Changing and abandoning Pirot dialect in the second half of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century

Until the 1960s, the language and speech in Pirot changed very slowly and differed little as compared to the end of the nineteen century. Apart from the family influence, there was not any other factor that could seriously affect the language used by the citizens of Pirot. As part of the great changes caused by industrial and information revolution, the language used in Pirot began to change more rapidly and towards the end of the twentieth century, the tendency to abandon it was more and more evident. The end of this research is to clarify the causes of these phenomena. The processes are analyzed from the sociological and anthropological point of view with examples given to illustrate the language used. The basic method is observation with content analysis and archived materials used as well.

Overview of the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Serbia and the Pirot County

The SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2, corona virus) pandemic has introduced a sudden and overwhelming change into our everyday lives, which had a significant impact on various vital aspects of our society. The first officially registered case of infection was reported on December 31st, 2019. in Wuhan, China. Since then, its worldwide spread has led to a global pandemic of the respiratory disease COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 19). Up to May 31st, 2021, there have been over 169 million officially reported cases of infection in the world, with over 3.5 million deaths. Since the first day of the pandemic, huge efforts have been employed by the health and scientific community to enable most efficient diagnostics, treatment and prevention by development of efficient vaccines. In Serbia, the first official SARS-CoV-2 case was registered on March 6th, 2020. Until May 31st, 2021, the total number of infected people was 712 472, total number of deaths 6 865 and the mortality rate 0.96%. The first antiSARS-CoV-2 vaccine was administered on December 24th, 2020, and by May 31st 2021 over 2 million people were successfully vaccinated in Serbia. If any positive effects of the pandemic can be highlighted, the health institutions of our country have prepared protocols and recommendations which can be modified according to specific needs in the case of future pandemics. Further dynamic of this pandemic will depend in great part on our responsibility for personal and collective health, as well as on global measures undertaken to reach a new eagerly awaited normality.

Trace of islamic epigraphics in Pirot

This study is focused on the remains of Islamic tombstones (nišani) which are currently located in the front yard of the Pirot Museum of Ponišavlje. Among other exhibits, the museum has 14 of these tombstones, or their remaining parts, with accompanying labels on display. They date back to the period of the Turkish rein, which lasted since 1385/86 to 1877, with short periods of break. In this study, the images of these tombstones have been provided, followed by their Arabic and Latin transcripts and appropriate translation into Serbian. Firstly, the study presents the texts from the tombstone labels, which, although mostly incomplete, still unravels some data and phrases useful for drawing conclusions about who some of the well-respected figures in Pirot in the 18th and 19th centuries were and what their tombstones looked like.

Arrest and prosecution of partisan associates from Pirot, Nišor village and Gradašnica in 1944.

This work is primarily a contribution to the study of the Second World War history from the perspective given in the material of the Central State Archives in Sofia which have been only partially used so far. Based on the completely preserved case of the arrest and prosecution of a group of partisan associates from Pirot and Nisor village, the neglected dimensions of the war on the local level will be presented according to authentic testimonies of the accused in the proceedings but also in relation to the attitude of Bulgarian occupation authorities which determined the context of events to a great extent. Apart from the possibility to look at the reality of war from the point of view of the occupiers and the accused, the research made also provides space for getting a better insight into the fate of an ordinary man, often unsettled in the whirlwind of war. In addition, the mentioned material reveals some new and unknown details about significant names of the partisan movement in the area of Pirot, which could be interesting additional information to the existing biographies.

The first trials of Sofia Military Field Court in the city of Pirot with death sentences

In the year when we mark the eighty years since the beginning of the Second World War, this study will endeavour to bring one segment of that period closer to the readers referring to the first armed groups of Pirot population which had armed conflict with the Bulgarian occupiers . The paper was written on the basis of the archived material and kept in the Central State Archives in Sofia. These are complete court cases based on which the entire activity of these groups can be seen such as their arrest and the court process itself which had all the legal characteristics. The first group which is dealt with in this paper, was later named in the local historiography as Partisan Group from Visok but was known amongst people as Dzadza's group. These Pirot patriots were written about in local historiography mainly on the basis of the transcripts of the original indictment , as well as on the basis of the narrations and memories of certain people. The novelty in this paper is only the prosecution of the accused who were sentenced to death by shooting. There is no information in the local historiography about the other partisan group mentioned in this paper. No connection was established between these groups although they were active in the same period and operated in different areas of Pirot region. The end of the paper gives the report of the regional police chief, which presents the view of the armed groups as seen by the Bulgarian authorities.

Ethnopharmacological application the plants from family Geraniaceae in the Pirot County

The subject of this study was the study of the ethnopharmacological application of plants from family Geraniaceae in the Pirot County (Southeastern Serbia). The research was conducted in the form of surveys among the rural population in four municipalities: Pirot, Babušnica, Bela Palanka, and Dimitrovgrad. The analysis of the survey showed that the population of the County was used Erodium cicutarium (1 report), Geranium macrorrhizum (7 reports), Geranium robertianum (1 report), and Pelargonium graveolens (1 report) in the folk medicine for internal application. Erodium cicutarium was used against spasms in the abdomen of children (1 report), Geranium macrorrhizum against bronchitis (2 reports), diabetes (1 report), for rejuvenation (1 report), high blood pressure (2 reports), and Parkinson' s disease (1 report), and Pelargonium graveolens against diabetes (1 report). One respondent has mentioned the use of Geranium robertianum, but without the knowledge about its use. The results were compared with the results of previous ethnobotanical studies in neighboring regions. Our results about the applications of species from the family Geraniaceae are completely different from their ethnobotanical surveys in Serbia and the Balkan Peninsula.

Mixed mesophilic mountain beech forest (Fagetum submontanum serbicum) on the Vidlič Mountain

On the Vidlič mountain, mixed mesophilic mountain beech forests (Fagetum submontanum serbicum) have been recorded at altitudes of 700 - 1000 m, at the following localities: Crni vrh, Vazganica, Kranjci, Planinarski dom, and Visočka Ržana. Phytocenological research was performed on the mentioned localities by the Braun-Blanquet method (Braun-Blanquet, 1964). It was taken 11 phytocenological plots. Beech (Fagus moesiaca) and turkey oak cer (Quercus cerris) were the main edificators and have the highest degree of presence in the examined phytocenoses on the tree floor. In the floor of shrubs, the following species: Viburnum lantana, Crataegus monogyna, Rosa canina, Daphne mezereum, Clematis vitalba, and Ligustrum vulgare have been noticed with the highest degree of presence. Acer campestre has been dominated with the highest degree from the shoots of trees. In the floor of herbaceous plants, the species: Viola alba, Cruciata glabra, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Euphorbia amygdaloides, Helleborus odorus, Fragaria vesca were with the highest degree of presence.

Entities of agricultural production and food culture of the region of Pirot in the magazine "Težak" from 1869 to 1941

The "Težak" magazine, published by the Serbian Agricultural Society from 1869 to 1941, was a scientific, professional and popular science literature considering the field of agriculture, housekeeping and culinary art, where authors used to publish their field data collection based papers and where one part of entire articles included Pirot region as well. Creating a theoretical basis for the important segment of intangible heritage of Pirot region - the gastroheritology, one part of the research represents a review of already published material, which's very important part are articles of the aforementioned magazine. Between 1880. and 1940, nine different-approach articles were published, all of them representing an important theoretical aspect in traditional agriculture and local food culture research. Agricultural production circumstances in Pirot region after liberation from the Turks are depicted in the articles as well as pasturing and the kachkavalj producing practice, manouri and beaten cheese, typical varieties of fruit and cereals and their yields, peasant habits and, at that time, problems of various kinds.

Influenca or Spanish flu in Budžak on Stara Planina Mountain: Mortality research results 1918-1919. in the villages of Jalovik Izvor and Šesti Gabar

The Spanish fever pandemic which spread worldwide in 1918, reached Eastern Serbia in the autumn of the same year and it was enevitable for it to spread to the settlement of Stara Mountain as well. In the ony preserved registry book of the dead referring to a part of Stara Mountain, the so-called "Budžak" which keeps records of mortalities in 1918, The Book of the Church of Jalovik Izvor and Church of Saint Paraskeva for the villages Jalovik Izvor and Šesti Gabar, no cases of death from this disease were mentioned. However, guided by the experience in the analysis of the registry books of deaths throughout Serbia, it could be noticed that a large number of these deaths were registered with diagnosis of influenza and pneumonia. Bearing that in mind, we are open to a possibility that these deaths were due to the same pandemic disease. Besides the analysis of the death registery book, relevant literature was used in the preparation of this paper.

Pirot kilim as a visual symbol in the modern fashion design

The work was created with the aim to research the value and presence of Pirot kilim, more precisely its patterns as fundamental visual presenters of this product traditionally originating from Pirot in the field of contemporary fashion design. As a brand which with its quality crossed the local borders, potentials of Pirot kilim seem to be limitless but also not sufficiently used in the modern fashion design. In this context, the research of this resource was emphasized first on the local level especially in the field of applied art and more precisely in fashion as one of the most productive industries. The study analyses the work of designers who originate from Pirot and therfore are true connoiseurs of local tradition and culture. In some segments, the notion of traditional went beyond that framework and the designers breathed a new modern form into it which is adequate to the modern lifestyle. Apart from the use of Pirot motif pattern, the designers Ana Grgurović and Silvana Tošić have the cooperation with the local industry in common, the management of which recognised the value of its old products which in their redesigned form reach the catwalks and thus gain a new, so far unknown market.