Nižepole
# Nižepole

Nižepole (Macedonian: Нижеполе, Aromanian: Nijopolea, Albanian: Xhinxhopolë) is a village in the municipality of Bitola, North Macedonia and is an alpine settlement 7.85 kilometers from Bitola.

## History

The population of Nižepole was made up of older inhabitants of Aromanians (Vlachs) and later Arvanito-Vlachs who formed a large part of the village population. A small number of Muslim Albanians over time settled in Nižepole originating from the Korçë region. During the first World War, Nižepole fell on the Allied side of the Macedonian front and its Aromanian villagers first fled to Florina and then most went to Katerini, Greece. After the war, most Nižepole Aromanians preferred to remain in Katerini after a few returnees came back telling of the destruction of the village. Only in 1923 with the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey and arrival of Greek refugees after the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) did some Nižepole inhabitants return to the village.

## Demographics

Nižepole is attested in the Ottoman defter of 1467/68 as a village in the vilayet of Manastir. The inhabitants attested largely bore mixed Slavic-Albanian anthroponyms, such as Gerg son of Boris, Leko, or Gin son of Lavre.

In statistics gathered by Vasil Kanchov in 1900, the village of Nižepole was inhabited by 1590 Aromanians, 250 Orthodox Albanians and 190 Orthodox Bulgarians. According to the statistics of Geographers Dimitri Mishev and D. M. Brancoff, the town had a total Christian population of 940 in 1905, consisting of 780 Vlachs and 160 Patriarchist Bulgarians.

According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 186 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the village include:

* Vlachs 105
* Macedonians 47
* Albanians 30
* Romani 4

## People from Nižepole

* Theodoros Adam, Greek chieftain of the Macedonian Struggle
