Vratnica

Vratnica (Вратница) is a small village and community located in the Jegunovce Municipality of North Macedonia. Vratnica lies in the north-west, and is 22 km away from the city of Tetovo and 5 km away from Jažince - the border crossing point with Kosovo. Prior to 2003 Vratnica was the centre of the now disestablished Vratnica municipality.

It is situated in the upper part of the Polog plain, at the foothills of northern part of Šar Mountain, under the Ljuboten peak. The village lies at 700–760 meters above the sea level.

History
Vratnica was mentioned for the first time in Ottoman defters (tax registry and land cadastre) dating back to the 15th century. It was recorded that there were about 59 families living in Vratnica. In the defter labeled 4 for the years 1467/68 the number of houses had increased to 66, while in 1545 there is a record of 76 houses, and in 1568 there were 84 houses registered.

The village underwent migrations and settlement until the 18th century, and in the 20th century, there was extensive chain migration to the United States. In 1914/1916, the total population of Vratnica was 1,131 with 131 houses; in 1948, there were 1,299 inhabitants and 197 houses; in 1953, there were 1,387 inhabitants and 214 houses; in 1961, the respective numbers were 1,384 and 227; in 1968, 1,240 and 225; and, in 1971, 1,082 inhabitants and 266 houses.

During the 2001 War between Albanian insurgents and the Macedonian state, Vratnica was besieged by the NLA. In 2005 Albanians opened fire on the local police station.

Demographics
Vratnica consists of mainly Macedonians and some Serbs.

The South Slavic-speaking community is divided between Macedonian and Serbian ethnic identification, although the majority identify as ethnic Macedonians, as indicated in the most recent censuses. Most of the Vratnicani who consider themselves to be Serbian reside in the United States; however, there are still many Vratnicani in the United States who are Macedonian. Although all practice Orthodox traditions, the Vratnicani who consider themselves as Serbian in the United States identify as members of the Serbian Orthodox Church, while Vratnicani who are Macedonian identify with the Macedonian Orthodox Church.

In statistics gathered by Vasil Kanchov in 1900, the village of Vratnica was inhabited by 780 Orthodox Macedonians.

In 1961, there were 1,384 inhabitants living in Vratnica. However, by 1994 the population had decreased to 572, of which 522 were Macedonians, 33 were Serbs, and 17 others.

According to the Macedonian census 2002, the ethnic groups in the village are:
 * Macedonians 482
 * Serbs 20
 * others 3

Notable people
Notable people of Vratnican descent.
 * Ane Mihailovich, footballer
 * Sasho Cirovski, football coach
 * Slavko Milosavlevski, sociologist
 * Ed Jovanovski, NHL hockey player

Regular Events

 * Traditional Mayday Tournament "VRATNICA" - (May 1). One of the biggest sport events in the Polog region. The tournament includes football and streetball (basketball) competition. In the past handball was also played.