Visók
Visok je predeo između glavnog grebena Stare planine na severu i Vidliča na jugu, udaljen oko 35 km od Pirota. Midžor, najviši vrh Srbije (2169 m), je neposredno na sever od Visoka, na granici sa Bugarskom.
Sredinom Visoka protiče reka Visočica, koju je odron zemljišta februara 1963. godine pregradio i tako napravio urvinsko Zavojsko jezero.
Visok (Serbian: high, tall) is a region between the main ridge of the Balkan Mountains (srb. Stara Planina, old mountain) to the north and Vidlič Mountain to the south. It is about 35 km northeast from Pirot. Midžor, the tallest peak in Serbia (2169 m), is located immediately to the north from Visok, along the border with Bulgaria.
River Visočica runs through Visok. In February 1963 a land slide dammed Visočica and formed the Zavoj Lake.
Najstariji poznati stanovnici Visoka bili su Tračani. Rimski karavanski put koji je povezivao Nišavsku dolinu sa današnjom severnom Bugarskom prolazio je pored Gostuše [Nikolić, 2011].
Pobedom u Rusko-turskom ratu 1877-1878, Kneževina Srbija je oslobodila južne srpske gradove Belu (Ak) Palanku, Pirot, Vranje i Leskovac od turske okupacije. Posle Berlinskog kongresa, 17. decembra 1878. godine novooslobođeni Pirotski okrug podeljen je na četiri sreza:
- Nišavski srez, sa sedištem u Pirot
- Belopalankački srez, u Belu Palanku
- Babušnički srez, u Babušnicu
- Visočki srez, u Veliku Lukanju
Visočki srez je imao 22 sela, i ukupno 10,511 stanovnika [Petrović 1985].
Oldest known inhabitants of the Visok region were Thracians. A Roman trade road that was connecting the Nišava Valley with the present-day northern Bulgaria passed by the village of Gostuša [Nikolić, 2011].
Following a victory in the Russo-Turkish War 1877–1878, Principality of Serbia liberated southern Serbian towns of Bela (Ak) Palanka, Pirot, Vranje and Leskovac from Turkish occupation. After the Congress of Berlin, on December 17th 1878, the newly liberated Pirot district was subdivided into four counties:
- Nišava county, with the seat in Pirot
- Bela Palanka county, in Bela Palanka
- Babušnica county, in Babušnica
- Visok county, in Velika Lukanja
Visok county had 22 villages, and a total of 10,511 inhabitants [Petrović 1985].
| Ime sela / Village | Stanovnika | Muškaraca / Men | Žena / Women | Pismeni / Literate | Domaćinstava / Households | Pores. glave | Udaljenost / Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temska | 1035 | 517 | 518 | 6 | 165 | 235 | 3 |
| Gostuša | 783 | 382 | 401 | - | 95 | 164 | 3.5 |
| Rsovci | 765 | 382 | 383 | 1 | 94 | 157 | 4 |
| Dojkinci | 712 | 3663 | 349 | 6 | 76 | 135 | 5.5 |
| Zavoj | 654 | 381 | 273 | - | 102 | 160 | 4 |
| Rudinje | 582 | 301 | 281 | - | 90 | 126 | 3 |
| Bazovik | 561 | 298 | 263 | - | 84 | 112 | 4.5 |
| Velika Lukanja | 535 | 283 | 252 | - | 63 | 102 | 3 |
| Topli Do | 495 | 247 | 248 | - | 70 | 105 | 6 |
| Brlog | 478 | 243 | 235 | 5 | 69 | 99 | 5.5 |
| Rosomač | 465 | 241 | 224 | 1 | 56 | 97 | 5.5 h |
| Pakleštica | 454 | 228 | 226 | - | 54 | 69 | 4 |
| Radogeš | 438 | 225 | 213 | - | 60 | 83 | 3 |
| Oreovica | 394 | 201 | 193 | - | 46 | 84 | 1.5 |
| Zaskovci | 331 | 173 | 158 | - | 54 | 67 | 5 |
| Pokrovenik | 325 | 163 | 162 | - | 43 | 65 | 3 |
| Cerova | 314 | 161 | 153 | - | 40 | 62 | 3.5 |
| Visočka Ržana | 296 | 195 | 101 | 4 | 48 | 89 | 4.5 |
| Koprivštica | 281 | 133 | 148 | - | 36 | 53 | 2.5 |
| Jelovica | 240 | 118 | 122 | - | 31 | 44 | 5 |
| Mala Lukanja | 211 | 107 | 104 | - | 12 | 41 | 3 |
| Bela | 109 | 58 | 51 | - | 14 | 23 | 5.5 |
Kraljevim ukazom od 5. januara 1887. godine Visočki srez je pripojen Nišavskom. Osam visočkih sela -- Velika Lukanja, Mala Lukanja, Bela, Gostuša, Zavoj, Pakleštica, Pokrevenik i Koprivštica -- postala su deo Velikolukanjske opštine.
Broj stanovnika sela Visoka je rastao do Drugog svetskog rata, kada počinje da opada. Prvi talas odseljavanja je bio neposredno posle rata, u Vojvodinu.
By royal decree of January 5th 1887, Visok county merged with Nišava county. Eight villages in Visok -- Velika Lukanja, Mala Lukanja, Bela, Gostuša, Zavoj, Pakleštica, Pokrevenik and Koprivštica -- became part of the Velika Lukanja borough.
Number of inhabinats in villages of Visok steadily grew until World War Two, after which it started to decrease. The first wave of emmigration began immediately after the war, to Vojvodina.
Posle Zavojske katrastrofe 1963. godine, jedno od najvećih visočkih sela Zavoj je u potpunosti potopljeno, a građenjem Hidroelektrane Zavoj 1977. takođe i sela Velika Lukanja i Mala Lukanja. Selo Novi Zavoj je osnovano pored Pirota, a i inače se ubrzava iseljavanje u Pirot i Beograd.
Visočka sela su opustela, a sam Visok je jedan od najređe naseljenih delova Srbije.
One of the largest villages, Zavoj was completely submerged in the Zavoj disaster of 1963, followed by villages Velika Lukanja and Mala Lukanja after the construction of the Hydropower Plant Zavoj, which began in 1977. The village of Novi Zavoj was founded next to Pirot, and emmigration to Pirot and Belgrade increased.
Villages of Visok have become empty, and Visok itself has become one of the most sparsely populated regions in Serbia.