Mand Rica: poslední albánská obec v Bulharsku
The Last Albanian Village in Bulgaria

Summary/Abstract: Mandrica is the only village in Bulgaria where Albanians still live today. It is located in southern Bulgaria, just 10 kilometers from the Greek border, near the tripoint where the borders of Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey meet. According to local legend, Albanians arrived here in the first half of the 17th century from the village of Vithkuq, in the Korçë region of southern Albania. Initially, twelve families settled here, accompanied by a priest. Like Albanians in other settlements across the Ottoman Empire outside present-day Albania, they engaged in livestock farming. Albanian shepherds supplied meat, cheese, and butter to the Turkish army stationed in nearby Edirne (in present-day Turkey). This is the origin of the village's name, Mandrica; a *mandra* is a place where milk and dairy products are produced.

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