Rahovec ( sq-definite, Rahoveci) or Orahovac (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, t ...

: Ораховац) 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 District of Prizren in western

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 Rahovec has 15,892 inhabitants, while the municipality has 56,208 inhabitants.

Name

The Serbian name of the town, ''Orahovac'', is derived from the Serbian '' orah'', meaning "

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

". The Albanian name ''Rahovec'' comes from an Albanised pronunciation of ''Orahovac''. Ernst Eichler considers that the toponym delivers from Albanian term ''rrah'', which delivers from Illyrian.

Geography and population

The municipality covers an area of approximately and contains 35 villages. In 2014 the town had a total population of 23,200 and the population of the municipality was 58,214.Municipal Profile: Rahovec/Orahovac
. Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, May 2006. Accessed October 2014. In 2011 the municipality had a total population of 56,208.Municipal Profile: Rahovec/Orahovac
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, March 2014. Accessed October 2014.

Demographics

According to the last official census done in 2011, the municipality of Orahovac has 56,208 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Language

The town is known for a local dialect, Rahovec dialect (''ravëqki''; ''rahovecianshe'', ''gjuha e Rahovecit'') which is a mixture of Albanian, Serbian, Turkish and Bulgarian languages. Its use has declined rapidly after 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 ...

, with Albanian becoming the predominant language.

Notable people

Shkëlzen Maliqi Shkëlzen Maliqi (born 26 October 1947) is a Kosovar philosopher, art critic, political analyst and intellectual. During the early 1990s, Shkelzen was also directly involved in politics. He was one of the founders of the Social Democratic Party ...

(born 1947), Kosovo Albanian former politician, born in Rahovec . *

Ajet Shehu Ajet Shehu (born 31 December 1990) is an English retired footballer who played as a centre-back. Career Early career Shehu was born in Rahovec, modern day Kosovo, but moved to England with his family as a child to escape the conflicts in th ...

(born 1990), English footballer, born in Rahovec . *

Ukshin Hoti Ukshin Hoti was a Kosovo Albanian philosopher and activist. Hoti was a professor of international law and later philosophy at the University of Pristina and founder of UNIKOMB, a political party of Kosovo. Since 1982 he had been arrested several ...

(1943–1999), Kosovo Albanian activist, politician, and philosopher, born in Krusha e Madhe. *

Ali Sokoli Ali Sokol (born 8 May 1921 in Rahovec, Kosovo, died 23 September 1974) was an Albanian pulmonologist . Early life Ali Sokol was born into an agricultural family. He was the third of four children of father and mother Hatixhes Solomon. It is un ...

(1921–1974), Yugoslav physician, born in Rahovec . *

Jovan Grković-Gapon Jovan Grković ( sr-cyr, Јован Грковић; 1879 – 9 October 1912), nicknamed Gapon (Гапон) was a former Serbian Orthodox monk who joined the Serb guerrilla (chetniks) in the Macedonian Struggle (1902–1912). Life Grković was bo ...

(1879–1912), Serbian Chetnik, born in Rahovec . *

Lazar Kujundžić Lazar Kujundžić-Klempa ( sr-cyr, Лазар Кујунџић: 1880 – May 25, 1905) was a Serbian Chetnik commander (vojvoda) who was active in Old Serbia and Macedonia. Biography He was born in Orahovac, near Prizren. He graduated fro ...

(1880–1905), Serbian Chetnik commander, born in Rahovec . * Kida (born 1997), Kosovo Albanian female singer * Xhevdet Bajraj (born 1960), poet and screenwriter who resided in Mexico.

Notes

References

* Marijana Milosavljević ( NIN, 15 December 2005)

External links

Rahoveci24.com

Rahoveci.NET

BBC article concerning March 2004 riots

{{Authority control Cities in Kosovo