Bosilegrad

Bosilegrad (Serbian Cyrillic: Босилеград; Bulgarian: Босилеград) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. The municipality comprises an area of 571 km² (220 sq mi). According to the 2022 census, the town has a population of 2,348, while the municipality has 6,065 inhabitants.^[4]

Bosilegrad Босилеград (Serbian) Босилеград (Bulgarian)[1]
Town and municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Location of the municipality of Bosilegrad within Serbia
Coordinates: 42°30′N 22°28′E
Country	Serbia
Region	Southern and Eastern Serbia
District	Pčinja
Settlements	37
Government
• Mayor	Vladimir Zaharijev (To Smo Mi)
Area [2]
• Town	18.37 km2 (7.09 sq mi)
• Municipality	571 km2 (220 sq mi)
Elevation	696 m (2,283 ft)
Population  (2022 census)[3]
• Town	2,348
• Town density	130/km2 (330/sq mi)
• Municipality	6,065
• Municipality density	11/km2 (28/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	17540
Area code	+381(0)17
Official languages	Serbian together with Bulgarian[1]
Website	www.bosilegrad.org

Along with Dimitrovgrad (Tsaribrod), Bosilegrad is an economic and cultural centre of Serbia's ethnic Bulgarian community.

History

Historically, Bosilegrad was part of Bulgaria. On May 15, 1917, Serbian paramilitaries (Chetniks) under the command of Kosta Pećanac crossed the old Bulgarian border and, as part of the Toplica Uprising, captured Bosilegrad, which they then burned. Then Pećanac and his band withdrew to Kosovo, which was controlled by the Austro-Hungarian Army.

The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes gained some territory from Bulgaria as part of the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine, following the invasion and occupation of part of the Kingdom of Serbia by Bulgaria and subsequent Allied defeat of the Central Powers in the First World War. From 1929 to 1941, it was part of Vardar Banovina. The Bulgarian army occupied Bosilegrad during the Second World War from 1941 to 1944. At the end of the Second World War, Bulgaria switched sides in the war and in October 1944 gave the occupied Western outlands back to Yugoslavia.^[5]

Settlements

Aside from the town of Bosilegrad, the municipality consists of the following villages:

Barje Belut Bistar Brankovci Bresnica Buceljevo Gložje Goleš Gornja Lisina Gornja Ljubata Gornja Ržana Gornje Tlamino Grujinci

Doganica Donja Lisina Donja Ljubata Donja Ržana Donje Tlamino Dukat Žeravino Zli Dol Izvor Jarešnik Karamanica Milevci Mlekominci

Musulj Nazarica Paralovo Ploča Radičevci Rajčilovci Resen Ribarci Rikačevo Crnoštica

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1948	18,816	—
1953	19,751	+0.97%
1961	18,368	−0.90%
1971	17,306	−0.59%
1981	14,196	−1.96%
1991	11,644	−1.96%
2002	9,931	−1.44%
2011	8,129	−2.20%
2022	6,065	−2.63%
Source: [6][4]

According to the 2022 census, the municipality of Bosilegrad has 6,065 inhabitants. Only 32.28% of inhabitants live in urban areas.^[4]

Ethnic groups

The majority of municipality's population are Bulgarians, amounting to 72.3% of total population. Other minor ethnic groups are Serbs and Roma people. The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Ethnic group	Population 1971[7]	Population 1981[8]	Population 1991[9]	Population 2002[10]	Population 2011[11]	Population 2022[4]
Bulgarians	-	-	-	7,037	5,839	4,075
Serbs	292	616	1,165	1,308	895	786
Macedonians	58	49	-	42	38	26
Montenegrins	13	6	6	3	2	1
Romani	13	10	3	-	162	143
Muslims	1	1	10	-	-	-
Yugoslavs	255	3,976	1,649	288	20	18
Others	16,675	9,538	8,811	1,253	1,173	1,016
Total	17,306	14,196	11,644	9,931	8,129	6,065

Gallery

• 
  Town of Bosilegrad
• 
  Bosilegrad town street
• 
  Bosilegrad town hall
• 
  Unveiling of the monument of Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski
• 
  School in Bosilegrad
• 
  Serbia–Bulgaria State border
• 
  Bosilegrad Church
• 
  Church in Izvor, Bosilegrad
• 
  Lisinsko Lake in Bosilegrad

See also

• Tsaribrod
• Western Outlands
• List of populated places in Serbia