Skenderaj

Skenderaj
Municipality and city
Skenderaj

Skenderaj panorama photographed from a restaurant
Skenderaj

Location in Kosovo

Coordinates: 42°44′N 20°47′E / 42.733°N 20.783°E / 42.733; 20.783
Country Republic of Kosovo[lower-alpha 1]
District District of Mitrovica
Government
 • Mayor Sami Lushtaku
Area
 • Municipality and city 374 km2 (144 sq mi)
Elevation 620 m (2,030 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Municipality and city 51,553
 • Density 140/km2 (360/sq mi)
 • Urban 10,000
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code 41000
Area code(s) +381 28
Car plates 02
Website Municipality of Skenderaj

Skenderaj (Albanian: Skënderaj) or Srbica (Serbian: Србица, Srbica) is a city and municipality in the District of Mitrovica of northern Kosovo.[lower-alpha 1] It is the largest city in the Drenica region of Kosovo.[1] It is solely populated by Albanians. It is claimed to be the poorest city in Kosovo. It is the place where the Kosovo War began in 1998, and to which the most damage was done.[1]

Geography

The settlement is located by the Klina river, in the Klina field (Klinsko polje).[2] It is the main settlement of the Drenica region.[2] The Klina river belongs to the Metohija region, while the settlement morphologically and hydrologically gravitates towards the Kosovo region.[2]

The municipality covers an area of 378 km2, including the town of Skenderaj and 51 villages.

Panoramic view of Skenderaj in autumn.

History

Archaeological findings in the municipality area include a Neolithic site in Rudnik,[3] and remains of a Roman necropolis in Gornji Obilić.[4] The municipality cadastral area includes several settlements that existed during the Middle Ages, among which some exist still today, such as Leočina, Poljance, Banja, and others.[5] There are ruins of a church dating to the 14th century in southern Leočina.[6] The Church of St. Nicholas was built in 1436, in Banja, as the endowment of Serbian magnate Rodop.[7] The Devič monastery was built in Lauša near Srbica in the 15th century, dedicated to the local monk, St. Joanikije (d. 1430).[8] The Church of St. John was built in the 16th century on the ruins of a 14th-century church, in Leočina; the church is surrounded by an old and large Serbian graveyard with tombs dating to the 17th–19th centuries.[9] A 16th-century church and cemetery is located in Rudnik.[10]

The town (varoš) itself was established as Srbica in 1924.[11][2] It had 30 houses inhabited by Serbs and Montenegrins.

In the 20th century Albanian resistance began with the Kachak movement led by Azem Bejta and his wife, Shote Galica, who fought against Bulgarian, Austro-Hungarian and Yugoslav invaders.[12] At the end of World War II in 1944, the leader of the Drenica Brigade Shaban Polluzha refused to lead his 12,000 men north and join the Partisans in order to pursue the retreating Germans, because Serbian Chetnik groups were attacking the Albanian population in Kosovo.[13]

Economy

Skenderaj has historically been the poorest municipality in Kosovo, with little investment having been made since the time of the former Yugoslavia. It suffers from low economic activity and continuous high unemployment. Agriculture is the major local industry but the municipality has not fully developed existing arable land. Today, the local economy consists of small enterprises such as family-run shops and restaurants while two privatized factories, a brick and a flour mill, employ a few hundred people. The other major sector of employment is the municipality’s civil service.[1]

Sport

Skënderaj is home of the Kosovar Superliga football club KF Drenica.[1] which plays their home games in the Bajram Aliu Stadium. Skënderaj is also home of the Kosovar Superliga volleyball club KV Skenderaj women's and KV Drenica men's.

Cultural heritage

Demographics

Ethnic Composition, Including IDPs
Year/Population Albanians  % Serbs  % Ashkali  % Bosniaks  % Total
199154,437 98.6% 713 - 37 - - - 55,187
January 1999App. 65,000 99% 690 1% - - - - App. 65,690
Current figure App. 78,900 98% 0 - 0 - 2% App. 78,900
Ref: kosowar Population Censuses for data through 1991, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe estimates for onwards data

Notable people

Notes

  1. 1 2 Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the Brussels Agreement. Kosovo has been recognised as an independent state by 108 out of 193 United Nations member states.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 OSCE Municipal Profile, April 2008
  2. 1 2 3 4 Marković 1967, p. 407.
  3. ↑ "Праисторијски археолошки локалитет". Споменици културе у Србији.
  4. ↑ "Остаци римске некрополе". Споменици културе у Србији.
  5. ↑ Božanić, S. (2009). "O zemljišnim međama srpskog srednjovekovnog sela" (PDF). Istraživanja, no. 20: 47–64.
  6. ↑ "Преобрашка-Калуђерска црква". Споменици културе у Србији.
  7. ↑ "Црква Св. Николе". Споменици културе у Србији.
  8. ↑ "Манастир Девич у близини Србице". Споменици културе у Србији.
  9. ↑ "Црква Св. Јована". Споменици културе у Србији.
  10. ↑ "Црква Св. Ђорђа са гробљем". Споменици културе у Србији.
  11. ↑ Radovanović 2004, p. 318.
  12. ↑ Elsie, Robert (2004). Historical Dictionary of Kosova. The Scarecrow Press. p. 63. ISBN 0-8108-5309-4.
  13. ↑ Robert Elsie (1 December 2010). Historical Dictionary of Kosovo. Scarecrow Press. p. 219. ISBN 978-0-8108-7231-8. Retrieved 30 August 2012.

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Srbica/Skënderaj.
 
Largest cities or towns in Kosovo
2014 estimate
Rank Name Districts Pop. Rank Name Districts Pop.

Pristina

Prizren		 1 Pristina Pristina 208,230 11 Glogovac (Drenas) Pristina 60,687
Ferizaj (Uroševac)

Peć
2 Prizren Prizren 183,810 12 Lipljan Pristina 59,773
3 Ferizaj (Uroševac) Ferizaj (Uroševac) 112,657 13 Orahovac Gjakova 58,259
4 Peć Peć 98,603 14 Mališevo Prizren 57,136
5 Gjakova Gjakova 97,127 15 Skenderaj (Srbica) Mitrovica 52,175
6 Gjilan Gjilan 92,369 16 Vitina Gjilan 48,288
7 Podujevo Pristina 90,568 17 Deçan Peć 40,954
8 Mitrovica Mitrovica 84,949 18 Istok Peć 40,388
9 Vučitrn Mitrovica 71,977 19 Klina Peć 39,943
10 Suva Reka Prizren 61,976 20 Kamenica Gjilan 35,931

Coordinates: 42°44′48″N 20°47′19″E / 42.74667°N 20.78861°E / 42.74667; 20.78861

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