Demir Hisar (Municipality, Macedonia)

Демир хисар

Last modified: 2007-03-31 by ivan sache
Keywords: demir hisar | sopotnica | cross (yellow) | sun: vergina | waves: 3 (yellow) | hammers: 2 crossed (black) |
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• Presentation of Demir Hisar
• Former municipality of Sopotnica

See also:

• Macedonia
• Macedonia: Municipal flags

Presentation of Demir Hisar

The municipality of Demir Hisar (9,497 inhabitants; 480.13 sq. km) is made of the town of Demir Hisar and the 40 settlements of Babino, Bazernik, Barakovo, Belče, Boište, Brezovo, Vardino, Velmevci, Virovo, Golemo Ilino, Grašte, Dolenci, Edinakovci, Žvan, Železnec, Žurče, Zagoriče, Zašle, Kočište, Kutretino, Leskovo, Malo Ilino, Mrenoga, Novo Selo, Obednik, Pribilci, Padovo, Pakitnica, Pastojca, Sveta, Sladuevo, Slepče, Sloeštica, Smilevo, Sopotnica, Strugovo, Suvo Grlo, Suvodol, Utovo and Šerovo.

There is no information on the flag of Demir Hisar.

Ivan Sache, 10 June 2006

Former municipality of Sopotnica

Flag of Sopotnica - Image by Mello Luchtenberg & António Martins, 18 November 2006

Sopotnica (2,319 inhabitants in 2002) is located on the Plakjenska mountain and the valley of Crna river, that is between Ohrid and Kičevo.
According to Bostjan Burger's Slovene-English dictionary, Sopotnica means "stream where are waterfalls" (old name) and is cognate to sopot, sapet, supot, the old name for waterfall, usually stream where are whitewaters or small waterfalls. There are indeed several places (city, rivers) named Sopotnica, in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Bulgaria and Poland.
The Sopotnica mine was the subject of the industrial film Demir Hisar Mine - "Sopotnica" (1971, 14 minutes), created in standard technique, with sound, in black and white and 35 mm. The film presents the process of opening the new mine, the stages of mounting of the new lines and the new miner's settlement.
Sopotnica was incorporated into the municipality of Demir Hisar in 2004.

As shown on the website of the United Nations Development Program in Macedonia, the flag of Sopotnica is red with the municipal arms in canton.

Coat of arms of Sopotnica - Image from the UNPD website, 27 January 2004

The arms are red, quartered by a yellow cross, with yellow attributes. I bears the "sun of Vergina", II bears three wavy lines probably symbolizing a river, III bears three firs and a mountain, as well as two crossed hammers symbolizing mining industry, and IV bears a flower.

Ivan Sache & Pascal Vagnat, 27 January 2004