The Llapi River is a river in the north-eastern part of

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 long right tributary to the Sitnica river, it is the main river in the Llap (region) depression.

Etymology

The etymology of the river's name is derived from a pre-Slavic form ''Alb'' that underwent linguistic metathesis within Slavic giving the final form as ''Lab''. The name of the river was first used in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, but has been preserved in the New Age. Many scholars take the hydronym Lab as ancient and derive it from an alb-, from which lab-, alp- could come. The phonetic form for Albanian speakers is Llap. In the Middle Ages, the form Lapia is found.

History

Near its origin are the remains of one of the medieval palaces of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

n King Milutin (1282-1321) called Vrhlab. Ottoman writer Evliya Celebi mentioned the Llapi river as having "its source in Albania" and joining other rivers before flowing into the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

, during one of his travels to Kosovo in the 1660s.

Overview

The Llapi River originates in the northernmost village of Podujevë, Murgull, with a secondary source in the village of Pollatë. After descending from the mountains, it flows southward through Podujevë. Close to Pristina and Obiliq, the river turns westwards of its origin and joins the Sitnica river, in the village of Lumadh. The width of the river changes due to the dynamics of rivers, it is around 9–12 meters at the hydrometric point in Lluzhan and it has a depth up to , that varies based on the season and the location.

Notes

References

External links