Radožda is a village in the Struga municipality

Struga municipality

Struga is a municipality in western Republic of Macedonia. Struga is also the name of the town where the municipal seat is found. Struga Municipality is part of the Southwestern Statistical Region.-Geography:...

 in the southwestern region

Southwestern statistical region

The Southwestern Statistical Region is one of eight arbitrary statistical regions in the Republic of Macedonia. Southwestern, located in the west and southwestern part of the country, borders Albania to the west...

 of the Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

.

Geography

Radožda is situated on the western shore of the Ohrid Lake. It is 10 km (6.2 mi) south of the town Struga

Struga

Struga is a town and popular tourist destination situated in the south-western region of the Republic of Macedonia, lying on the shore of Lake Ohrid. The town of Struga is the seat of Struga Municipality.-Etymology:...

. It is 2 km (1.2 mi) from the Macedonian-Albanian border crossing Ćafa San. The closest village is the village of Lin

Lin

Lin may refer to:People*Lin , usually Chinese*Lin, variant of Lyn or Lynn*Lin, short for Linda*Lin , Chinese ninja characterPlaces*Lin, Korçë, village in Pogradec District, Albania...

 which is situated in Albania. The village is situated at 725 m (2,379 ft) above sea level.

History

The village was founded on the western edge of the Ohrid Lake over ten centuries ago. It was founded in a fertile area which soon became accustomed to farming. The surrounding hinterland was suitable for small-scale agriculture and the area was settled. The village was founded approximately 1 km (0.621372736649807 mi) west of today's position.

Etymology

A document from the era of Tsar Stefan Dusan has the village listed under the name Radobužda . An Ottoman document from the year 1583 also records the village but under a different name Radohožda while a hand written document from the Serbian Branislav Nušić

Branislav Nušic

Branislav Nušić was a Serbian novelist of Aromanian descent, playwright, satirist, essayist and founder of modern rhetoric in Serbia. He also worked as a journalist and a civil servant.- Biography :...

 has the village listed as Radooždž while Austrian-Hungarian maps have the village listed as Radoliožda, or Radohožda .

Saint Archangel Michael

The Church Saint Archangel Michael was built in the Jablanica mountain range above the village of Radožda in the 13th century. It was built in a natural cave and was dedicated to the military commander of the Bodiless Army - the Archangel Michael. Most of the frescoes date from the 14th century with one preserved from the 13th century. The cave church was repainted in the 14th thus removing many of the old frescoes. The top layer of painting in the church was the last accomplishment of the Ohrid Fine Art School from the 14th century.

Demography

The 2002 census counted 808 people present in the village. Many of these residents were elderly as much of the current generation have left the village due to work and other reasons. The village is populated by Ethnic Macedonians.

Ethnicity	Total
Macedonians	806
Serbs Serbs The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...	1
Other Other The Other or Constitutive Other is a key concept in continental philosophy; it opposes the Same. The Other refers, or attempts to refer, to that which is Other than the initial concept being considered...	1

Village festivals

The Village does not have any long standing traditions but there are some traditions specific to the village.

For Easter the villagers gather and go to all of Radožda's seven churches, the women trade dyed eggs, the villages light candles and they pray to god.

On 2 August the village celebrates Ilinden

Ilinden

-Events:* Day of the Republic in the Republic of Macedonia, celebrated on 2 August each year.-Geographic locations:* In Bulgaria:** Ilinden, Blagoevgrad Province, a village** Ilinden, Sofia, an urban municipality* In Macedonia:** Ilinden municipality...

. The villages gather at the St Ilija Church and they trade holy bread, holy water while the villagers celebrate the glorious day. The whole village turns out to celebrate the event.

For the feast of the Assumption of Mary

Assumption of Mary

According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...

 on 28 August the whole village waits for guests from all over the Struga and Ohrid areas. This is the biggest holy day in Radožda.

Famous people

• Nikola Šećeroski
  Nikola Šeceroski
  Nikola Šećeroski , was a candidate for Serbian presidency. He was born in 1934 in Radožda, a village on the shore of Lake Ohrid in the south-west of Yugoslavia, now the Republic of Macedonia...
  
   (1934-2008)
• Viktor Šećeroski (1942- )
• Mitre Šainov (1942- )