Velešta

Velešta Велешта Veleshta / Veleshtë
Help on coat of arms
Basic data
Region :	southwest
Municipality :	Struga
Coordinates :	41 ° 14 '  N , 20 ° 39'  E Coordinates: 41 ° 14 '27 "  N , 20 ° 38' 38"  E
Height :	691  m. i. J.
Residents :	5,834 (2002)
Telephone code :	(+389) 046
License plate :	SU

Velešta ( Macedonian Велешта ; Albanian  Veleshta / Veleshtë ) is a village in the municipality of Struga in southwestern North Macedonia .

geography

Velešta lies between the Black Drin and the Jablanica Mountains at around 690  m. i. J. The village is about seven kilometers from the municipality capital Struga . Ohrid International Airport is only ten kilometers south-east . Downstream of the Drin is the Globočica reservoir , which rises the Drin at 695  m. i. J. jams. The power plant has a total output of 42 megawatts.

Velešta is a clustered village and is located on a plain that is today rarely used for agriculture. Neighboring villages are Dobovjani in the northeast , Ložani in the southeast , Vraništa in the south, Dolna Belica in the southwest , Oktisi and Vevčani in the west, Podgorci and Labuništa in the northwest and Tašmaruništa in the north .

population

Velešta has a population of 5834 (status: 2002). 5758 of them were Albanians , while 76 belonged to other ethnic groups. A large part of the population lives abroad in the diaspora.

The Albanians profess Sunni Islam . These also have two mosques that were built in the Ottoman era. The minorities profess either Islam (Roma and Bosniaks) or Orthodox Christianity (Macedonians and Aromanians).

economy

The inhabitants deal with small businesses and handicrafts, agriculture and animal husbandry. The tourism industry has also become an important employer in summer: the boutiques, restaurants and bars usually have more customers during the season than throughout the year. In addition, the so-called "wedding industry" gets a big boom in the summer: since Albanians celebrate weddings extensively, large sums of money are spent on wedding halls (mostly in hotels), traditional dance music, clothes and jewelry, meals and other things. One of the most famous hotels in the Struga region is the Hotel Diplomat Veleshtë .

traffic

The village is on the R1201 regional road that connects Struga with Debar .

Personalities

• Fejzi Bojku (* 1937), children's writer, philosopher and former editor of Flaka e Vëllazërimit
• Vahit Nasufi (* 1945), children's poet
• Agim Vinca (* 1947), writer and albanologist

Web links

Commons : Velešta  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Results of the Macedonia Census. State Statistical Office, 2002, accessed February 9, 2016 (PDF file; 2.18 MB).