Cerja


Cerje is a village at the southeastern end of Pustec Municipality which is officially recognised as a Macedonian minority zone located in the Korçë County of Albania, near the border with Greece. The village is composed of ethnic Macedonians, which form part of the larger Macedonian minority in Albania. According to Bulgarian sources, including researches by a Bulgarian scientist from Albania, the local inhabitants are Bulgarians.

History

In 1900, Vasil Kanchov gathered and compiled statistics on demographics in the area and reported that the village of Cerja was inhabited by about 120 Bulgarian Christians. In 1904, following the Ilinden Uprising, Cerja came under the Bulgarian Exarchate.
In 1911, the village was recorded by Georgi Trajčev as a Bulgarian village having six houses and 54 inhabitants.
In 1939, on behalf of 15 Bulgarian houses in Cerja Fote Fotev 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.

Demographics

According to a 2007 source, Cerja is the least populous village in Pustec Municipality, having only a small amount of elderly residents.
YearPopulation
1900120
192698
1945175
1960250
1969308
1979308
1989297
2000252