Rajčani

Rajčani
Рајчани
Village
Rajčani
Location in North Macedonia
Country North Macedonia
Region Eastern
Municipality Kočani
Elevation
700 m (2,300 ft)
Population
 (2021)
 • Total
9
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)

Rajčani (Macedonian: Рајчани) is a village in the Kočani region of North Macedonia.

Etymology

The name of the village is first mentioned in the 14th century,[1] specifically in 1347 in the charter of Stefan Dušan for the Zletovo Bishopric as Раичаномь,[2] meaning "heaven".[3]

Geography

The village is located in the western part of Kočani Municipality, approximately 23 kilometers from Kočani. It is mountainous, having an elevation of 700 meters above sea level.[4]

Demographics

In 1900, according to Macedonia. Ethnography and Statistics by Vasil Kanchov, the village had 91 people, all recorded as Bulgarians.[5]

In 1905, according to La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne, there were 80 Bulgarians and 6 Aromanians in the village.[6]

In the 1948 census, the population was 331, increasing to 382 in 1953. The population then declined due to emigration: 350 in 1961, 272 in 1971, 134 in 1981, 67 in 1991, 54 in 1994, 33 in 2002, and 9 in 2021, all aged over 65, comprising 5 males and 4 females.[4][7][8][9]

Historical significance

On 27 April 1905, near the village, in the area of Svilanovo, Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary Nikola Karev was killed while fighting with the Ottoman forces.[10]

References

  1. ^ Македонски Архивист број 31-32 (PDF). p. 23. ISSN 0350-1728.
  2. ^ Македонски Архивист број 31-32 (PDF). 2022. p. 21. ISSN 0350-1728.
  3. ^ Иванова, Олга (2014). Речник на имињата на населените места во Р. Македонија (Б, Ѓ, Е, Ј, Н, Р, Т, Ќ, У, Ф, Х, Џ, Ш). Skopje: Krste Misirkov Institute for the Macedonian Language. p. 133. ISBN 978-608-220-026-2.
  4. ^ a b Панов, Митко (1998). Енциклопедија на селата во Република Македонија [Encyclopedia of the Villages in the Republic of Macedonia] (in Macedonian). Patrija. p. 252. ISBN 9789989862007.
  5. ^ Кѫнчовъ, Василъ (1900). "Македония. Етнография и Статистика". www.promacedonia.org. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 2025-11-16.
  6. ^ Мишев, Димитър (1905). La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne [Macedonia and Its Christian Population] (in French). Paris: Plon, Nourrit & Cie. pp. 130–131.
  7. ^ "Население на Република Македонија според изјаснувањето за етничката припадност, по населени места, според пописите на население 1948, 1953, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991, 1994 и 2002 година (согласно територијалната организација од 1996 година)".
  8. ^ "Rajčani (Kočani, East Region, North Macedonia) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2025-11-17.
  9. ^ "Census in Macedonia 2002" (PDF).
  10. ^ Пелтеков, Александър. Революционни дейци от Македония и Одринско. Второ допълнено издание. ISBN 9789544961022. pp. 242, 324.