Kneževo () is a mountainous village in Kratovo Municipality, North Macedonia. It is situated next to a lake of the same name. According to the 2021 census, it had a population of 12.
History
Ottoman tax registers of the non-Muslim population in the Kratovo oblast from 1618–19 recorded the village as Кнездже, listing 11 jizya-paying households. In a register of settlements from the same oblast dated 1637, the village appears again under the same name, this time with 13 jizya-paying households.
Vasil Kanchov's 1900 survey recorded 196 Bulgarian Christians in the village. Later, in 1905, Secretary of the Bulgarian Exarchate, Dimitar Mishev,Dimitar Mishev wrote under the pseudonym "Brancoff". documented 224 Exarchist Bulgarians in Knejevo.
In January 1905, a congress was held in the village by the Skopje revolutionary district of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization.
During the Balkan Wars, 15 volunteers from the village joined the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan Volunteer Corps.
Geography The village is situated in the eastern part of Kratovo Municipality next to Lake Kneževo, 16 kilometers away from Kratovo. Its terrain is mountainous, with elevations ranging from 1,440 to 1,050 meters. It covers an area of 18.3 square kilometers. A part of this village lies on the Ermička Mountain.
Demographics The village has experienced a decline in population due to emigration.
Ethnic groups The historical ethnic makeup of this village is as follows:In 1948, the population was 519, with no recorded ethnic composition. EthnicityYear19531961197119811991199420022021Macedonians52042737117091896412Others14020000Total52143137117291896412
Sex distribution The historical population of both sexes in this village is as follows: SexYear19481953196119711981199119942002Male26927021419390525337Female25025121717882393627
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