Shulin (; Macedonian/Bulgarian: Шулин), formerly known officially as Diellas, is a village southeast of Lake Prespa in the Pustec Municipality which is officially recognised as a Macedonian minority zone located in the Korçë County, Albania. The village is composed of ethnic Macedonians, which form part of the larger Macedonian minority in Albania.
History In 1939, on behalf of 37 Bulgarian houses in Shulin Goge Lambrov signed a request by the local Bulgarians to the Bulgarian tsaritsa Giovanna requesting her intervention for the protection of the Bulgarian people in Albania - at that time an Italian protectorate.Елдъров, Светозар. Българите в Албания 1913-1939. Изследване и документи, София, 2000, стр. 324-326.
In 2013, the village's official name was changed back from "Diellas" to "Shulin", the Macedonian name.
Demographics In 1900, Vasil Kanchov gathered and compiled statistics on demographics in the area and reported that the village of Chegan was inhabited by about 270 Macedonian Christians.Vasil Kanchov (1900). Кънчов, Васил. Македония. Етнография и статистика, София, 1900, с. 242. (Macedonia: Ethnography and Statistics, p. 242. Accessed 26 May 2019 (in Bulgarian)
According to a survey by Georgi Trajčev in 1911 and 1912, Shulin had 23 houses and 375 Macedonian residents.Трайчев, Георги. Български селища в днешна Албания, в: Отецъ Паисий, 15-31 юли 1929 година, стр.212.
A 2007 estimate put the village population in the range of 600 to 650 people.Бело, Раки. Селищни имена в Мала Преска - Албания, в: Македонски преглед, ХХХ, №3, стр.135.
According to sources, including research by a scientist from Albania, the local inhabitants are Macedonians.Бело Раки (Belo, Raki). Селищни имена в Мала Преспа - Албания, в: Македонски преглед, ХХХ, № 3, с. 134, 136.Българите в района на Корча и Мала Преспа (Албания) - съвременна картина, Балканистичен Форум, 2005, №1-3, с. 113-129 (Pashova, Anastasija. Bulgarians in the region of Korcha and Mala Prespa (Albania) nowadays, Balcanistic forum, 2005, issue No: 1-3, pp. 113-129.)
Dialect Although Shulin is located in modern-day Korçë County, the village traditionally belongs to the Lower Prespa region, and therefore its inhabitants speak the Lower Prespa dialect rather than the neighbouring Korča dialect of Macedonian.
People from Shulin Takjo Grozdani,:: СМК - Светски Македонски конгрес - Официјална WEB страница :: Macedonian Party member
References