Vešala


Vešala is a village in the municipality of Tetovo, North Macedonia. It is a village located in the Šar Mountains, some 11.9 kilometres away from the closest city Tetovo, 20km away from Prizren and 1247 metres above sea level.

History

Vešala is home to some of the oldest Albanian clans within the Šar Mountains. Unlike the northern Albanian villages, Vešala was not isolated, being part of the old trade route, Prizren via Kalkandelen. According to the Nahiyah, the population of Vešala moved out and prospered under the Ottoman Empire, with many moving to Salonica and Marmara but still maintaining landownership in Vešala. This was a custom in Vešala as the Albanians were bounded to the village of their ancestor and could never permanently leave their home. This custom was referred to as Gurbet.
During the First World War, Serbian Royalists began invading Albania to seize the coast line. During the occupation, the Serbian army committed numerous crimes against the Albanian population. After the Treaty of London and the French never arriving to pick up the troops from the coast, the Royalists began to retreat through the mountains. A battalion of 37 Royalist approached Vešala. As the Royalists had razed many of the villages to the ground during the occupation, the Albanians of Vešala, seeing the Royalists approaching from the bottom of the mountain, ambushed them. After bounding them, the Royalists were pushed off Guri Gjatë, a natural landmark of the Šar Mountains, and plunged to their deaths.
During the insurgency in the Republic of Macedonia, Vešala along with most villages of the Šar Mountains acted as a supply base and safe zone for the NLA forces.

Today

The village of Vešala has about 280 houses with 2500 inhabitants. Many of the families from Vešala live in Switzerland and Germany. However, many of them return to Vešala during the summer.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 1222 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the village include: