Gjonaj (, ) is a village in

Prizren Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni, ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second List of cities and towns in Kosovo, most populous city and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and District of Prizren, ...

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

. The village lies within the Has region.

Etymology

The village name

Gjonaj Gjonaj is an Albanian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Adriana Gjonaj, Albanian politician * Algert Gjonaj (born 1987), Albanian basketball player * Etilda Gjonaj (born 1981), Albanian politician * Kujtim Gjonaj (1946–2021), Al ...

derives from the Albanian name

Gjon Gjon (definite form: ''Gjoni'') is an Albanian language, Albanian male given name, clan, surname and onomastic element. As given name Etymology and history ''Gjon'' as a given name is a form of the English language, English name John (given name ...

History

The village Gjonaj is first mentioned in 1348 in the

chrysobull A golden bull or chrysobull was a decree issued by Byzantine emperors and monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Description A golden bull was a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors. It was later used by monarchs in Europe ...

of Serbian Emperor

Stefan Dušan Stephen (honorific), Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан), also known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Силни; – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Emperor of th ...

, along with eight other Catholic Albanian villages in the Prizren area, these villages are known with the names Gjinovci (Gjinajt), Magjerci, Bjellogllavci (Kryebardhët), Flokovci (Flokajt), Crnça, Caparci (Çaparajt), Shpinadinci (Shpinajt) and Novaci. In the place where Gjonaj is today may have stood the town of Guri i Hasit. A church in Gjonaj is possibly one of the oldest

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

churches in Kosovo. Gjonaj is considered to have been the birthplace of

Andrea Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that re ...

and

Pjetër Bogdani Pjetër Bogdani (; 1627 – 6 December 1689) was the most original writer of Old Albanian literature. He was author of the Cuneus Prophetarum (''The Band of the Prophets''), 1685, the first prose work of substance written originally in (Gheg) A ...

Culture

The village is the place that hosts annually the Hasi Jehon Festival. The festival aims to preserve and promote the Albanian spiritual heritage through folk music, dances and popular games.

Notable People

* Andrea Bogdani, 17th century Albanian scholar and priest. *

, 17th century Albanian priest, scholar and patriot. * Elvis Rexhbeçaj, footballer (born 1997)*

Sports

Gjonaj is home to the football club KF Drini i Bardhë.

References

Villages in Prizren {{Kosovo-geo-stub