Bosilegrad

Bosilegrad (Босилеград; Босилеград) is a town and municipality located in the Pčinja District of southern Serbia. The municipality comprises an area of 571 km2. According to the 2022 census, the town has a population of 2,348, while the municipality has 6,065 inhabitants.

Along with Dimitrovgrad (Tsaribrod), Bosilegrad is an economic and cultural centre of Serbia's ethnic Bulgarian community.

History
Historically, Bosilegrad was part of Bulgaria. On May 15, 1917, Serbian paramilitaries (Chetniks) under the command of Kosta Pećanac crossed the old Bulgarian border and, as part of the Toplica Uprising, they captured Bosilegrad, which they then burned. Then Pećanac and his band withdrew to Kosovo, which was controlled by the Austro-Hungarian Army.

The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes gained some territory from Bulgaria as part of the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine, following the invasion and occupation of part of the Kingdom of Serbia by Bulgaria and subsequent Allied defeat of the Central Powers in the First World War. From 1929 to 1941, it was part of Vardar Banovina. The Bulgarian army occupied Bosilegrad during the Second World War from 1941 to 1944. At the end of the Second World War, Bulgaria switched the sides in the war and in October 1944 gave the occupied Western outlands back to Yugoslavia.

Settlements
Aside from the town of Bosilegrad, the municipality consists of the following villages:

Demographics
According to the 2022 census, the municipality of Bosilegrad has 6,065 inhabitants. Only 32.28% of inhabitants live in urban areas.

Ethnic groups
The majority of municipality's population are Bulgarians, amounting to 72.3% of total population. Other minor ethnic groups are Serbs and Roma people. The ethnic composition of the municipality: