Streževo

Streževo(Macedonian: Стрежево) is a village in the Bitola Municipality of Macedonia. The Villages history dates back further than kept records however some of the oldest citizens claim the village has been around for well over 500 years. The village is situated at the foot of the Baba Mountain Range and on the border of the Bitola and Demir Hisar Municipalities. Due to the construction of the Streževo dam, the village itself has become abandoned. Apart from the rare visit back to the abandoned homes for activities such as wood collection for the winter it is, most of the time, empty. houses have mostly become overgrown with shrubs and bushes and the main town hall is falling apart due to the neglect. Streževo's former residents and their descendants do still gather in the village for 'Ivan Den' which is celebrated at Streževo's monastery. this celebration takes place on July 7th.

Map of Strezhevo, Macedonia (FYROM)

Economics and Politics

Streževo had close ties to neighbouring villages such as Crnovec, Metimir, Oblakovo, Strugovo and Crnobuki to name a few. the close relations were good for trade as these villages were much closer with more accessibility than Bitola has during a time where the automobile was not as accessible as today in the region. an important part of the growth of these villages was the marriages that took place between them. due to the small population of the villages most inhabitants were related to each other therefore usually the male would seek a wife in a nearby village and bring her back to start a family with her. This practice was crucial for inter village relations and the growth of the village. some common family names from the village are; Naumovski, Bozinovski, Stepanovski, Lazarevski and Markovski.

Due to it's location at the foot of the mountains most of its trade came from tree lopping and the sale of locally farmed produce to the town of Bitola. Citizens used to make the commute by bike or horse if an automobile wasn't available and sell their produce in the Bitola Market place (Pazar). this was one of the only ways a family would get an income and was of extreme importance. though the village was mostly self sustainable, it still was necessary for families to trade goods and services for money and trading in Bitola was of significant importance at the time.

Sport

Just as in the country as a whole, Streževo was heavily involved in Football. The village formerly had a Football team which played in the regional league playing against villages in close proximately however due to the building of the dam and relocation of it's people the Strezevo team has since disbanded. Many of the Streževans (Streževtsi) who had relocated to Perth, Australia became heavily involved in the local Macedonian football club originally called East Perth Vardar, which later was known as Stirling Suns.

Current Descendants

most of the Streževo people currently reside in Bitola in a new suburb dubbed 'Streževska Naselba' which roughly translates to 'Suburb of Streževo'. A significant Number of Streževo's residents and descendants however, have relocated abroad, mainly to Australia with some also relocating to Canada. There they have been heavily involved in local Macedonian Community administration and membership.

Flora and Fauna

The flora and fauna in and around Streževo are the usual forms around the Baba Mountain region with a wide variety of blooming wild flowers and berries sprouting in the spring time after the snow and cold weather has passed. Some of the local wild life include the Brown bear which scathes the dense forrest of the mountains lower slopes, a range of wild dogs from wolves to foxes and many bird species. Streževo also is home to a multitude of bee farms in which locals will come to harvest the honey from during the summer time.