Lisolaj () is a village in the Bitola Municipality of North Macedonia. It used to be part of the former municipality of Kukurečani.
Geography Lisolaj belongs to the so-called Pelagonia Region, in the geographical area of Pelagonia and the foot of the mountain Drevenik, 17 km north of the city of Bitola. The village is hilly, at an altitude of 746 meters. Above the settlement is the church of St. Petka, which is from the 19th century.
History and Demographics
Mythology According to legend, the name of Lisolaj comes from a story about a hunter who lost his children in the woods. The hunter ordered his dog (named Lisa (Лиса) to bark (luy (лае), the command to bark). The name of the village was formed by mixing these two words.
Ottoman Control Lisolaj is attested in the Ottoman defter of 1467/68 as a village in the vilayet of Manastir. Alongside Christian Slavic names, an individual attested as a priest of the village (prift) bore the typical Albanian anthroponym, Gjergj.
According to the statistics of the Bulgarian ethnographer Vasil Kanchov ("Macedonia, Ethnography and Statistics") from 1900, Lisolaj had 340 inhabitants, all Bulgarians.Kanchov, Vasil. „Macedonia, Ethnography and Statistics“. Sofia, 1900, p. 238. (in Bulgarian)
In a 2021 analysis of a 1901 Ottoman map, ethnographer Robert Mihajlovski (Роберт Михајловски) concluded that Lisolaj was a Bulgarian village with 45 houses.
In 1904, Lisolaj switched allegiance from the Serbian Church to the Bulgarian Exarchate.
According to the Bulgarian Exarchate Secretary , ("La Macedoine et sa Population Chrétienne") in 1905 there were 400 Bulgarians in Lisolaj.Brancoff, D.M. "La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne". Paris, 1905, pp. 166-167.
On 6 May, 1906, there was a 6 hour battle between the Chetniks and Turkish troops, of which the Chetniks had 11 casualties. On 19, 20, or 21 May 1906, a band of 12 or 120 Bulgarians were 'annihilated' by a detachment of Turks at Lisolaj. The Americus Times names Lisolaj as 'the scene of previous butcheries' and EL TIEPO says the reason was because the Bulgarian band were loitering on the border. All newspapers record the name of Lisolaj as 'Lisolai' instead.
On 4 June, 1906, a Serbian document addressed to the Serbian Minister of Education and Church Affairs (at the time Andra Nikolić) describes an attack by Greek band on Lisolaj because of the village changing ecclesiastical affiliation in 1904. The date of the attack is not listed specifically in the document.
In the First and Second Balkan Wars, Velyo Dimov (Velyan) (Вельо Димов (Велян)) volunteered to fight for the 1st company of the of the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps. He originated from Lisolaj, and was enlisted from October 2, 1912 — August 10, 1913.
World Wars
World War I In World War I, the German Empire sent reinforcement troops to Lisolaj, where they had projectors to watch movies for military morale. The residents of Lisolaj were also allowed to watch with the occupying German soldiers.
World War II In World War II, the ethnic Macedonian from Lisolaj, Stojčevski Đorđi, was killed in Syrmia fighting the Yugoslavian Liberation War. The Germans also issued a map of the Bitola region for the purposes of ethnic clensing, and recorded that Lisolaj had 425–450 ethnically Macedonian inhabitants. Although the map was created in 1941, it was based on 1931 census data.
Communist and post Yugoslavia Many residents moved away to other areas such as Bitola, Skopje, Australia, the United States, Germany, and other European countries.
On the 22nd August, 2013, a forest fire near the Lisolaj and Drevenik villages was extinguished by the Army of the Republic of Macedonia using Mi 8 and Mi 17 helicopters with 44 tons of water.
According to the 2021 census, the village had a total of 163 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the village include: Macedonians: 153 Persons who were not interviewed and had basic data taken from administrative sources: 10
Sport Lisolaj has a soccer team called the FK Lisolaj (ФК Лисолаj). Their first recorded match is on 25 August 2019 against Crna Reka, and there is still continued recorded activity from team. The team captain is Zoran Sekulovski. On 12 December 2023, the team was crowned autumn champions in the Bitola municipality.
References
External links Visit Macedonia