)
, settlement_type =
Municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
and
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
, image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg
, imagesize = 290px
, image_caption = View of Prizren
, image_alt = View of Prizren
, image_flag =
![Flag of Prizren](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Flag_of_Prizren.png)
, flag_alt = Flag of Prizren
, image_seal =
![Stema e Komunës Prizren](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Stema_e_Komun%C3%ABs_Prizren.svg)
, seal_alt = Seal of Prizren
, pushpin_map = Kosovo
, pushpin_map_alt = Location of Prizren in Kosovo and Europe
, pushpin_mapsize = 290
, pushpin_relief = 1
, pushpin_label = Prizren
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type2 =
District
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
, subdivision_name2 =
Prizren
, established_title =
, established_date =
, government_type =
Mayor–council
, leader_party =
PDK
, leader_title = Mayor
, leader_name = Shaqir Totaj
, leader_title1 = Council
, leader_name1 = Prizren Municipal Council
, unit_pref = Metric
, area_blank1_title = Municipality
, area_blank1_km2 = 626.86
, area_blank2_title =
, area_blank2_km2 =
, elevation_m =
, population_as_of = 2011
, population_blank1_title = Municipality
, population_blank1 = 177,781
, population_urban = 94,517
, population_rural = 83,264
, population_demonym = Prizrenas/Prizrenase
, timezone =
CET
CET or cet may refer to:
Places
* Cet, Albania
* Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus
* Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Comcast En ...
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST =
CEST CEST or cest may refer to:
* Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), daylight saving time observed in the central European time zone
* Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory
* Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer, a subset of Magnetization transfer in ...
, utc_offset_DST = +2
, postal_code_type =
Postal code
A postal code (also known locally in various English-speaking countries throughout the world as a postcode, post code, PIN or ZIP Code) is a series of letters or digits or both, sometimes including spaces or punctuation, included in a postal a ...
, postal_code = 20000
, area_code_type = Area code
, area_code = +383 (0) 29
, blank_name =
Vehicle registration Motor vehicle registration is the registration of a motor vehicle with a government authority, either compulsory or otherwise. The purpose of motor vehicle registration is to establish a link between a vehicle and an owner or user of the vehicle. Th ...
, blank_info = 04
, website =
Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second
most populous city
The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the city proper, cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or th ...
and
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
and seat of the eponymous municipality and
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
. It is located on the banks of the
Prizren River between the foothills of the
Sharr Mountains in southern Kosovo. Prizren experiences an
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
under the influence of the surrounding mountains.
Prizren is constitutionally designated as the historical capital of the country.
Archaeological excavations in
Prizren Fortress
Prizren Fortress ( sq, Каlаја e Prizrenit; sr, Призренски град, ''Prizrenski grad'') is a hilltop fortification in Prizren in Kosovo. It overlooks the Prizren River which flows through Prizren, which developed around the fortr ...
indicate that its fortress area has seen habitation and use since the Bronze Age. Prizren has been traditionally identified with the settlement of Theranda in Roman
Dardania, although other locations have been suggested in recent research. In late antiquity it was part of the defensive fortification system in western Dardania and the fort was reconstructed in the era of eastern Roman Emperor
Justinian
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
. Byzantine rule in the region ended definitively in 1219-20 as the Serbian
Nemanjić dynasty
The House of Nemanjić ( sr-Cyrl, Немањић, Немањићи; Nemanjić, Nemanjići, ) was the most prominent dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages. This princely, royal, and later imperial house produced twelve Serbian monarchs, who rul ...
controlled the fort and the town until 1371. Since 1371, a series of regional feudal rulers came to control Prizren: the
Balšić, the
Dukagjini, the
Hrebeljanović and finally the
Branković, often with Ottoman support. The
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
assumed direct control after 1450. Prizren first developed in the area below the fortress which overlooks the Bistrica river on its left bank. Since the 16th century, economic development fueled the expansion of the city's neighbourhoods to the river's right bank.
Name
The name of the city has been linked with that of Petrizen, a fort in
Dardania mentioned by
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...
in the 6th century.
History
Early period
![LateAntiqueMap](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/LateAntiqueMap.PNG)
The earliest archaeological find is the so-called ''Runner of Prizren'' which is a bronze figure of a running girl. A dealer sold it to the British Museum in 1876.
According to the museum, the object was possibly made in Sparta between 520BC and 500BC. It may have arrived in Prizren as a gift or loot and used as a grave-god.
Prizren has been traditionally identified with Theranda, a town of the Roman era. Another location which may have been that of Theranda is present-day
Suhareka
Suhareka (also known as Suharekë and Therandë in Albanian) оr Suva Reka ( sr-Cyrl, Сува Река) is a town and municipality located in the Prizren district of central-southern Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town has 10,422 inh ...
as has been suggested in recent research. Archaeological research has shown that the site of the
Prizren Fortress
Prizren Fortress ( sq, Каlаја e Prizrenit; sr, Призренски град, ''Prizrenski grad'') is a hilltop fortification in Prizren in Kosovo. It overlooks the Prizren River which flows through Prizren, which developed around the fortr ...
has had several eras of habitation since prehistoric times. In its lower part, material from the upper part of the fort has been
deposited over the centuries. It dates from the Middle Bronze Age (c. 2000 BCE) to the late Iron Age (c. 1st century CE) and is comparable to the material found in the nearby prehistoric site in the village of
Vlashnjë
Vlashnjë (definite Albanian: ''Vlashnja'', sr, Vlašnja, Влашња) is a village in the Prizren municipality of Kosovo. It has 1,700 inhabitants as of 2011. Vlashnjë is a multi-layered settlement and site area. Archaeological excavations hav ...
(~10 km west of Prizren).
In 2005, prehistoric rock paintings in a ritual site related to the cycle of life were found near Vlashnjë. They represent the first find of prehistoric rock art in the region.
In late antiquity, the fortification saw a phase of reconstruction. It is part of a series of forts that were built or reconstructed in the same period by Justinian along the
White Drin
The White Drin or White Drim ( sq, Drini i Bardhë,/ ''Beli Drim'') is a river in Kosovo and northern Albania, a ca. -long headstream of the Drin.
Course
Kosovo
The Kosovo section of the White Drin flows entirely in the semi-karst part of ...
in northern Albania and western Kosovo in the routes that linked the coastal areas with the
Kosovo valley. At this time, the Prizren fortress likely appears in historical record as ''Petrizen'' in the 6th century CE in the work of
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...
as one of the fortifications which
Justinian
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
commissioned to be reconstructed in
Dardania.
Middle Ages
In 1330, Serbian king
Stefan Dečanski
Stefan Uroš III ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош III, ), known as Stefan Dečanski ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Дечански, ; 1276 – 11 November 1331), was the King of Serbia from 6 January 1322 to 8 September 1331. Dečanski was the son of ...
explicitly mentioned the presence of Albanians and the Albanian names of villages in Kosovo, in particular in the districts of Prizren and that of
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and List of cities in North Macedonia by population, largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Sk ...
. A chrisobull of the Serbian Tsar
Stefan Dušan
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан, ), known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr, / ; circa 1308 – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Tsar (or Emperor) and autocrat of the Serbs, Gre ...
that was given to the Monastery of Saint Mihail and Gavril in Prizren between the years of 1348-1353 states the presence of
Albanians
The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
in the vicinity of Prizren, the
Plains of Dukagjin and in the villages of
Drenica
Drenica ( al, Drenicë, Drenica, ), also known as the Drenica Valley, is a hilly region in central Kosovo, covering roughly around of Kosovo's total area (6%). It consists of two municipalities, Drenas and Skenderaj, and several villages in Kli ...
. Within this chrisobull, nine Albanian stock-breeding villages within the vicinity of Prizren are mentioned explicitly - these villages are known with the names Gjinovci (Gjinajt), Magjerci, Bjellogllavci (Kryebardhët), Flokovci (Flokajt), Crnça, Caparci (Çaparajt), Gjonovci (Gjonajt), Shpinadinci (Shpinajt) and Novaci. Entire Albanian villages were gifted by Serbian kings, particularly
Stefan Dušan
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан, ), known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr, / ; circa 1308 – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Tsar (or Emperor) and autocrat of the Serbs, Gre ...
, as presents to Serb monasteries within Prizren,
Deçan
Deçan, or Dečani sr-cyr, Дечани ; also in use Dečane sr-cyr, Дечане is a town and municipality in Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of has 3,803 inhabitants, while the municipality has 40,019 inhabitants.
Geog ...
and
Tetova
Tetovo ( mk, Тетово, , sq, Tetovë/Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena (river), Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above ...
. Additionally, people with Albanian anthroponomy are repeatedly mentioned in a 1348 chrysobull of
Stefan Dušan
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан, ), known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr, / ; circa 1308 – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Tsar (or Emperor) and autocrat of the Serbs, Gre ...
that lists those who pray at the monastery of St. Michael and Gabriel in Prizren as well as some of the inhabitants of the city itself and the surrounding villages. In one of Stefan Dušan's documents in 1355, a soldier with Albanian anthroponomy is exclusively mentioned as one of the people who must continuously pay the Monastery of St. Nicholas in the village of Billushë near Prizren.
Konstantin Jireček concluded, from the correspondence of archbishop Demetrios of Ohrid (1216–36), that Prizren was the northeasternmost area of Albanian settlement prior to the
Slavic expansion that began in the 6th century.
Present-day Prizren is first mentioned in 1019 at the time of
Basil II
Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...
(r. 976–1025) in the form of ''Prisdriana''. In 1072, the leaders of the Bulgarian
Uprising of Georgi Voiteh
The Uprising of Georgi Voyteh ( bg, Въстание на Георги Войтех, sr, Словенски устанак у Поморављу - ''Slav Uprising in Pomoravlje'') was a Bulgarian uprising in the Byzantine theme of Bulgaria in 10 ...
traveled from their center in
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and List of cities in North Macedonia by population, largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Sk ...
in the area of Prizren and held a meeting in which they invited
Mihailo Vojislavljević
Mihailo Vojislavljević ( sr-cyr, Михаило Војислављевић) was a medieval Serbian king and the ruler of Dioclea (Duklja), from 1046 to 1081 initially as a Byzantine vassal holding the title of ''protospatharios'', then after 10 ...
of
Duklja
Duklja ( sh-Cyrl, Дукља; el, Διόκλεια, Diokleia; la, Dioclea) was a medieval South Slavic state which roughly encompassed the territories of modern-day southeastern Montenegro, from the Bay of Kotor in the west to the Bojana Ri ...
to send them assistance. Mihailo sent his son,
Constantine Bodin
Constantine Bodin ( Bulgarian and sr, italic=no, Константин Бодин, ''Konstantin Bodin''; 1072–1101) was a medieval king and the ruler of Duklja, the most powerful Serbian principality of the time, from 1081 to 1101, succee ...
with 300 of his soldiers. Dalassenos Doukas,
dux
''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, '' ...
of Bulgaria was sent against the combined forced but was defeated near Prizren, which was extensively plundered by the Serbian army after the battle. The Bulgarian magnates proclaimed Bodin "Emperor of the Bulgarians" after this initial victory. They were defeated by
Nikephoros Bryennios in the area of northern Macedonia by the end of 1072. The area was raided by Serbian ruler
Vukan in the 1090s.
Demetrios Chomatenos Demetrios Chomatenos or Chomatianos ( el, Δημήτριος Χωματηνός/Χωματιανός, 13th century), Eastern Orthodox Archbishop of Ohrid from 1216 to 1236, was a Byzantine priest and judge.
His comprehensive legal education allowed ...
is the last Byzantine archbishop of Ohrid to include Prizren in his jurisdiction until 1219.
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja (Serbian Cyrillic: , ; – 13 February 1199) was the Grand Prince ( Veliki Župan) of the Serbian Grand Principality (also known as Raška, lat. ) from 1166 to 1196. A member of the Vukanović dynasty, Nemanja founded the Nema ...
had seized the surrounding area along the White Drin between the 1180s and 1190s, but this may refer to the areas Prizren diocese rather than the fort and the settlement itself and he may have lost control of them later. The ecclesiastical split of Prizren from the
Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople ( el, Οἰκουμενικὸν Πατριαρχεῖον Κωνσταντινουπόλεως, translit=Oikoumenikón Patriarkhíon Konstantinoupóleos, ; la, Patriarchatus Oecumenicus Constanti ...
in 1219 was the final act of establishing Serbian
Nemanjić rule in the town. Prizren and its fort were the administrative and economic center of the
župa
A župa (or zhupa, županija) is a historical type of administrative division in Southeast Europe and Central Europe, that originated in medieval South Slavic culture, commonly translated as "parish", later synonymous "kotar", commonly transl ...
of Podrimlje (in Albanian, Podrima or Anadrini). The old town of Prizren developed below the fortress along the left bank of the Bistrica/Lumbardhi.
Ragusan Ragusan may refer to:
* citizen of the Republic of Ragusa
hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world"
, population_estimate ...
traders were stationed in the old town. Prizren over time became a trading hub and gateway for Ragusan trade towards eastern Kosovo and beyond.
In this period
Stefan Dušan
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан, ), known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr, / ; circa 1308 – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Tsar (or Emperor) and autocrat of the Serbs, Gre ...
founded and was buried in the
Monastery of the Holy Archangels
The Monastery of the Holy Archangels ( sr, Манастир Светих Архангела, Manastir Svetih Arhangela; al, Manastiri i Arkangjelit të Shenjtë) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located in Prizren, Kosovo. The monastery was foun ...
in Prizren, under his rule Serbia reached its territorial, political, economic, and cultural peak.
With the death of
Stefan Uroš V
Saint Stefan Uroš V ( sr-cyrl, Свети Стефан Урош V, ; 13362/4 December 1371), known in historiography and folk tradition as Uroš the Weak ( sr-cyr, Урош Нејаки, Uroš Nejaki), was the second Emperor (Tsar) of the Ser ...
in 1371, a series of competing regional nobles sieged, counter-sieged and held control of Prizren - increasingly with Ottoman support and intervention. The first who tried to gain control of Prizren and the trade that passed through the town was
Prince Marko
Marko Mrnjavčević ( sr-cyr, Марко Мрњавчевић, ; – 17 May 1395) was the ''de jure'' Serbian king from 1371 to 1395, while he was the ''de facto'' ruler of territory in western Macedonia centered on the town of Prilep. He ...
, but after his defeat in the
Battle of Maritsa, the
Balšići of
Zeta
Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; grc, ζῆτα, el, ζήτα, label= Demotic Greek, classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived f ...
quickly moved to take Prizren soon after the battle in the fall and winter of 1371. In the spring of 1372,
Nikola Altomanović
Nikola Altomanović ( sr-Cyrl, Никола Алтомановић; died after 1395) was a 14th-century Serbian župan of the House of Vojinović. He ruled the areas from Rudnik, over Polimlje, Podrinje, east Herzegovina with Trebinje, reachi ...
besieged Prizren and tried to expand his rule, but was defeated. The death
George Balšić
George may refer to:
People
* George (given name)
* George (surname)
* George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George
* George Washington, First President of the United States
* George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...
in 1377 created another power vacuum -
Đurađ Branković
Đurađ Branković (; sr-cyr, Ђурађ Бранковић; hu, Brankovics György; 1377 – 24 December 1456) was the Serbian Despot from 1427 to 1456. He was one of the last Serbian medieval rulers. He was a participant in the battle of Anka ...
took over Prizren for the first time at that time.
The Catholic church retained some influence in the area; 14th-century documents refer to a catholic church in Prizren, which was the seat of a bishopric between the 1330s and 1380s. Catholic parishes served
Ragusan merchants and Saxon miners.
Ottoman Period
![Prizren Fortress](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Prizren_Fortress.jpg)
After several years of attack and counterattack, the
Ottomans made a major invasion of Kosovo in 1454; Attempts of liberating the Prizren area earlier by
Skanderbeg
, reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468
, predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti
, successor = Gjon Kastrioti II
, spouse = Donika Arianiti
, issue = Gjon Kastrioti II
, royal house = Kastrioti
, father ...
and thereafter by
John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi (, , , ; 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of ...
have failed, as
Đurađ Branković
Đurađ Branković (; sr-cyr, Ђурађ Бранковић; hu, Brankovics György; 1377 – 24 December 1456) was the Serbian Despot from 1427 to 1456. He was one of the last Serbian medieval rulers. He was a participant in the battle of Anka ...
was an Ottoman vassal at this time and did not grant passage into Kosovo for the Crusaders to fight the Ottomans. On 21 June 1455, Prizren surrendered to the Ottoman army. Prizren was the capital of the
Sanjak of Prizren
The Sanjak of Prizren or Priştine ( tr, Prizren Sancağı, sq, Sanxhaku i Prizrenit, sr, Призренски санџак / ''Prizrenski sandžak'') was one of the sanjaks in the Ottoman Empire with Prizren as its administrative centre. It was ...
, and under new administrative organization of Ottoman Empire it became capital of the
Vilayet
A vilayet ( ota, , "province"), also known by various other names, was a first-order administrative division of the later Ottoman Empire. It was introduced in the Vilayet Law of 21 January 1867, part of the Tanzimat reform movement initiated ...
. This included the city of
Tetovo
Tetovo ( mk, Тетово, , sq, Tetovë/Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of North Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of at above sea level, w ...
. Later it became part of the larger
Rumelia Eyalet
The Eyalet of Rumeli, or Eyalet of Rumelia ( ota, ایالت روم ایلی, ), known as the Beylerbeylik of Rumeli until 1591, was a first-level province ('' beylerbeylik'' or ''eyalet'') of the Ottoman Empire encompassing most of the Balkans (" ...
. 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
A vilayet ( ota, , "province"), also known by various other names, was a first-order administrative division of the later Ottoman Empire. It was introduced in the Vilayet Law of 21 January 1867, part of the Tanzimat reform movement initiated ...
'').
In the Ottoman
Defter of 1591, the city of Prizren itself was recorded within the
Sanjak of Prizren
The Sanjak of Prizren or Priştine ( tr, Prizren Sancağı, sq, Sanxhaku i Prizrenit, sr, Призренски санџак / ''Prizrenski sandžak'') was one of the sanjaks in the Ottoman Empire with Prizren as its administrative centre. It was ...
- this includes the household heads of the city. By this time, Prizren had been significantly Islamised, as reflected by the anthroponomy of the inhabitants; several cases of Muslim inhabitants with mixtures of Muslim and Albanian anthroponomy exist (i.e. ''Ali Gjoci, Hasan Gjinaj, Ferhad Reçi, Hasan Bardi...''). The Muslim neighbourhoods (''Mahalla/Mëhalla'') consisted of ''Xhamia e Vjetër (Old Mosque, 53 homes), Levisha (50 homes), Ajas beu (15 homes), Haxhi Kasem (48 homes), Jazixhi Sinani (71 homes), Çarshia (also called Jakub beu, 18 homes), Kurila (31 homes)'' and ''Mëhalla e lëkurëpunuesve (neighbourhood of the leatherworkers, 34 homes)''. The Christian neighbourhoods (''Mahalla/Mëhalla'') consisted of ''Pazari i Vjetër (Old Market, 8 homes), Madhiq (37 homes), Vasil (27 homes), Kodha (13 homes), Çarshia/Pjetri Nikolla (14 homes), Bogoi Riber (11 homes), Radmir (51 homes), Jazixhi Sinani (mentioned beforehand, 24 homes), Pandelja (29 homes), Prend Vriça (9 homes)'' and ''Ajas (13 homes)''. The neighbourhoods of ''Pandelja, Jazixhi Sinani'' and ''Kodha'' were dominated by inhabitants with characteristically Albanian anthroponomy; the other neighbourhoods saw a blend between predominantly Slavic/Slavic-Albanian (or rather, Orthodox) anthroponomy.
Albanian Renaissance
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 a major 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
The Principality of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Књажество Србија, Knjažestvo Srbija) was an autonomous state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was ...
.
It was an important part of
Kosovo Vilayet between 1877 and 1912.
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
The League of Prizren ( sq, Besëlidhja e Prizrenit), officially the League for the Defense of the Rights of the Albanian Nation ( sq, Lidhja për mbrojtjen e të drejtave te kombit Shqiptar), was an Albanian political organization which was offi ...
, a movement formed to seek the national unification and autonomy of Albanians within the Ottoman Empire. The
Young Turk Revolution
The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the Ottoman Consti ...
was a step in the dissolving of the Ottoman empire that led to the Balkan Wars. The
Third Army (Ottoman Empire)
The Third Army was originally established in Skopje and later defended the northeastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire. Its initial headquarters was at Salonica, where it formed the core of the military forces that supported the Young Turk Rev ...
had a division in Prizren, the 30th Reserve Infantry Division (''Otuzuncu Pirzerin Redif Fırkası'').
Modern
The Prizren attachment was part of the
İpek Detachment in the Order of Battle, 19 October 1912 in the
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
. During the
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
the city was seized by the
Serbian army
The Serbian Army ( sr-cyr, Копнена војска Србије, Kopnena vojska Srbije, lit=Serbian Land Army) is the land-based and the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces.
History
Originally established in 1830 as the Army of Pr ...
and incorporated into the
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...
. Although the troops met little resistance, the takeover was bloody with 400 people dead in the first few days; the local population would call the city 'The Kingdom of Death'.
The
Daily Chronicle
The 'Daily Chronicle' was a British newspaper that was published from 1872 to 1930 when it merged with the '' Daily News'' to become the ''News Chronicle''.
Foundation
The ''Daily Chronicle'' was developed by Edward Lloyd out of a local newspap ...
reported on 12 November 1912 that 5,000 Albanians had been slaughtered in Prizren.
General Božidar Janković forced the local Albanian leaders to sign a declaration of gratitude to
King Peter of Serbia for their 'liberation by the Serbian army.'
Following the capture of Prizren, most foreigners were barred from entering the city, for the
Montenegrin forces temporarily closed the city before full control was restored. A few visitors did make it through—including
Leon Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
, then working as a journalist for a Ukrainian newspaper and reports eventually emerged of widespread killings of Albanians. In a 1912 news report on the Serbian Army and the Paramilitary
Chetniks in Prizren, Trotsky stated "Among them were intellectuals, men of ideas, nationalist zealots, but these were isolated individuals. The rest were just thugs, robbers who had joined the army for the sake of loot... The Serbs in
Old Serbia
Old Serbia ( sr, Стара Србија, Stara Srbija) is a Serbian historiographical term that is used to describe the territory that according to the dominant school of Serbian historiography in the late 19th century formed the core of the ...
, in their national endeavour to correct data in the ethnographical statistics that are not quite favourable to them, are engaged quite simply in systematic extermination of the Muslim population".
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
traveller
Edith Durham
Edith Durham, (8 December 1863 – 15 November 1944) was a British artist, anthropologist and writer who is best known for her anthropological accounts of life in Albania in the early 20th century. Her advocacy on behalf of the Albanian cause a ...
and a
British military attaché were supposed to visit Prizren in October 1912, however the trip was prevented by the authorities. Durham stated " I asked wounded Montengrins
oldierswhy I was not allowed to go and they laughed and said 'We have not left a
nose
A nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which receive and expel air for respiration alongside the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next passes th ...
on an Albanian up there!' Not a pretty sight for a British officer." Eventually Durham visited a northern Albanian outpost in Kosovo where she met captured Ottoman soldiers whose
upper lip
The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...
s and noses had been cut off.
After the
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
of 1912, the Conference of Ambassadors in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
allowed the creation of the state of
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
and handed Kosovo to the
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...
, even though the population of Kosovo remained mostly Albanian.
In 1913, an official
Austro-Hungarian report recorded that 30,000 people had fled to Prizren from
Bosnia.
In January 1914 the Austro-Hungarian consul based in Prizren conducted a detailed report on living conditions in the city. The report stated that Kingdom of Serbia didn't keep its promise for equal treatment of Albanians and Muslims. Thirty of the thirty-two
Mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
s in Prizren had been turned into hay barns, ammunition stores and military barracks. The people of the city were heavily taxed with Muslims and Catholic Christians having to pay more tax than Orthodox Christians. The local government was predominately made up of former Serb Chetniks. The report also noted that the Serbs were also dissatisfied with the living conditions in Prizren.
World War I and World War II
![BK Prizren 1944](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/BK_Prizren_1944.jpg)
With the outbreak of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the Kingdom of Serbia was invaded by
Austro-Hungarian forces and later by Bulgarian forces. By 29 November 1915, Prizren fell to Bulgarian and Austro-Hungarian forces.
In April 1916, Austria-Hungary allowed the
Kingdom of Bulgaria
The Tsardom of Bulgaria ( bg, Царство България, translit=Tsarstvo Balgariya), also referred to as the Third Bulgarian Tsardom ( bg, Трето Българско Царство, translit=Treto Balgarsko Tsarstvo, links=no), someti ...
to occupy the city with the understanding that a significant amount of the city's population were
ethnic Bulgarians.
During this period there was a process of forced
Bulgarisation
Bulgarisation ( bg, българизация), also known as Bulgarianisation ( bg, побългаряване) is the spread of Bulgarian culture beyond the Bulgarian ethnic space.
History
A number of government policies are considered to be exa ...
with many Serbs being
interned
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
; Serbs suffered worse in Bulgarian occupied regions of Kosovo compared to Austrian occupied regions due to the Bulgarian defeat in the
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...
and due to the long-standing rivalry between the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches.
The majori ...
.
According to
Catholic Archbishop of Skopje,
Lazër Mjeda who was taking refuge in Prizren at the time, roughly 1,000 people had died of hunger in 1917. In October 1918 following the
fall of Macedonia to
Allied Forces, the Serbian Army along with the
French 11th colonial division and the
Italian 35th Division pushed the Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian forces out of the city.
By the end of 1918, the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
was formed. The Kingdom was renamed in 1929 to the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...
and Prizren became a part of its
Vardar Banovina
The Vardar Banovina, or Vardar Banate ( mk, Вардарска бановина, Vardarska banovina; sr, Вардарска бановина, translit=Vardarska Banovina; al, Banovina e Vardarit, italics=no), was a province ( banate) of the Kin ...
.
In
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and
Fascist Italy invaded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941 and by 9 April the Germans who had invaded Yugoslavia from the East with neighbouring Bulgaria as base were on the outskirts of Prizren and by 14 April Prizren had fallen to the Italians who had invaded Yugoslavia from the West in neighbouring Albania; there was however notable resistance in Prizren before Yugoslavia unconditionally surrendered on 19 April 1941.
Prizren along with most of Kosovo was annexed to the Italian
puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its o ...
of
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
. Soon after the Italian occupation, the
Albanian Fascist Party
The Albanian Fascist Party ( sq, Partia Fashiste Shqiptare, or PFSh) was a fascist organisation active during World War II which held nominal power in Albania from 1939, when the country was invaded by Italy, until 1943, when Italy capitulated to ...
established a blackshirt battalion in Prizren, but plans to establish two more battalions were dropped due to the lack of public support.
In 1943
Bedri Pejani
Bedri Pejani (or Bedri bej Ipeku; 10 October 1885 – 6 July 1946) was 20th century Albanian politician. During World War II, he was one of the founders of the Second League of Prizren.
Biography
Pejani was born in the city of İpek (now Pe ...
of the German
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
helped create the
Second League of Prizren
The Second League of Prizren was an organisation founded by Albanian officials in Kosovo in September 1943 to campaign for the ethnic unification of Albanians in Albania.
From 1918, Kosovo was integrated into the newly formed Kingdom of Yugosla ...
.
Federal Yugoslavia
![Eski Prizren](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Eski_Prizren.jpg)
In 1944, German forces were driven out of Kosovo by a combined Russian-Bulgarian force, and then the Communist government of Yugoslavia took control. In 1946, the town was formulated as a part of
Kosovo and Metohija which the Constitution defined the ''Autonomous Region of
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
and
Metohija
Metohija ( sr-Cyrl, Метохија, ) or Dukagjin ( sq, Rrafshi i Dukagjinit, ) is a large basin and the name of the region covering the southwestern part of Kosovo. The region covers 35% (3,891 km2) of Kosovo's total area. According ...
'' within the
People's Republic of Serbia
, life_span = 1944–1992
, status = Constituent state of Yugoslavia
, p1 = Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia
, flag_p1 = Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg
, p2 ...
, a constituent state of the
Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...
.
The Province was renamed to
Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo
The Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Socijalistička Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo, Социјалистичка Аутономна Покрајина Косово, separator=" / ", sq, Krahina Socialiste Autonome e Kosovë ...
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 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
. 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
Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of ...
put on trial in Prizren nine Kosovo Albanians accused of having been infiltrated into the country by the (hostile) Communist Albanian regime of
Enver Hoxha. The "Prizren trial" became something of a ''
cause célèbre
A cause célèbre (,''Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged'', 12th Edition, 2014. S.v. "cause célèbre". Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre ,''Random House Kernerman Webs ...
'' 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."
Kosovo War
![Destroyed Serbian houses in Prizren, Sep](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Destroyed_Serbian_houses_in_Prizren%2C_Sep._18%2C_2007.jpg)
The town of Prizren did not suffer much during the
Kosovo War
The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...
but its surrounding municipality was badly affected 1998–1999. Before the war, the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
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.
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
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
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,
Mamushë
sr, Мамуша / Mamuša tr, Mamuşa
, native_name =
, native_name_lang =
, other_name =
, settlement_type = Town and municipality
, image_flag = ...
, the region of
Gora, etc
Much of Potkaljaja, the old Serb neighbourhood along the hillside in the centre of town, was looted and burned to the ground following the Yugoslav Army withdrawal.
The war and its aftermath caused only a moderate amount of damage to the city compared to other cities in Kosovo. Serbian forces destroyed an important Albanian cultural monument in Prizren, the League of Prizren building, but the complex was rebuilt later on and now constitutes the Albanian League of Prizren Museum.
On 17 March 2004, during the
2004 unrest in Kosovo, Unrest in Kosovo some
Serb
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
cultural monuments in Prizren were damaged, burned or destroyed, including
Orthodox Serb
The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches.
The majori ...
churches, such as
Our Lady of Ljeviš from 1307 (
UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
),
the
Church of Holy Salvation,
Church of St. George
(the city's largest church), Church of St. George
(Runjevac), Church of St. Kyriaki,
Church of St. Nicolas (Tutić Church),
the
Monastery of The Holy Archangels
The Monastery of the Holy Archangels ( sr, Манастир Светих Архангела, Manastir Svetih Arhangela; al, Manastiri i Arkangjelit të Shenjtë) is a Serbian Orthodox monastery located in Prizren, Kosovo. The monastery was foun ...
,
as well as Prizren's Orthodox seminary of Saint Cyrillus and Methodius.
Also, during that riot, entire Serb quarter of Prizren, near the
Prizren Fortress
Prizren Fortress ( sq, Каlаја e Prizrenit; sr, Призренски град, ''Prizrenski grad'') is a hilltop fortification in Prizren in Kosovo. It overlooks the Prizren River which flows through Prizren, which developed around the fortr ...
, was completely destroyed, and all remaining Serb population was evicted from Prizren. Simultaneously Islamic cultural heritage and
Mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
s were destroyed and damaged.
21st century
The municipality of Prizren is still the most culturally and ethnically heterogeneous of Kosovo, retaining communities of
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry ...
,
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
, and
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the 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 complexe
Furthermore, Prizren's Turkish community is socially prominent and influential, and the
Turkish language
Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...
is widely spoken even by non-ethnic Turks.
Geography
Prizren is located on the foothills of the
Šar Mountains
The Šar Mountains (Serbian and mk, Шар Планина, Šar Planina, colloquially also ) or Sharr Mountains ( sq, Malet e Sharrit), form a mountain range in the Balkans that extends from Kosovo and the northwest of North Macedonia to north ...
( sq, Malet e Sharrit) in southern Kosovo on the banks of
Prizren River. Prizren Mnicipality
borders
A border is a geographical boundary.
Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film and television
* ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film
* ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
to the southweast and
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
to the southeast.
Climate
Prizren has a
Oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
(Cfb) as of the
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
with an average annual temperature of .
The warmest month in Prizren is August with an average temperature of , while the coldest month is January with an average temperature of .
Governance
Prizren is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
governed by a
mayor–council system. The mayor of Prizren with the members of the Prizren Municipal Council are responsible for the administration of Prizren Municipality. The municipality is encompassed in
Prizren District and consists of 76 adjacent settlements with Prizren as its seat.
International relations
Prizren is
twinned with
Amasya
Amasya () is a city in northern Turkey and is the capital of Amasya Province, in the Black Sea Region. It was called Amaseia or Amasia in antiquity."Amasya" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ...
,
Balıkesir
Balıkesir () is a city in Turkey and is the capital city of Balıkesir Province. Balıkesir is located in the Marmara region of Turkey and has a population of 338,936. Between 1341–1922, it was the capital of Karasi.
History
Close to ...
,
Berat
Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier.
Berat is located in th ...
,
Beykoz
Beykoz (), also known as Beicos and Beikos, is a district in Istanbul, Turkey at the northern end of the Bosphorus on the Anatolian side. The name is believed to be a combination of the words bey and ''kos'', which means "village" in Farsi. Bey ...
,
Bingen am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein () is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
The settlement's original name was Bingium, a Celtic word that may have meant "hole in the rock", a description of the shoal behind the ''Mäuseturm'', k ...
,
Herceg Novi
Herceg Novi ( cyrl, Херцег Нови, ) is a coastal town in Montenegro located at the Western entrance to the Bay of Kotor and at the foot of Mount Orjen. It is the administrative center of the Herceg Novi Municipality with around 33,000 in ...
,
Karşıyaka
Karşıyaka () is a district of İzmir Province in Turkey. The district extends for twelve kilometres along the northern and eastern coastline of the tip of the Gulf of İzmir. Its centre is at a distance of to the north from the traditional cen ...
,
Kavarna
Kavarna ( bg, Каварна ; ro, Cavarna), is a Black Sea coastal town and seaside resort in the Dobruja region of northeastern Bulgaria. It lies northeast of Varna, from Dobrich on the international road E87 and south of the border with R ...
,
Kyjov
Kyjov (; german: Gaya or Geyen) is a town in Hodonín District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 11,000 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone.
Ad ...
and
Osijek
Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
. Turkey has also a general consulate in Prizren.
Economy
For a long time the
economy of Kosovo
The economy of Kosovo is a transition economy. Kosovo was the poorest province of the former Yugoslavia with a modern economy established only after a series of federal development subsidies in the 1960s and the 1970s.
During the 1990s, the abolit ...
was based on the retail industry fueled by remittance income coming from a large number of immigrant communities in
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
. Private enterprise, mostly small business, is slowly emerging. Private businesses, like elsewhere in Kosovo, predominantly face difficulties because of a lack of structural capacity to grow. Education is poor, financial institutions basic, and regulatory institutions lack experience. Securing capital investment from foreign entities cannot emerge in such an environment. Due to financial hardships, several companies and factories have closed and others are reducing personnel. This general economic downturn contributes directly to the growing rate of
unemployment
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for Work (human activity), w ...
and
poverty
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
, making the economic viability in the region more tenuous.
Many restaurants, private retail stores, and service-related businesses operate out of small shops. Larger grocery and department stores have recently opened. In town, there are eight sizeable markets, including three produce markets, one car market, one cattle market, and three personal hygiene and houseware markets. There is an abundance of
kiosks selling small goods. However, reducing international presence and repatriation of
refugees
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution. and
internally displaced person
An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee.
...
s is expected to further strain the local economy. Market saturation, high unemployment, and a reduction of financial remittances from abroad are negative economic indicators.
There are three agricultural co-operatives in three villages. Most livestock breeding and agricultural production are private, informal, and small-scale. There are nine operational banks with branches in Prizren,
ProCredit Bank
The ProCredit Bank Deutschland is a bank based in Frankfurt am Main. It is the youngest bank of the ProCredit Holding, which operates primarily in Southeastern and Eastern Europe as well as in South America and wants to make a contribution to sus ...
, the
Raiffeisen Bank Raiffeisenbank refers to cooperative banks in Europe that are rooted in the early credit unions of Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen. The name is found in:
* Raiffeisen Bankengruppe (Austria), Austrian group of cooperative banks.
** Raiffeisen Zentralba ...
, the
NLB Bank,
TEB Bank, Banka për Biznes (Bank for Business),
İşbank
İşbank, officially Türkiye İş Bankası, is a commercial bank in Turkey. It was the largest private bank in the country by the size of total assets, total loans, total deposits and equity, as well as by the number of branches and employees a ...
,
Banka Kombëtare Tregtare
Banka Kombëtare Tregtare (BKT) is the largest and oldest operating commercial bank in Albania.
History
Early establishments
The first branch of Banka Kombëtare Tregtare was established in Durrës on 29 November 1925, in the historical buil ...
(National Trade Bank), Iutecredit, and the Payment and Banking Authority of Kosovo (BPK).
Infrastructure
All the main roads connecting the major villages with the urban centre are asphalted. The water supply is functional in Prizren town and in approximately 30 villages. There is no sewage system in the villages. Power supply is still a problem, especially during the winter and in the villages.
Education
There are 48 primary schools with 28,205 pupils and 1,599 teachers; 6 secondary schools with 9,608 students and 503 teachers; kindergartens are privately run. There is also a public university in Prizren, offering lectures in Albanian, Bosnian, and Turkish.
(source: municipal directorate of education and science).
Health
The primary health care system includes 14 municipal family health centres and 26 health houses. The primary health sector has 475 employees, including doctors, nurses and support staff, 264 female and 211 male. Regional hospital in Prizren offers services to approximately 250,000 residents. The hospital employs 778 workers, including 155 doctors, and is equipped with emergency and intensive care units.
Demography
As of the
Kosovo Agency of Statistics
Kosovo Agency of Statistics ( sq, Agjencia e Statistikave të Kosovës, sr, Agencija za statistiku Kosova, script=Latn) is the national statistics bureau of Kosovo.
It was officially created in 1948, but restarted working as an independent agen ...
(KAS) estimate from the 2011 census, there were 177,781 people residing in Prizren Municipality, representing the
second most populous city and
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of Kosovo.
Its urban population was approximately 94,500, while the rural population was around 83,000.
With a population density of 283,5 people per square kilometre, Prizren is among the most densely populated municipalities of Kosovo.
In terms of ethnicity, as of the 2011 census, Prizren Municipality was 82%
Albanian, 9.50%
Bosniak, 5.11%
Turkish, 1.63%
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
, 0.76%
Ashkali, 0.37%
Gorani, 0.13%
Serbian, 0.09
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
and 0.34% of unknown ethnicity.
By religion, there were 170,640 (95.98%)
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
, 5,999 (3.37%)
Roman Catholics
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, 250 (0.14%)
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
, 807 (0.45%) of other religions and 85 (0.05%)
irreligious
Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and ant ...
.
By language, 82.68% of the population spoke
Albanian as their first language. Other spoken languages include
Bosnian (10.16%),
Turkish (5.78%),
Romani
Romani may refer to:
Ethnicities
* Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia
** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule
* Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...
(0.55%),
Serbian (0.21%) and other languages (0.62%).
Besides the two official languages of Kosovo,
Albanian and
Serbian,
Bosnian and
Turkish are also the official languages of Prizren Municipality.
The presence of
Vlach
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...
villages in the vicinity of Prizren is attested in 1198-1199 by a charter of Stephan Nemanja. Madgearu argues that the series of Ottoman defters from 1455 onward showing the "ethnic mosaic" of Serb and Albanian villages in Kosovo shows that Prizren already had significant Albanian Muslim populations. Since an early period in its rapid development as an Ottoman city, Prizren had much more Muslims than Catholic or Orthodox inhabitants as in the pre-Ottoman period. This is highlighted in primary accounts of the 16th and early 17th century. Catholic bishop
Pjetër Mazreku
Pjetër Mazreku (1584–16??) ( it, Pietro Massarecchi, lat, Petrus Massarecchius) was an Albanian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He wrote documents on the state of Christians in the Ottoman Empire, and authored an Albanian etymologi ...
noted in 1624 that the Catholics of Prizren were 200, the Serbs (Orthodox) 600, and Muslims, almost all of whom were Albanians, numbered 12,000.
Due to urban development in the Ottoman period, with the building of mosques and other Islamic buildings, Prizren received an Islamic urban character in the 16th century. 227 of 246 workshops of Prizren were run by Muslims in 1571.
Catholic archbishop
Marino Bizzi
Marino Bizzi (Latin name: Marinus Bizzius; 1570–1624) was a Venetian patrician in Dalmatia, and a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church as Archbishop of Antivari.
Life
Bizzi was born on the island of Rab, part of the Republic of Venice (in pres ...
reported in 1610 that Prizren had 8,600 houses, out of which many were Orthodox (who had two churches), and only 30 were Catholic (who had one church). The Orthodox far outnumbered the Catholics.
Catholic archbishop
Pjetër Mazreku
Pjetër Mazreku (1584–16??) ( it, Pietro Massarecchi, lat, Petrus Massarecchius) was an Albanian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He wrote documents on the state of Christians in the Ottoman Empire, and authored an Albanian etymologi ...
reported in 1624 that the town was inhabited by 12,000 "Turks" (Muslims) of which most spoke Albanian, and that there were 600 Serbs (Orthodox Christians) and maybe 200 Catholic Albanians.
In 1857, Russian Slavist Alexander Hilferding's publications place the Muslim families at 3,000, the Orthodox ones at 900 and the Catholics at around 100 families. In the Ottoman census of 1876, it had 43,922 inhabitants.
Culture
![Dokufest 13679961 1218187244920246 7724540090970684266 o](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Dokufest_13679961_1218187244920246_7724540090970684266_o.jpg)
Regarded as the historical capital of Kosovo, Prizren has been home to many different religions and cultures for centuries, shaping the cultural heritage of the city.
Prizren is also considered as a museum city with many mosques, churches and old buildings of national importance. The
Fortress of Prizren located above the
Prizren River has seen habitation and use throughout different periods since the Bronze Age. Among the artifacts of the Middle Ages are the
Sinan Pasha Mosque,
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Cathedral,
Holy Saviour Church,
Katip Sinan Qelebi Mosque,
Holy Archangels Monastery,
St. Nicholas Church,
Muderiz Ali Effendi Mosque and the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
Our Lady of Ljeviš.
The annual
Dokufest International Film Festival held in Prizren is considered among the largest publicly attended film festival in the Balkans. Several art and music festivals and conferences are held in the city, including the
40BunarFest and
NGOM Fest
NGOM Fest is a music festival established in Prizren, Kosovo. The word "Ngom" is written in ''Gheg Albanian'' dialect and it means "Listen to me" whereas the word "Fest" represents the abbreviation of the word "Festival". This Festival originates ...
, with the main objectives to promote artists and to connect the different ethnic groups in the surrounding region.
Sports
The city has one sports club known as
KF Liria
Klubi Futbollistik Liria Prizren (), commonly known as Liria, is a professional Football team, football club based in Prizren, Kosovo. The club plays in the First Football League of Kosovo, which is the second tier of football in the country. The ...
based in Prizren near
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
. They currently play in the
Football Superleague of Kosovo
The Football Superleague of Kosovo ( sq, Superliga e Futbollit të Kosovës), also known as the ALBI MALL Superleague of Kosovo ( sq, ALBI MALL Superliga e Kosovës) for sponsorship reasons with Albi Mall, is the top level of the Kosovar football ...
. The city is also home to one of the best basketball teams in Kosovo,
K.B Bashkimi. They are currently playing in the top professional men's basketball league in Kosovo,
Kosovo Basketball Superleague
The Kosovo Basketball Superleague ( Albanian: Superliga e Kosovës në Basketboll) and known as the ArtMotion Superliga due to sponsorship reasons is the top men's professional basketball league in Kosovo. Basketball Superleague was founded in 199 ...
See also
*
List of people from Prizren
The following are notable people who were either born, raised or have lived for a significant period of time in Prizren.
List
* Almen Abdi, Swiss international football player
* Eshref Ademaj, mathematician and education activist
* Jake A ...
*
List of monuments in Prizren
Prizren along with its historical values contributes to not only the city itself, but the entire territory of Kosovo.
Numerous data that have remained from the past suggest that this area has been inhabited since ancient times. Among the most valu ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
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External links
Municipality of Prizrenfficial Website
{{Authority control
Prizren
)
, settlement_type = Municipality and city
, image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg
, imagesize = 290px
, image_caption = View of Prizren
, image_alt = View of Prizren
, image_flag ...
Prizren
)
, settlement_type = Municipality and city
, image_skyline = Prizren Collage.jpg
, imagesize = 290px
, image_caption = View of Prizren
, image_alt = View of Prizren
, image_flag ...
Populated places in Prizren District
Cities in ancient Illyria
Gegëri
Illyrian Kosovo
Mass murder in 1912
Roman towns and cities in Kosovo
Former capitals of Serbia