Herebel (Macedonian: Ербеле; Bulgarian: Ърбеле) is a village in the former Maqellarë municipality in Dibër County in northeastern Albania.[1] At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Dibër.[2] It is situated on the mountain Dešat, near the border with North Macedonia.

Herebel
Ербеле
Herebel is located in Albania
Herebel
Herebel
Coordinates: 41°37′11″N 20°28′11″E / 41.61972°N 20.46972°E / 41.61972; 20.46972
Country Albania
CountyDibër
MunicipalityDibër
Municipal unitMaqellarë
Time zoneUTC 1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC 2 (CEST)

History

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The village was first mentioned in 1467 in Ottoman records. In 1583, it was recorded as having 18 Christian and four Muslim residents.[3]

Of all of the local villages during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, while still under the Ottoman Empire, only Herebel and Kërçisht i Sipërm were populated by Bulgarian Exarchists, while the rest were populated by Muslims.[4]

Several members of the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps were born in Herebel.[5]

Demographics

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In statistics gathered by Vasil Kanchov in 1900, the village of Herebel was inhabited by 75 Christian Bulgarians and 125 Muslim Bulgarians. However, Kanchov noted that the inhabitants of the village preferred to be called Albanians and that they spoke Albanian.[6]

During the first World War occupying Austro-Hungarian forces conducted a census (1916-1918) of parts of Albania they held and of Herebel its ethnic demographics they recorded 74 Albanians, 136 others, 3 Romani while its religious composition was 77 Muslims and 136 Orthodox Christians.[7] Linguists Klaus Steinke and Xhelal Ylli consider the overall census results to be accurate and reflective of much of the ethnic and religious demographics of the area during that time,[7] however noting that the then identity of the Orthodox Slavic speaking populace was fluid as reflected in census declarations.[8] Toward the end of the 1920s the Orthodox Slavic speaking population was located in only two villages of the Maqellarë area, Kërçisht i Epërm and Herebel while in the 1930s the population decline of Orthodox Slavophones continued.[9]

In the late 1990s, Macedonian was still spoken in Herebel,[10] while a population of Muslim Albanians also resides in the settlement.

During the 2000s linguists Klaus Steinke and Xhelal Ylli seeking to corroborate villages cited in past literature as being Slavic speaking carried out fieldwork in villages of the area.[9] The village of Herebel has only 6 Orthodox Slavic speaking families made up of 3 larger households of around 20 individuals each.[9] Linguists Steinke and Ylli also noted that unlike the Gollobordë region, the villages of the Maqellarë administrative unit area do not have any Muslim Slavic speaking inhabitants.[8]

Culture

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Herebel is home to two Cultural Monuments of Albania, the Church of the Holy Transfiguration and the Halveti Teqe.

People from Herebel

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References

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  1. ^ "GeoNames Fulltextsearch : Herbel". Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  2. ^ "Law nr. 115/2014" (PDF) (in Albanian). p. 6367. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  3. ^ "МАКЕДОНСКИ САМОСТРЕЛ" (PDF) (in Macedonian). Makedonsko Sonce. 3 June 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  4. ^ Glasnik na Institutot za nacionalna istorija (in Macedonian). Vol. 42. Institut. 1998. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  5. ^ „Македоно-одринското опълчение 1912-1913 г. Личен състав“, Главно управление на архивите, 2006, стр. 251.
  6. ^ Vasil Kanchov (1900). Macedonia: Ethnography and Statistics. Sofia. p. 90.Жителите на селата Острени (Големо и Мало), Трново (Големо и Мало), Клење, Летен, Џепишта, Ербеле, Обоки, Макелари и др. претпочитат да се изјаснуваат како Арнаути и да зборуваат арнаутски.[4]
  7. ^ a b Steinke & Ylli 2008, p. 249. "Bin Vergleich der beiden oben erwähnten Quellen mit der von den Österreichern während des ersten Weltkrieges durchgeführten Volkszählung, die zweifellos glaubwürdig ist, da sie sich auf eine direkte Befragung der Bevölkerung in den Jahren 1916-1918 stützt, zeigt Unstimmigkeiten."; p.250. "Albaner A, Bulgaren B, Zigeuner Z, Sonstige S, Zigeuner Z, Musl. M, Orth. O; Gemeinde Maqellara: ... Herbel 74 A, 136 S, 3 Z, 77 M, 136 O."
  8. ^ a b Steinke, Klaus; Ylli, Xhelal (2008). Die slavischen Minderheiten in Albanien (SMA): Golloborda - Herbel - Kërçishti i Epërm. Teil 2. Munich: Verlag Otto Sagner. p. 252. ISBN 9783866880351. p. 252. "Anders als in den Dörfern Gollobordas sind in diesem Gebiet keine Spuren von slavophonen Muslimen zu finden. Die ethnische Zugehörigkeit der kleinen orthodoxen und slavophonen Gruppe ist außerdem nicht einfach anzugeben. Bezeichnend sind in diesem Zusammenhang die Ergebnisse der 1916 von den Österreichern durchgeführten Volkszählung. Von den insgesamt 213 Einwohnern Herbels werden aufgrund ihrer Angaben zur ethnischen Zugehörigkeit 74 als Albaner, 136 als Sonstige und 3 als Zigeuner bezeichnet. Oem stehen die Angaben zur Religionszugehörigkeit gegenüber, hinsichtlich der sich 77 als Muslime und 136 als Orthodoxe erklärt haben.... Über die ethische Identität der slavophonen Orthodoxen scheint es keine klare Vorstellung gegeben zu haben.... noch die ausführlichen Befragungen unserer Informanten sowie anderer Bewohner des Gebietes haben irgendwelche Hinweise auf weitere Orte mit slavophonen Einwohnern in diesem Bereich ergeben."
  9. ^ a b c Steinke & Ylli 2008, p. 251. "Seit Ende der 20er bis Anfang der 30er Jahre findet man nur noch Angaben für Gorno Krăčišta und Ărbele. Die demographische Entwicklung der 30er Jahre, nämlich der Rückgang des slavophonen Bevölkerungsanteils, der meist aus Orthodoxen bestand, hat sich fortgesetzt, wie die aktuell ermittelten Zahlen zeigen. In Herbel wohnen nur noch sechs orthodoxe Familien. Eigentlich sind es drei Großfamilien mit rund 20 Personan, die noch die südslavische Mundart sprechen."
  10. ^ Vidoeski, Božidar. Dijalektite na makedonskiot jazik I. Skopje: MANU. 1998.
  11. ^ Ristoski, Dušan (1 August 2013). "Кичево,110 години Илинден: Битката кај месноста "Ѓурѓејца" на 4-ти август 1903 година" (in Macedonian). Kicevo.mk. Retrieved 3 July 2014.