Skenderaj Explained

Skenderaj
Named For:Skanderbeg
Settlement Type:Town and municipality
Image Blank Emblem:Stema e Komunës Skënderaj.svg
Blank Emblem Type:Emblem
Blank Emblem Size:75px
Pushpin Map:Kosovo#Europe
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Kosovo
Subdivision Type1:District
Subdivision Name1:Mitrovica
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Party:PDK
Leader Name:Fadil Nura
Unit Pref:Metric
Area Blank1 Title:Urban
Area Blank2 Title:Municipal
Area Blank2 Km2:374
Area Footnotes:-------->
Population As Of:2011
Population Blank1 Title:Urban
Population Blank1:9372
Population Density Blank1 Km2:auto
Population Blank2 Title:Municipal
Population Blank2:50858
Population Density Blank2 Km2:auto
Timezone:CET
Utc Offset:+1
Timezone Dst:CEST
Utc Offset Dst:+2
Coordinates:42.7333°N 67°W
Elevation M:620
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:41000
Area Code:+383 28
Area Rank:11th in Kosovo
Registration Plate Type:Vehicle registration
Registration Plate:02

Skenderaj (Albanian: Skënderaji) or Srbica (Serbian: Србица) is a town and municipality located in the Mitrovica District of Kosovo. According to the 2021 census, the municipality of Skënderaj has 52,586 inhabitants.[1]

It is the largest city in the Drenica geographical region of Kosovo.[2] It is mainly populated by ethnic 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.[2]

Etymology

Albanians use the name Skenderaj from the name Skanderbeg,[3] while the Serbian name was applied after the First Balkan War in an attempt to naturalize the region.[4]

Geography

The settlement is by the Klina river, in the Klina field. It is the main settlement of the Drenica region. The Klina river belongs to the Metohija region, while the settlement morphologically and hydrologically gravitates towards the Kosovo region.

The municipality covers an area of, including the town of Skenderaj and 49 villages.

History

The village of Runik, northwest of Skenderaj, is one of the most prominent Neolithic sites in Kosovo to date, contains artefacts from the Starcevo and Vinca cultures. Research was conducted in about 35 private parcels in the Dardania neighborhood of Runik. Starcevo and Vinca pottery fragments dating to 6500-3500 BC have been found at the site. A significant find is a baked-clay ocarina 8cm (03inches) in length, known as the Runik Ocarina, the oldest musical instrument found in Kosovo to date.The municipality cadastral area includes several settlements that existed during the Middle Ages, among which some exist still today, such as Liqinë, Polac, Banjë, and others.[5] There are ruins of a church dating to the 14th century in southern Leqinë.[6] The Church of St. Nicholas was built in 1436, in Banjë, as the endowment of Serbian magnate Rodop.[7] The Devič monastery was built in Llausha near Skënderaj 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 Leqinë; 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 Runik.[10] In the early 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 forces.[11] 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.[12]

Modern

During the Kosovo War, Serbian forces reportedly emptied the town of its Albanian inhabitants and executed approximately 115 ethnic Albanian males over the age of 18.[13] Serbian authorities reportedly were holding detainees in an ammunition factory in the town.[14]

Economy

Skënderaj 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.[2]

Sport

Skënderaj is home of the football club KF Drenica, which plays their home games in the Bajram Aliu Stadium and competes in the second tier league called First Football League of Kosovo. Skënderaj is also home of the Kosovar Superliga volleyball club KV Skenderaj women's and KV Drenica men's.

Cultural heritage

Demographics

According to the last official census done in 2011, the municipality of Skenderaj has 50,858 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Ethnic group1991 census2011 census
Albanians54,43750,685
Serbs71350
Bosniaksalign="right"-42
Ashkali and Egyptians3711
Others28470
Total55,47150,858

Notable people

See also

References

Sources

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Skenderaj (Gemeinde, Mitrovicë, Kosovo) - Einwohnerzahlen, Grafiken, Karte und Lage . 2024-07-25 . www.citypopulation.de.
  2. Web site: OSCE Municipal Profile, April 2008 . 2008-06-06 . 2019-12-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191201155212/https://www.osce.org/documents/mik/2008/04/1278_en.pdf . dead .
  3. News: Kjo është historia e emrit Skenderaj e domëthënia e tij, mësoje historinë si u bë komunë Skenderaj. This is the story of the name Skenderaj and its meaning, learn the story of how Skenderaj became a municipality. Albanian. Drenica Press. 28 November 2016.
  4. https://www.radiandradi.com/argumentet-dhe-metodat-e-politikes-ekspansioniste-serbe-per-ta-sunduar-kosoven-nga-akademik-mark-krasniqi/ Argumentet dhe metodat e politikes ekspansioniste Serbe per ta sunduar Kosoven nga akademik Mark Krasniqi
  5. Božanić. S.. 2009. O zemljišnim međama srpskog srednjovekovnog sela. Istraživanja . 20. 47–64.
  6. Web site: Преобрашка-Калуђерска црква. Споменици културе у Србији.
  7. Web site: Црква Св. Николе. Споменици културе у Србији.
  8. Web site: Манастир Девич у близини Србице. Споменици културе у Србији.
  9. Web site: Црква Св. Јована. Споменици културе у Србији.
  10. Web site: Црква Св. Ђорђа са гробљем. Споменици културе у Србији.
  11. Book: Historical Dictionary of Kosova. Elsie, Robert . Robert Elsie . 2004 . The Scarecrow Press . 63 . 0-8108-5309-4.
  12. Book: Robert Elsie. Historical Dictionary of Kosovo. 30 August 2012. 1 December 2010. Scarecrow Press. 978-0-8108-7231-8. 219.
  13. Book: Erasing History: Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo . 1999 . Department of State . 978-0-16-050065-7 . en.
  14. Book: Erasing History: Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo . 1999 . Department of State . 978-0-16-050065-7 . en.