Skenderaj ( sq-definite, Skënderaj or ''Skënderaji'') or Srbica ( sr-Cyrl, Србица) is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
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 ...
located in the
Mitrovica District 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 ...
. According to the 2011 census, the town of Skënderaj has 9,372 inhabitants, while the municipality has 50,858 inhabitants.
It is the largest city in the
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 ...
geographical region of Kosovo.
[OSCE Municipal Profile, April 2008](_blank)
/ref> 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
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 wa ...
began in 1998, and to which the most damage was done.
Geography
The settlement is by the Klina river, in the Klina field (''Klinsko polje''). It is the main settlement of the 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 ...
region. The Klina river belongs to the Metohija region, while the settlement morphologically and hydrologically gravitates towards the 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 ...
region.
The municipality covers an area of , including the town of Skenderaj and 51 villages.
History
The village of Runik
Runik (definite Albanian: ''Runiku'') is a village in the Skenderaj municipality of Kosovo. It is located in the Drenica region and has 1,585 inhabitants as of 2011. The village has a football club, KF Përparimi Runik. Runik is the site of an im ...
, northwest of Skenderaj, is one of the most prominent Neolithic sites in Kosovo
This is a description of Neolithic sites in Kosovo. The warm, humid climate of the Holocene which came soon after the ice melting of the last glacial period brought changes in nature which were reflected in humans, flora and fauna. This climatic s ...
to date, contains artefacts from the Starcevo and Vinca culture
''Vinca'' (; Latin: ''vincire'' "to bind, fetter") is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apocynaceae, native to Europe, northwest Africa and southwest Asia. The English name periwinkle is shared with the related genus ''Catharanthus'' (an ...
s. 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 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. There are ruins of a church dating to the 14th century in southern Leqinë. The Church of St. Nicholas was built in 1436, in Banjë, as the endowment of Serbian magnate Rodop. The Devič monastery was built in Llausha near Skënderaj in the 15th century, dedicated to the local monk, St. Joanikije (d. 1430). 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. A 16th-century church and cemetery is located in Runik.
In the early 20th century Albanian resistance began with the Kachak
Kachaks ( sq, kaçak, sr, качаци / ''kačaci'') is a term used for the Albanian bandits active in the late 19th and early 20th century in northern Albania, Montenegro, Kosovo and Macedonia, and later as a term for the militias of Albania ...
movement led by Azem Bejta and his wife Shote Galica
Shote Galica (10 November 1895 – 1 July 1927), born as Qerime Radisheva, was a Kachak Albanian insurgent. She has been declared a People's Heroine of Albania.
Biography
She was born in Radisheve village of Drenica region in Kosovo which wa ...
, who fought against Bulgarian, Austro-Hungarian and Yugoslav forces. At the end of World War II in 1944, the leader of the Drenica Brigade Shaban Polluzha
Shaban Mustafë Kastrati (1871 – 21 February 1945), known as Shaban Polluzha, was a Kosovo Albanian military leader active in Drenica during World War II. He was a collaborationist, serving in the Royal Albanian gendarmerie and as a commander of ...
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.
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.
Sport
Skënderaj is home of the Kosovar Superliga football club KF Drenica
KF Drenica ( sq, Klubi Futbollistik Drenica), commonly known as Drenica is a professional football club based in Skënderaj, Kosovo. The club plays in the Football Superleague of Kosovo, which is the top tier of football in the country.
Players C ...
, which plays their home games in the Bajram Aliu Stadium. Skënderaj is also home of the Kosovar Superliga volleyball club KV Skenderaj women's and KV Drenica men's.
Cultural heritage
*Devič
The Devič Monastery ( sr, Манастир Девич, Manastir Devič; sq, Manastiri i Deviçit) is a Serbian Orthodox abbey in Kosovo. It was built in 1434 and is dedicated to St Joanikije of Devič. Devič was declared Monument of Culture o ...
, Serbian Orthodox abbey
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:
Notable people
* Halil Xani, poet and writer, born in Skenderaj
* Adem Jashari
Adem Jashari (born Fazli Jashari; 28 November 1955 – 7 March 1998) was one of the founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), a Kosovo Albanian separatist militia which fought for the secession of Kosovo from the Federal Republic of Yu ...
, Kosovo Liberation Army leader, born in Prekaz
* Hashim Thaçi
Hashim Thaçi (; born 24 April 1968) is a Kosovar Albanian politician who was the president of Kosovo from April 2016 until his resignation on 5 November 2020 to face a war crimes tribunal. He was the first prime minister of Kosovo and the For ...
, President of Kosovo
The president of the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Presidenti i Republikës së Kosovës, ), is the head of state and chief representative of the de facto Republic of Kosovo in the country and abroad.
The president is elected indirectly, by the Assem ...
(2016–present)
* Hamëz Jashari, co-founder of KLA and brother of Adem Jashari
Adem Jashari (born Fazli Jashari; 28 November 1955 – 7 March 1998) was one of the founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), a Kosovo Albanian separatist militia which fought for the secession of Kosovo from the Federal Republic of Yu ...
* Hasan Prishtina
Hasan bey Prishtina ( tr, Priştineli Hasan Bey, Hasan Bey Priştine and ''Vulçitrnli Hasan Bey''), originally known as Hasan Berisha (27 September 1873 – 13 August 1933), was an Ottoman, later Albanian politician, who served as the 8th Prim ...
, political leader of Albanian National Movement
* Sylejman Selimi, comrade of Jashari
* Shote Galica
Shote Galica (10 November 1895 – 1 July 1927), born as Qerime Radisheva, was a Kachak Albanian insurgent. She has been declared a People's Heroine of Albania.
Biography
She was born in Radisheve village of Drenica region in Kosovo which wa ...
, Kachak leader
* Përparim Hetemaj
Përparim Hetemaj (born 12 December 1986) is a Finnish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Veikkausliiga club HJK. Born in modern-day Kosovo, Hetemaj arrived in Finland when he was 6 years old and played for HJK's youth teams ...
, footballer
* Mehmet Hetemaj
Mehmet Hetemaj (born 8 December 1987) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is of Kosovar Albanian descent and has represented both Finland national team and Kosovo national football team, but now ...
, footballer
* Ahmet Delia, activist of 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 ...
See also
*Municipalities of Kosovo
A municipality ( sq, komuna, sr, / ) is the basic administrative division in Kosovo and constitutes the only level of power in local governance. There are 38 municipalities in Kosovo; 27 of which have an Albanian ethnic majority, 10 Serb and 1 ...
*Cities and towns in Kosovo
This is a list of cities and towns in the Kosovo in alphabetical order categorised by municipality or district, according to the criteria used by the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS). Kosovo's population is distributed in 1,467 settlements with ...
*Populated places in Kosovo
The following is a list of populated places in Kosovo, arranged by Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality.http://www.unmikonline.org/regulations/unmikgazette/02english/E2004ads/ADE2004_23_annex.pdf
Deçan (Dečani)
Gjakovë (Ðakovica)
Dren ...
References and Notes
Sources
*
*
*
External links
Municipality of Skenderaj
OSCE Profile of Skenderaj
SOK Kosovo and its population
{{Coord, 42, 44, 48, N, 20, 47, 19, E, type:city(50000)_region:RS-KM, display=title
Cities in Kosovo
Municipalities of Kosovo
Populated places in the District of Mitrovica
Drenica