Kičevo

Kičevo Кичево(Macedonian) Kërçovë/Kërçova(Albanian)
Town
From the top, Osloboduvanje Boulevard, Kitino Kale, Museum of West Macedonia in the National Liberation War
Flag Seal
Kičevo Location within North Macedonia
Coordinates:41°31′04″N20°57′56″E
Country	North Macedonia
Region	Southwestern
Municipality	Kičevo
Government
• Mayor	Fatmir Dehari (DUI)
Area
• Total	814.3 km2(314.4 sq mi)
Population (2021)
• Total	23,428
Time zone	UTC+1(CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2(CEST)
Postal code	6250
Area code	+389
Car plates	KI
Climate	Cfb

Kičevo(Macedonian:Кичево[ˈkitʃɛvɔ];Albanian:Kërçovë,Albaniandefinite form:Kërçova) is a city in the western part ofNorth Macedonia,located in a valley in the south-eastern slopes ofMount Bistra,between the cities ofOhridandGostivar.The capitalSkopjeis 112 km away. The city of Kičevo is the seat ofKičevo Municipality.

Name

The name of the city inMacedonianand otherSouth Slavic languagesisKičevo(Кичево). The name of the city inAlbanianisKërçovë.It was originally known asUskanaand was inhabited by theIllyrians.It is presumed that the present name of the town originates from the name of this settlement populated by the SlavicBerzititribe. InTurkish,the city is known asKırçova. Kicevo was first mentioned asUskana(Ωξάνα inAncient Greek) in the reign of Perseus, king of Macedon during the Third Macedonian War (171–169 BC).The next written record of the town did not come until 1018, under the name ofKitzabis(from Kίτζαβις inByzantine Greek), or sometimes asKitsabisorKitsavisorKitzbon,or slavicised asKicavis,noted in one of the documents of theByzantine emperorBasil II.Under the rule ofPrince Markoit was known asKatin Grad( "Katina's City" ) due to Marko's sister being named Katina.

Panorama of Kičevo

History

King Vukašin ruled the city alongside his son Prince Marko

Medieval period

Kičevo was noted in one of the documents of theByzantine emperorBasil IIin 1018, and also mentioned by the Ohrid archbishopTheophilactin the 11th century. The city would become a part of theFirst Bulgarian Empireand it was one of the first cities to be added to theArchbishopric of Ohrid.It was also a part of theSecond Bulgarian Empire. The city first fell under Serbian rule during the reign ofStefan Uroš Iand finally underStefan Milutinin 1283. After the downfall of theSerbian Empirethe city was under the rule ofVukašin of Serbiaof theMrnjavčević familyafter which it passed to his sonPrince Markoand finally to theOttomans.

Ottoman period

When the region was conquered by theOttoman Empire,Kičevo was turned into the military and administrative center of the region.

According toToma Smiljanić-Bradina,the local Slavs of the region still lived in a semi-independent fashion as they did under the rule ofPrince Markoretaining their status as "earthly lords" of their fortresses. This semi-independent way of life persisted until the 15th century

According to local folklore the inhabitants of the region also participated in the Christian rebellions during theGreat Turkish Warand were forced to flee after its failure.

On August 2, 1903, the Christian citizens of Kičevo participated in theIlinden Uprising,led by Arso Vojvoda andYordan Piperkata.

Modern

In 1913 Kičevo and the whole region were incorporated in theKingdom of Serbia.The city was occupied by theKingdom of BulgariaduringWorld War I.It became part of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenesin 1918. From 1929 to 1941, Kičevo was part of theVardar Banovinaof theKingdom of Yugoslavia.

Macedonian Partisansentering Kičevo on September 9, 1943, after the capitulation of Italy.

DuringWorld War II,Kičevo was occupied by forces fromFascist Italyand ceded to theItalian protectorate of Albania.On September 9, 1943, after theArmistice of Cassibile,MacedonianandAlbanianpartisan units disarmed the Italian garrison and took temporary control of the city.Thus, Kičevo became the first city seized by theMacedonian Partisansduring the war. However, soon after the capitulation of Italy, Nazi Germany occupied that area. The Germans putBalli Kombëtarin charge of Albania under German rule. The city was finally seized by the Communists on November 15, 1944, after German retreat.

From 1945 to 1991 the town belonged to theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia,as part of its constituentSocialist Republic of Macedonia.Since 1991 the town has been part of the Republic of Macedonia.

Demographics

In the 1467-1468 Ottoman defter,Kičevo was divided into twomahallas(neighbourhoods): The Mahale-i Arnavut (Albanian neighbourhood),where the heads of families appear with symbiotic Albanian-Christian-Slavic anthroponomy and the overwhelming majority of the population appeared to be of Albanian origin, and the Serbian mahala, where some Albanian names also appear, in conjunction with a majority of Slavic ones.

According toVasil Kanchov,in 1900 the city had a population of 4844, of which 1200 were Bulgarian Orthodox, 3560 were Bulgarian Muslims, and 84Roma,with Albanians being present in the surrounding villages.

According to the 1942Albaniancensus, Kičevo was inhabited by a total of 7216 people, 5569 of whom were Muslim Albanians, 883 Serbian-speaking Orthodox Albanians, 600 Bulgarians and 164 Serbs.

Modern

The municipality of Kičevo has 56,734 inhabitants, and the city 27,076. The largest ethnic group in the city of Kičevo is theMacedonianswho constitute for 15,031 people (55.5%), followed by theAlbanianswith 7,641 people (28.2%), theTurkswith about 2,406 (8.9%) andRomawith 4.9%.

Orthodox Christians made up 15,139 (55.9%) of the city's population according to the 2002 census, while Muslims were the second-largest religious group in the city, numbering 11,759 (43.4%).

The most common native languages areMacedonian(62.5%),Albanian(28.2%),Turkish(8.0%) andRomani0.4%.

City of Kičevo population according to ethnic group 1948-2021

Ethnic group	census 1948		census 1953		census 1961		census 1971		census 1981		census 1994		census 2002		census 2021
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Macedonians	..	..	3,747	39.2	6,809	66.0	9,900	64.3	13,236	58.9	15,255	60.7	15,031	55.5	12,687	54.2
Albanians	..	..	232	2.4	681	6.6	2,284	14.9	4,516	20.1	5,902	23.5	7,641	28.2	5,110	21.8
Turks	..	..	4,749	49.7	2,079	20.2	2,041	13.3	2,175	9.7	2,175	8.7	2,406	8.9	2,069	8.8
Romani	..	..	54	0.6	0	0.0	17	0.1	304	1.3	1,235	4.9	1,329	4.9	1,775	7.6
Serbs	..	..	484	5.1	394	3.8	305	2.0	203	0.9	96	0.4	82	0.3	49	0.2
Vlachs	..	..	4	0.1	0	0.0	0	0.0	5	0.0	15	0.1	75	0.3	67	0.2
Bosniaks	..	..	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0	7	0.0	8	0.0
Others	..	..	297	3.1	394	3.5	846	5.5	2,040	9.1	451	1.8	496	1.8	164	0.7
Persons for whom data are taken from administrative sources															1,499	6.4
Total	7,280		9,567		10,324		15,393		22,479		25,129		27,076		23,428

Culture

Мacedonian traditional clothing

Shirt and bodice from Kičevo

The characteristics of the traditional clothing are massive embroiders on the shirt, collar and sleeves, white and black top garments, several types of head coverings, richly decorated skirts and several different regional varieties of pants and coats, in Kičevo specifically waist sashes are worn, fur coats, decorated collars, embroidered cuffs and fur coats.

Albanian traditional clothing

The Kičevo area maintains a unique composition oftraditional Albanian clothing.Unlike the Albanian dialectsof the region, the traditional clothing of the Albanians in Kičevo are unitary; rather, diversity is shown varying on gender, age, and situation.Examples of this include the lower part of men's clothing which is characterised by the tirqe; the colour of the tirqe varied depending on age, with youth usually wearing white tirqe and the older men wearing dark brown tirqe. Women wear ashami(headscarf), which exists in several forms. Depending on the occasion, ashamican be red or white, but white scarves are preferred. TheBrezi(belt) was not only used for decoration, but also as a symbol of the level ofburrni(manhood) of its wearer as well as to store tobacco and related objects. Thebreziof grown married women is usually tighter and typically white, decorated with a variety of ornaments. Young girls wore a blackbrez,and elderly women wore a reddishbrez.

Monuments

Monastery of St. Bogorodica Prečistanear Kičevo.

Monastery of St. Bogorodica Prečista(Monastery of Immaculate Mother of God) is a significant monastery near Kičevo. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, the feast day of this monastery is "Mala Bogorodica", (Birthday of the Virgin Mary on the 21st of September). The monastery, dedicated to theAnnunciationand lodgings for devout female monks, represents a medieval monastery that was known under the name Krninski monastery in the past.

This monastery is actually an important site for the study of common cult of Christians and Muslims because it is visited by believers from both religions. The reason of this common cult is due to the miraculous powers of the water source inside the monastery.

Another important monument is the monastery of St. George located in the vicinity of Kičevo.

There are also many importantmosquesfrom theOttoman Empire's times of rule and from theMuslimpopulation.

Sports

Local football clubFK Napredokhas spent several seasons in theMacedonian First Football LeagueandKF Vëllazërimi 77plays in theMacedonian Third League.

Twin towns - twin cities

• Vratsa–Bulgaria
• Óbuda-Békásmegyer–Hungary

Notable people

• Besart Ibraimi,footballer
• Florian Kadriu,footballer
• Xhelil Asani,footballer
• Omer Kaleshi,painter
• Yoakim Karchovski,priest
• Vlatko Lozanoski,singer
• Vesna Milošević,former handballer
• Vlado Taneski,journalist and serial killer
• Saint Evnuvios, Paisios and Averikios

External links

• Kičevo web site - mk
• Kičevo web site - sqArchived2015-06-26 at theWayback Machine
• Kičevo portal web
• Information on Kicevo as part of the "New Economic Geography" map of the European Stability InitiativeArchived2015-09-24 at theWayback Machine