Gorna Goricë (Macedonian/Bulgarian: Горна Горица), previously officially known as Goricë e Madhe, is a village in the Pustec Municipality which is officially recognised as a Macedonian minority zone located in the Korçë County in Albania. It is situated west of Lake Prespa and the village of Tuminec, and northwest of the village of Dolna Gorica. The village is composed of ethnic Macedonians, which form part of the larger Macedonian minority in Albania.

History

Gorna Gorica is a proposed location of the ancient fortified settlement of Pelion. In the late 19th century, the village came under the Bulgarian Exarchate. The village had 33 houses and 404 Bulgarian Orthodox Christian residents at that time. The "La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne" survey by Bulgarian Exarchate secretary Dimitar Mishev (D. Brankov) concluded that village had 360 Bulgarian Exarchists residents in 1905. In March 1933, Albania deported 150 Bulgarian families from the village, after the Albanian side refused to ratify the Albanian-Bulgarian protocol of 1932. In 2013, the village's official name was changed from "Goricë e Madhe" to "Gorna Gorica".

Demographics

According to Bulgarian sources, including research by a Bulgarian scientist from Albania, the local inhabitants have Bulgarian roots.

Culture

The Church of Saint Demetrius in Gorna Goricë dates from the second half of the 19th century. Restoration work began on the church in 2023.