Radožda

Radožda
Радожда
Village
Radožda

Location within Macedonia

Coordinates: 41°6′14″N 20°37′59″E / 41.10389°N 20.63306°E / 41.10389; 20.63306Coordinates: 41°6′14″N 20°37′59″E / 41.10389°N 20.63306°E / 41.10389; 20.63306
Country  Macedonia
Municipality Struga municipality
Population
  Total 808
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
  Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Area code(s) +389
Car plates OH

Radožda (Macedonian: Радожда) is a village in the Struga municipality in the southwestern region of the Republic of Macedonia.

Geography

Radožda is situated on the western shore of the Ohrid Lake. It is 10 km (6.2 mi) south of the town Struga. It is 2 km (1.2 mi) from the Macedonian-Albanian border crossing Ćafa San. The closest village is the village of Lin which is situated in Albania. The village is situated at 725 m (2,379 ft) above sea level.

History

The village was founded on the western edge of the Ohrid Lake over ten centuries ago. It was founded in a fertile area which soon became accustomed to farming. The surrounding hinterland was suitable for small-scale agriculture and the area was settled. The village was founded approximately 1 km (0.62 mi) west of today's position.

Etymology

A document from the era of Tsar Stefan Dušan has the village listed under the name Radobužda (Радобужда). An Ottoman document from the year 1583 also records the village but under a different name Radohožda (Радохожда) while a hand written document from the Serbian Branislav Nušić has the village listed as Radooždž (Радоожџа) while Austrian-Hungarian maps have the village listed as Radoliožda, (Радолиожда) or Radohožda (Радохожда).

Saint Archangel Michael

Exterior of the Church of Saint Archangel Michael.

The Church Saint Archangel Michael was built in the Jablanica mountain range above the village of Radožda in the 13th century. It was built in a natural cave and was dedicated to the military commander of the Bodiless Army - the Archangel Michael. Most of the frescoes date from the 14th century with one preserved from the 13th century. The cave church was repainted in the 14th thus removing many of the old frescoes. The top layer of painting in the church was the last accomplishment of the Ohrid Fine Art School from the 14th century.[1]

Demography

The 2002 census counted 808 people present in the village. Many of these residents were elderly as much of the current generation have left the village due to work and other reasons. The village is populated by ethnic Macedonians.

Ethnicity Total
Macedonians 806
Serbs 1
Other 1

Village festivals

The Village does not have any long standing traditions but there are some traditions specific to the village.

For Easter the villagers gather and go to all of Radožda's seven churches, the women trade dyed eggs, the villages light candles and they pray to god.

On 2 August the village celebrates Ilinden. The villages gather at the St Ilija Church and they trade holy bread, holy water while the villagers celebrate the glorious day. The whole village turns out to celebrate the event.

For the feast of the Assumption of Mary on 28 August the whole village waits for guests from all over the Struga and Ohrid areas. This is the biggest holy day in Radožda.

Notable people

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.