bulgaria, Turkey,
Serbia, Romania, and even in Egypt and America. Some of the migrant
workers completely moved out of Debar and remained permanently living in
the places where they worked. Today, there are descendants of the people
of Debar in Thessaloniki, Sofia, Belgrade, Bucharest, and in Skopje
there is also its own neighborhood - "Debar Maalo".
In the
17th-19th century, the Debar woodcarving school was very developed. Its
representatives made many iconostases in Macedonia, Bulgaria, Serbia and
even in Russia. At the end of the 19th century, the great Macedonian
revivalist Grigor Prlichev, who described Debar beautifully in his
autobiography, was imprisoned and tortured by the Turkish authorities in
the Debar prison.
Due to its economic prosperity, the wealth of
its inhabitants and the fame of Debar's master builders and masons,
during the Ottoman Empire there was a saying: "Istanbul is burning,
Debar is building it".
In the first organized census of SFR Yugoslavia in 1948, there were
25,231 inhabitants in the Debar section, of which 4,698 were in the city
of Debar, and 20,533 in the villages (Debarsko Pole, Golo Brdo, Župa,
Reka, Malesia). From an ethnic point of view, the population consisted
of 14,516 (57.5%) Macedonians, 7,485 (29.6%) Albanians, 2,913 (11.5%)
Turks, 267 (1.05%) Roma and 50 others.
The 1991 census was not
completely held in the city of Debar, because part of its population
refused to participate, that is, boycotted its holding, which is why
there are no complete data in the city for that census year.
According to the 2002 census, the city of Debar has 14,561 inhabitants,
while the newly created Municipality of Debar with its new organization
had 17,952 inhabitants.
Due to the difficult economic situation,
emigration from Debar has increased in recent years, whose residents
mostly emigrate to the United States.
The city is divided into several neighborhoods: Varosh, Budulec, Jimatovci, Gorno Tikvartsi, Dolno Tikvartsi, Mazia, Vakuf, Dolna Maala, Muroec, Pichakovtsi, Shavaec and some other smaller ones.
The most famous and largest economic facilities that employ a large number of workers are the mine and plaster factory "Radika - KNAUF", "Debarskite Banji Tsapa" and the hydro-power plant "Spilje". Several carpet weavers work in Debar, whose carpets are often sold in foreign markets. With the independence of Macedonia and the opening of the border with Albania, trade and small businesses in the city experienced a great development, as an increasing number of residents from the bordering Albanian villages and towns are supplied with products and services on the market in Debar.
Jovan Debarski (1018 - 1037) - first head of the Ohrid Archbishopric
and founder-founder of the monastery of St. Jovan - Bigorski
Georgi
Gramatik (second half of the 11th century - ?, beginning of the 12th
century) - Macedonian medieval priest, grammarian and miniaturist
Shterjo Mihajlov (1856 - December 27, 1911, Rila, Bulgaria) - Macedonian
revolutionary, participant in the Razlovec Uprising and Duke in the
Kresnen Uprising
Isaiah Mazovski (1852 – 1926) — Macedonian national
revivalist
Islam Najdeni (1864 - 1903) - Albanian educator, founder
of the first Albanian language school in Debar
Ivan Božinov (1867 -
1927, Sofia) — Macedonian national actor, writer, poet, publisher and
printer
Sefedin Pustina - Albanian revolutionary, leader of the
Ohrid-Debar uprising
Ivan Agovski (June 24, 1887 - 1925, Sofia) -
Macedonian revolutionary
Kiril Zernovski (October 21, 1897 - December
28, 1972, Skopje) — Macedonian civil engineer and full professor at the
Faculty of Civil Engineering in Skopje, delegate to the Second Session
of ASNOM
Zhivko Oshavkov (July 6, 1913 - February 18, 1982, Skopje) -
sociologist and philosopher from Bulgaria, one of the founders of
sociology in Bulgaria
Aleksandar Marinov (February 26, 1914 -
November 13, 1944 in Skopje) — Macedonian partisan, revolutionary,
freedom fighter for Macedonia and participant in NOV
Nexat Agoli
(1914 - April 28, 1949, Goli Otok) - Macedonian lawyer and communist
activist
Vasil Kunoski (November 20, 1916 - June 13, 1993) -
Macedonian poet for children
Kemal Agoli (October 22, 1918 — Goli
Otok, after 1948) — communist activist, participant in NOV and delegate
to the First Session of ASNOM
Blagoja Despotovski - Shovelj (March
1919 - October 7, 1941, Skopje)
Stojce Mitrevski (? in Debar — 1946
in Skopje) — Macedonian partisan, fighter for the freedom of Macedonia
and participant in NOV
Atanas Topalovski (1922 in Debar — 1944 in
Tetovo) — Macedonian partisan, fighter for the freedom of Macedonia and
participant in NOV
Ljutvi Rusi (January 21, 1923 - Skopje, February
28, 1981) — Macedonian journalist, writer and translator from and into
the Albanian language
Liman Kaba (1924 - April 7, 1945, Banova
Jaruga, Slavonia, Croatia) - folk hero from NOB
Vasil Todorovski
(1925 in Debar — 1945 in Srem, Serbia) — Macedonian partisan, fighter
for the freedom of Macedonia and participant in NOV
Ibe Palikuća
(1927 - 1944) - national hero from NOB
Ruža Panoska (March 10, 1927)
- Macedonian linguist, methodologist, professor at the Department of
Macedonian Language and South Slavic Languages at the Faculty of
Philology "Blaze Koneski" in Skopje
Kosta Krpach (June 1, 1927) -
former Macedonian film worker, poet, editor and propagandist
Spase
Kunovski (September 24, 1929 - Skopje, August 1, 1978) — Macedonian
painter, the most significant representative of surrealism and
metaphysical painting in Macedonia
Ivan Ivanovski (June 10, 1930) -
Macedonian poet, writer for children, theater critic
Masar Kodra
(1932 - Skopje, 2004) — Macedonian historian, research associate,
university professor.
Milan Pancevski (May 16, 1935 - January 9,
2019) - former Macedonian and Yugoslav high communist official, last
president of the Union of Communists of Yugoslavia
Janka Atanasova
(December 19, 1935 — 1980 in Skopje) — Macedonian ballerina
Janko
Borisov Obochki (1935) - former Macedonian surgeon, neurosurgeon,
primarius and minister of health of SFRY and SR Macedonia
Dusko
Kostovski (1939 - Skopje, 1995) - theater, film and television actor
Gzim Ostreni (November 1, 1942) - Macedonian politician, chief commander
of the ONA
Nejmi Mehmeti (1945 - July 4, 2005, Skopje) - Macedonian
writer and journalist, one of the doyens of journalism in the Albanian
language
Jordan Danilovski (b. January 15, 1957) - Macedonian poet,
critic, essayist, novelist
"May God kill Debrans" - Macedonian folk song.