Pustec

Pustec (Macedonian: Пустец, Pustets), known officially as Liqenas from 1973 to 2013, is a village in the Korçë County of eastern Albania. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Prespa within Pustec Municipality, it is home to much of the Macedonian minority in Albania.

Geography

Pustec is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Prespa and is the nearest village to the island of Maligrad. It sits at an elevation of 861 metres (2,825 ft) above sea level. To the northeast, along the lake, lies Šulin, while in the southeast is the village of Leska.

Pustec and the surrounding region lie within the Prespa National Park.

History

The village of Pustec was first mentioned in documents from 16th century.

The "La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne" survey by Dimitar Mishev (D. Brankov) from 1905 shows that the inhabitants of the village of Pustec were in the bosom of the Bulgarian Exarchate

The French linguist André Mazon in his study on Slavic folklore in Albania from 1936 noted Pustec as a Bulgarian village in the region of Mala Prespa.