Resen, Macedonia

Resen Ресен
Town
250px
Flag Seal
Resen Location within Macedonia
Coordinates:
Country	Macedonia
Municipality	Resen Municipality
Government
• Mayor	Gjoko Strezovski (VMRO-DPMNE)
Elevation	885 m (2,904 ft)
Population (2002)
• Total	8,748
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Area code(s)	+389
Car plates	RE

Resen (Macedonian: Ресен [ˈrɛːsɛn]) is a town in southwestern Macedonia, with just under 9,000 inhabitants. Resen is approximately equidistant between Bitola and Ohrid. The town rises 880 metres (2,887 feet) above sea level and is situated near Lake Prespa. Resen is also the only town in the Prespa Lake area and is the seat of Resen Municipality.

Name

The name of the city in Macedonian and Bulgarian is Resen (Ресен), in Serbian Resan (Ресан), and in Turkish Resne, while in Greek it is Resna (Ρέσνα). In Albanian the town is known as Resnjë; definite form: Resnja.

History

The ancient Illyrian city of Damastion may be near Resen. Resen's history dates back to Roman times when the famous road Via Ignacia was built, passing through the city.

During the Middle Ages, the Prespa area was part of the Bulgarian empire under Samuil. After the Battle of Klyuch, some of Samuil's soldiers, who were each blinded in one eye, settled in a village on the shore of Lake Prespa. The Byzantines called the village Asamati. The Byzantine meaning of this word is "settlement of one-eyed people". From then on, Resen was under Byzantine rule.

Later, Resen became part of the Ottoman Empire, and it was the birthplace of Ahmed Niyazi Bey, an Albanian officer from a noble family of the town, who was one of the initiators and leaders of the Young Turk Revolution in the region in 1908. Ahmed Niyazi Bey's most famous monument in Resen is the Saraj, a French-style estate he built. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Resen was part of the Manastir Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire.

From 1929 to 1941, Resen was part of the Vardar Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

• Resen old.jpg

  Resen in the early 20th century

• Sarajcrop.jpg

  Old picture of the Saraj

Demographics

As of the 2002 census, the town of Resen has 8,748 inhabitants and the ethnic composition was the following:

• Macedonians, 6,431 (73.5%)
• Turks, 1,369 (15.7%)
• Albanians, 325 (3.7%)
• others, 623 (7.1%)

The mother tongues of the city's residents include the following:

• Macedonian, 6,574 (75.2%)
• Turkish, 1,355 (15.5%)
• Albanian, 629 (7.2%)
• others, 190 (2.2%)

File:St. George Church in Resen 13.JPG

St. George Church in Resen

The religious composition of the city was the following:

• Orthodox Christians, 6,382 (73.0%)
• Muslims, 2,272 (26.0%)
• others, 94 (1.0%)

Climate

Resen has a mild continental climate with cold winters and warm summers, which makes it a tourist attraction, especially in summer. The climate and the quality of soil are key factors for Prespa's region to have a long tradition of agriculture. One of most important landmarks of Resen's today are the apple orchards, well known for the quality and specific taste of apples.

Culture

File:ResenNight.jpg

Resen in the evening

Resen is home to Prespa's Ceramic Colony, established in the 1970s, which attracts renowned artists from all over the world. The organization is included in the UNESCO International Academy of Ceramics. It is housed in the Saraj, which also houses the Dragi Tozija House of Culture, the Keraca Visulčeva Gallery, and a library.

External links

• Resen Municipality Official Page