Prizren (Albanian: Prizren or Prizreni; Serbian: Призрен, Prizren, pronounced [prîzrɛn]; Turkish: Prizren, Pürzeyn, Perzerrin) is a historical city located in Kosovo.[a] It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and district. The city has a population of around 178,000 (2011 census preliminary results),[1] mostly Albanians. Prizren is located on the slopes of the Šar Mountains (Albanian: Malet e Sharrit) in the southern part of Kosovo. The municipality has a border with Albania and the Republic of Macedonia.
Medieval
The Serbs, one of the Slavic tribes that settled the Balkans in the 6th–7th centuries, acquired the spiritual and cultural orientation when they accepted Byzantine Orthodox Christianity in the 9th century. They remained within Constantinople’s cultural sphere of influence, while however becoming more independent, forging autonomous kingdoms based on the opportunities that this Christian orientation provided for the development of a coherent civilization and state.
While there were some predecessors, the first major Serbian power arose in 1166, when the Nemanjic dynastyemerged, headed first by Tihomir and then by his brother Stefan. The Serbian Nemanjic dynasty would base the Serbian empire in Kosovo and Metohija, making Kosovo the political, cultural, and religious center of the Serbia. Metohija, which refers more specifically to western Kosovo, is a Byzantine Greek word indicating possessions held by the Orthodox Church. The Nemanjic dynasty would endure until 1371 when it would end due to the invasion of the Ottoman Turks and defeat at the 1371 battle of Marica.
As the Serbian empire sought an outlet to the Adriatic coast, the administrative and religious center of the empire shifted to Shkodër, Prizren, and Dečani.
Ottoman period
[edit]Prizren Vilayet
Main article: Prizren Vilayet
In 1455 Ottoman army had conquered Prizren. Prizren was the capital of the Sanjak of Prizren, and under new administrative organization of Ottoman Empire it became capital of the Vilayet.[5] This included the city of Tetova.[6] That time this open mosque had built. It is the first work of Ottoman architecture in Prizren.[citation needed] In recent years, has undergone serious repair and renovation.[citation needed]. Marino Bizzi, the Archbishop of Bar(Antivari), in his 1610 report stated that Prizren had 8.600 large houses and that it was irrigated by many sources of flowing water, like fountains.[7] He recorded that the population of Prizren spoke the Dalmatian language, although some part of the Sanjak of Prizren penetrates into Albania, which population speak its own language.[8] Later it became a part of the Ottoman province of Rumelia. It was a prosperous trade city, benefiting from its position on the north-south and east-west trade routes across the Empire. Prizren became one of the larger cities of the Ottomans' Kosovo Province(vilayet). Prizren was the cultural and intellectual centre of Ottoman Kosovo. It was dominated by its Muslim population, who composed over 70% of its population in 1857. The city became the biggest Albanian cultural centre and the coordination political and cultural capital of the Kosovar Albanians. In 1871, a long Serbian seminary was opened in Prizren, discussing the possible joining of the old Serbia's territories with the Principality of Serbia.
Kosovo Vilayet
Prizren was an important part of Kosovo Vilayet between 1877–1912.
[edit]League of Prizren
During the late 19th century the city became a focal point for Albanian nationalism and saw the creation in 1878 of the League of Prizren, a movement formed to seek the national unification and liberation of Albanians within the Ottoman Empire.
[edit]Young Turk Revolution
The Young Turk Revolution was a step in the dissolving of the Ottoman empire that led to the Balkan Wars. The Third Army (Ottoman Empire) had a division in Prizren, at the time called Pirzerin, the 30th Pirzerin Reserve Infantry Division (Otuzuncu Pirzerin Redif Fırkası).
[edit]Balkan wars
The Prizren attachment was part of the İpek Detachment in the Order of Battle, October 19, 1912 in the First Balkan War.
During the First Balkan War the city was seized by the Serbian army and incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbia[citation needed]. Although the troops met little resistance, the takeover was bloody. The British traveler Edith Durham attempted to visit it shortly afterwards but was barred by the authorities, as were most other foreigners, for the Montenegrin forces temporarily closed the city before full control was restored. The number of killed Albanians reached 400 to 4000. A few visitors did make it through—including Leon Trotsky, then working as a journalist—and reports eventually emerged of widespread killings of Albanians.[9]
After the First Balkan War of 1912, the Conference of Ambassadors in London allowed the creation of the state of Albania and handed Kosovo to theKingdom of Serbia, even though the population of Kosovo remained mostly Albanian.[10]
Yugoslav period
With the invasion of the Kingdom of Serbia by Austro-Hungarian forces in 1915 during the First World War, the city was occupied by the Central Powers. The Serbian Army pushed the Central Powers out of the city in October 1918. By the end of 1918, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was formed—with Prizren a part of its historical territorial entity of Serbia. The Kingdom was renamed in 1929 to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Prizren became a part of its Banate of Vardar.
Second League of Prizren
Main article: Second League of Prizren
The Axis Italian forces conquered the city in 1941 during World War II; it was annexed to the Italian puppet state of Albania. In 1943 with the help of the German Wehrmacht Bedri Pejani created the Second League of Prizren.[11]
[edit]Democratic Federal Yugoslavia
The Communists of Yugoslavia liberated it by 1944. It was formulated as a part of Kosovo and Metohija, under Democratic Serbia as a part of theDemocratic Federal Yugoslavia. The Constitution defined the Autonomous Region of Kosovo and Metohija within the People's Republic of Serbia, a constituent state of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. In 9–10 July 1945 the Regional Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija held in Prizren adopted the decision of abolishing the region's autonomy and direct integration into Serbia.
The Province was renamed to Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo in 1974, remaining part of the Socialist Republic of Serbia, but having attributions similar to a Socialist Republic within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The former status was restored in 1989, and officially in 1990.
For many years after the restoration of Serbian rule, Prizren and the region of Dečani to the west remained centres of Albanian nationalism. In 1956 the Yugoslav secret police put on trial in Prizren nine Kosovo Albanians accused of having been infiltrated into the country by the (hostile) Communist Albanian regime ofEnver Hoxha. The "Prizren trial" became something of a cause célèbre after it emerged that a number of leading Yugoslav Communists had allegedly had contacts with the accused. The nine accused were all convicted and sentenced to long prison sentences, but were released and declared innocent in 1968 with Kosovo's assembly declaring that the trial had been "staged and mendacious."
[edit]Kosovo War
The town of Prizren did not suffer much during the Kosovo War but its surrounding municipality was badly affected 1998–1999. Before the war, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe estimated that the municipality's population was about 78% Kosovo Albanian, 5% Serb and 17% from other national communities. During the war most of the Albanian population were either forced or intimidated into leaving the town. Tusus Neighborhood suffered the most. Some twenty-seven to thirty-four people were killed and over one hundred houses were burned.[12]
At the end of the war in June 1999, most of the Albanian population returned to Prizren. Serbian and Roma minorities fled, with the OSCE estimating that 97% of Serbs and 60% of Romas had left Prizren by October. The community is now predominantly ethnically Albanian, but other minorities such as Turkish, Ashkali (a minority declaring itself as Albanian Roma) and Bosniak (including Torbesh community) live there as well, be that in the city itself, or in villages around. Such locations include Sredska, Mamuša, the region of Gora, etc. [1]
The war and its aftermath caused only a moderate amount of damage to the city compared to other cities in Kosovo.[13] Serbian forces destroyed an important Albanian cultural monument in Prizren, the League of Prizren building[14][15] On March 17, 2004, during the Unrest in Kosovo, all Serb cultural monuments in Prizren were damaged, burned or destroyed, such as old Orthodox Serb churches:
- Our Lady of Ljeviš from 1307 (UNESCO World Heritage Site)[16]
- the Church of Holy Salvation[16]
- Church of St. George[16] (the city's largest church)
- Church of St. George[16] (Runjevac)
- Church of St. Kyriaki, Church of St. Nicolas (Tutić Church)[16]
- the Monastery of The Holy Archangels,[16] as well as
- Prizren's Ortodox seminary of Saint Cyrillus and Methodius[16]
Also, during that riot, entire Serb quarter of Prizren, near the Prizren Fortress, was completely destroyed, and all remaining Serb population was evicted from Prizren.[17][18]
[edit]Prizren now
The municipality of Prizren is still the most culturally and ethnically heterogeneous of Kosovo, retaining communities of Bosniaks, Turks, and Roma in addition to the majority Kosovo Albanian population live in Prizren. Only a small number of Kosovo Serbs remains in Prizren and area, residing in small villages, enclaves, or protected housing complexes.[2] Furthermore, Prizren's Turkish community is socially prominent and influential, and the Turkish language is widely spoken even by non-ethnic Turks.
Official languages
In Prizren Municipality, Albanian, Serbian, Bosnian and Turkish languages are official languages.[19][20]
[edit]Culture
Prizren is the seat of a summer documentary film festival called Dokufest. The city is home to numerous mosques, Orthodox and Catholic churches and other monuments. Among them:
- Saint Archangels Monastery
- League of Prizren Monument
- Kaljaja fortress
- Church of Holy Salvation
- Our Lady of Ljeviš church
- Church of St. Nicholas
- Sinan Pasha Mosque
- Church of St. Kyriaki
- The Mosque of Muderis Ali Efendi
- The St. George Cathedral
- Mosque Katip Sinan Qelebi
- Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour
- The Lorenc Antoni Music school
These monuments, part of the historic center of the city, have recently been threatened by development pressures.[21] In addition, war, fires, general dilapidation and neglect have taken their toll on this unique architectural landscape.[22]
| Name | Description | Picture |
|---|---|---|
| The Shadervan Turkish: Şadırvan is a tourist area on the south side of town, there are numerous cafes and restaurants there. The ancient water fountain is a protected cultural monument, there is a legend that if you drink from it you will be sure to come back.[23][24][25] |  | |
| The Old Stone Bridge (Albanian: Ura e gurit, Serbian: Стари камени мост) is one of the landmarks of Prizren. It crosses thePrizrenska Bistrica. |  | |
| The Tannery/Leatherworks in Prizren (Albanian: Lagjia e Tabakëve, Serbian: Призренска табахана Prizrenska Tabahana[26] )[27] is an ancient handcraft building. Tabakëve is the Albanian, and табахана the Serbian version, both fromTurkish: 'tr:Tabakhane', where -ana means house.[28] | ||
| The old Turkish bath (Serbian: Стари хамам Гази Мехмед-паше) is in the center of Prizren. |  | |
| 1534 (1543?) Mosque of Kuklibeu Albanian: Xhamia e Kuklibeutalso known as Kukli Bej Mosque |  | |
| Mosque of Mustafe Pashe Prizrenit (Xhamia e Mustafë Pashë Prizrenit/Xhamia e Mustafa Pashës). 1562–1563 Destroyed in 1950 after a storm. It was located at the location of the formerUNMIK headquarters, now municipality building 42.210060°N 20.736372°E |  | |
| 1543–1581 Mosque of Muderis Ali Efendi |  | |
| The Sinan Pasha Mosque (Albanian: Xhamia e Sinan Pashës,Serbian: Синан Пашина Џамија, Turkish: Sinan Paşa Camii) is an Ottoman mosque in the city of Prizren, Kosovo.[a] It was built in 1615 by Sofi Sinan Pasha, bey of Budim.[29] The mosque overlooks the main street of Prizren and is a dominant feature in the town's skyline.[30] |  | |
Minaret of Arasta Mosque
| The remaining minaret of the Arasta Mosque |  |
Climate
| [hide]Climate data for Prizren | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 3 (37) | 6 (42) | 11 (52) | 16 (60) | 21 (69) | 24 (76) | 27 (81) | 27 (80) | 23 (74) | 17 (62) | 9 (48) | 4 (39) | 15.6 (60.0) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −4 (24) | −3 (27) | 1 (34) | 6 (43) | 11 (51) | 13 (56) | 15 (59) | 16 (60) | 13 (55) | 7 (45) | 2 (36) | −3 (27) | 6.2 (43.1) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 36 (1.4) | 36 (1.4) | 36 (1.4) | 43 (1.7) | 56 (2.2) | 46 (1.8) | 36 (1.4) | 28 (1.1) | 36 (1.4) | 41 (1.6) | 48 (1.9) | 48 (1.9) | 488 (19.2) |
| Source: Weatherbase [32] | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Demographics | |||||||||||||
| Year | Albanians | % | Bosniaks | % | Serb | % | Turk | % | Roma | % | Others | % | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 cens. | 132,591 | 75.58 | 19,423 | 11.1 | 10,950 | 6.24 | 7,227 | 4.1 | 3,96 3 | 2.3 | 1,259 | 0.7 | 175,413 |
| 1998 | n/a | n/a | 38,500 | n/a | 8,839 | n/a | 12,250 | n/a | 4,500 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| January 2000 | 181,531 | 76.9 | 37,500 | 15.9 | 258 | 0.1 | 12,250 | 5.2 | 4,500 | 1.9 | n/a | n/a | 236,000 |
| March 2001 | 181,748 | 81.9 | 22,000 | 9.9 | 252 | 0.1 | 12,250 | 5.5 | 5,424 | 2.4 | n/a | n/a | 221,674 |
| May 2002 | 182,000 | 79.6 | 29,369 | 12.8 | 197 | 0.09 | 11,965 | 5.2 | 4,400 | 1.9 | 550 | 0.25 | 228,481 |
| December 2002 | 180,176 | 81.6 | 21,266 | 9.6 | 221 | 0.09 | 14,050 | 6.4 | 5,148 | 2.3 | n/a | n/a | 221,374 |
| Source: For 1991: Census data, Federal Office of Statistics in Serbia (figures to be considered as unreliable). 1998 and 2000 minority figures from UNHCR in Prizren, January 2000. 2000 Kosovo Albanian figure is an unofficial OSCE estimate January–March 2000. 2001 figures come from German KFOR, UNHCR and IOM last update March 2, 2001. May 2002 statistics are joint UN, UNHCR, KFOR, and OSCE approximations. December 2002 figures are based on survey by the Local Community Office. All figures are estimates. Ref: OSCE .pdf [dead link] | |||||||||||||
According to the 1991 census conducted by the Yugoslav authorities, the municipality of Prizren had a population of 200,584 citizens:
- 157,518 (78.53%) Albanians
- 11,371 (5.67%) Serbs and Montenegrins
- other' [3]
According to the same census, the city of Prizren had 92,303 citizens.
Just before the Kosovo War in 1998, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe estimated the population of the municipality of Prizren:
- Albanians 78%
- Serbs 5%
- others 17%
According to a United Nations estimate in 2003, the city had about 124,000 citizens, most being ethnic Albanians. According to the World Gazetteer, the city only had 131,247 residents in 2010.[33]
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