Medveđa

Medveđa ( sr-Cyrl, Медвеђа, ; , ) is a town and municipality located in the Jablanica District of southern Serbia. As of the 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 6,360, while the town has a population of 2,993.

Etymology

The name is derived from the Serbian word ''medved'' (медвед), "bear", hence meaning "the place of the bears".

History

During the Roman period, there was a town (''mansia'') with the name Idimum located in the cadastral area of the modern town. Architectural debris dating to the 4th century AD lay at various locations of the town, as it was a transitory zone of Upper Moesia; travel and postal stations are among the finds.

Toponyms such as ''Arbanaška'' and ''Đjake'' shows an Albanian presence in the Toplica and Southern Morava regions (located north-east of contemporary Kosovo) before the expulsion of Albanians during 1877–1878 period.
The rural parts of Jablanica valley and adjoining semi-mountainous interior was inhabited by compact Muslim Albanian population while Serbs in those areas lived near the river mouths and mountain slopes and both peoples inhabited other regions of the South Morava river basin.Luković, Miloš (2011).
Development of the Modern Serbian state and abolishment of Ottoman Agrarian relations in the 19th century
. ''Český lid''. 98. (3): 298. "During the second war (December 1877 — January 1878) the Muslim population fled towns (Vranya (Vranje), Leskovac, Ürgüp (Prokuplje), Niş (Niš), Şehirköy (Pirot), etc.) as well as rural settlements where they comprised ethnically compact communities (certain parts of Toplica, Jablanica, Pusta Reka, Masurica and other regions in the South Morava River basin). At the end of the war these Muslim refugees ended up in the region of Kosovo and Metohija, in the territory of the Ottoman Empire, following the demarcation of the new border with the Principality of Serbia. 8 8On Muslim refugees (''muhaciri'') from the regions of southeast Serbia, who relocated in Macedonia and Kosovo, see Trifunovski 1978, Radovanovič 2000." As the wider Jabllanica region, Medveđa also had an Albanian majority. These Albanians were expelled by Serbian forcesUka, Sabit (2004). ''Gjurmë mbi shqiptarët e Sanxhakut të Nishit deri më 1912 races on Albanians of the Sanjak of Nish up to 1912'. Verana. p. 155. . "Në kohët e sotme fshatra të Jabllanicës, të banuara kryesisht me shqiptare, janë këto: Tupalla, Kapiti, Gërbavci, Sfirca, Llapashtica e Epërrne. Ndërkaq, fshatra me popullsi te përzier me shqiptar, malazezë dhe serbë, jane këto: Stara Banja, Ramabanja, Banja e Sjarinës, Gjylekreshta (Gjylekari), Sijarina dhe qendra komunale Medvegja. Dy familje shqiptare ndeshen edhe në Iagjen e Marovicës, e quajtur Sinanovë, si dhe disa familje në vetë qendrën e Leskovcit. Vllasa është zyrtarisht lagje e fshatit Gërbavc, Dediqi, është lagje e Medvegjes dhe Dukati, lagje e Sijarinës. Në popull konsiderohen edhe si vendbanime të veçanta. Kështu qendron gjendja demografike e trevës në fjalë, përndryshe para Luftës se Dytë Botërore Sijarina dhe Gjylekari ishin fshatra me populisi të perzier, bile në këtë te fundit ishin shumë familje serbe, kurse tani shumicën e përbëjnë shqiptarët. [In contemporary times, villages in the Jablanica area, inhabited mainly by Albanians, are these: Tupale, Kapiti, Grbavce, Svirca, Gornje Lapaštica. Meanwhile, the mixed villages populated by Albanians, Montenegrins and Serbs, are these: Stara Banja, Ravna Banja, Sjarinska Banja, Đulekrešta (Đulekari) Sijarina and the municipal center Medveđa. Two Albanian families are also encountered in the neighborhood of Marovica called Sinanovo, and some families in the center of Leskovac. Vllasa is formally a neighborhood of the village Grbavce, Dedići is a neighborhood of Medveđa and Dukati, a neighborhood of Sijarina. So this is the demographic situation in question that remains, somewhat different before World War II as Sijarina and Đulekari were villages with mixed populations, even in this latter settlement were many Serb families, and now the majority is made up of Albanians.]"Blumi, Isa (2013).
Ottoman refugees, 1878–1939: migration in a post-imperial world
'. A&C Black. p.50. . "As these Niš refugees waited for acknowledgment from locals, they took measures to ensure that they were properly accommodated by often confiscating food stored in towns. They also simply appropriated lands and began to build shelter on them. A number of cases also point to banditry in the form of livestock raiding and "illegal" hunting in communal forests, all parts of refugees’ repertoire... At this early stage of the crisis, such actions overwhelmed the Ottoman state, with the institution least capable of addressing these issues being the newly created Muhacirin Müdüriyeti... Ignored in the scholarship, these acts of survival by desperate refugees constituted a serious threat to the established Kosovar communities. The leaders of these communities thus spent considerable efforts lobbying the Sultan to do something about the refugees. While these Niš muhacir would in some ways integrate into the larger regional context, as evidenced later, they, and a number of other Albanian-speaking refugees streaming in for the next 20 years from Montenegro and Serbia, constituted a strong opposition block to the Sultan’s rule."; p.53. "One can observe that in strategically important areas, the new Serbian state purposefully left the old Ottoman laws intact. More important, when the state wished to enforce its authority, officials felt it necessary to seek the assistance of those with some experience, using the old Ottoman administrative codes to assist judges make rulings. There still remained, however, the problem of the region being largely depopulated as a consequence of the wars... Belgrade needed these people, mostly the landowners of the productive farmlands surrounding these towns, back. In subsequent attempts to lure these economically vital people back, while paying lip-service to the nationalist calls for "purification," Belgrade officials adopted a compromise position that satisfied both economic rationalists who argued that Serbia needed these people and those who wanted to separate "Albanians" from "Serbs." Instead of returning to their "mixed" villages and towns of the previous Ottoman era, these "Albanians," "Pomoks," and "Turks" were encouraged to move into concentrated clusters of villages in Masurica, and Gornja Jablanica that the Serbian state set up for them. For this "repatriation" to work, however, authorities needed the cooperation of local leaders to help persuade members of their community who were refugees in Ottoman territories to "return." In this regard, the collaboration between Shahid Pasha and the Serbian regime stands out. An Albanian who commanded the Sofia barracks during the war, Shahid Pasha negotiated directly with the future king of Serbia, Prince Milan Obrenović, to secure the safety of those returnees who would settle in the many villages of Gornja Jablanica. To help facilitate such collaborative ventures, laws were needed that would guarantee the safety of these communities likely to be targeted by the rising nationalist elements infiltrating the Serbian army at the time. Indeed, throughout the 1880s, efforts were made to regulate the interaction between exiled Muslim landowners and those local and newly immigrant farmers working their lands. Furthermore, laws passed in early 1880 began a process of managing the resettlement of the region that accommodated those refugees who came from Austrian-controlled Herzegovina and from Bulgaria. Cooperation, in other words, was the preferred form of exchange within the borderland, not violent confrontation." in a way that today would be characterized as ethnic cleansing. Due to depopulation and economic considerations some small numbers of Albanians were allowed to stay and return though not to their previous settlements and instead were designated concentrated village clusters in the Toplica, Masurica and Jablanica areas. Of those only in the Jablanica valley centered around the town of Medveđa have small numbers of Albanians and their descendants remained. This was due to a local Ottoman Albanian commander Sahit Pasha from the Jablanica area negotiating on good terms with Prince Milan and thereby guaranteeing their presence.

Yugoslavia (1918–92)

Already in 1900, a group of prominent residents of the Upper Jablanica region officially applied to the government for Medveđa to be declared a town (''varoš''). They also asked for the settlement to be renamed to Dubočica. Only after the fourth try by the local population, Medveđa was declared ''varošica'' ("small town") by King Alexander I of Yugoslavia on 31 December 1921.

From 1945 until 1992, the municipality of Medveđa was part of SFR Yugoslavia.

Breakup of Yugoslavia (1991–99)

In 1992, the Albanians in the area organized a referendum in which they voted that Medveđa, Preševo and Bujanovac should join the self-declared assembly of the Republic of Kosova. However, no major events happened until the end of the 1990s.

Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, and nearby Kosovo War which lasted until 1999, between 1999 and 2001, an ethnic Albanian paramilitary separatist organization, the UÇPMB, raised an armed insurgency in the Preševo Valley, in the region mostly inhabited by Albanians, with a goal to occupy these three municipalities from Serbia and join them to the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosova. The insurgency was less present in Medveđa than in other two municipalities, due to a small number of ethnic Albanians and minor importance.

Western countries condemned the attacks and described it as the "extremism" and use of "illegal terrorist actions" by the group. Following the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević, the new Serbian government suppressed the violence by 2001 and defeated the separatists. NATO troops also helped the Serbian government by ensuring that the rebels do not import the conflicts back into Kosovo. Thereafter, the situation has stabilized even though large number of forces exist in this small municipality.

In 2009, Serbia opened a military base Cepotina 5 kilometers south of Bujanovac, to further stabilize the area.

Modern

Today, Medveđa is located in the Jablanica District of southern Serbia. On 26 November 2017, the President of Albania Ilir Meta made a historical visit to Medveđa, municipality with Albanian ethnic minority.

Settlements

According to the 2011 census results, the municipality of Medveđa has a population of 7,438 inhabitants. It saw a great depopulation in the past 50 years, having nearly 25,000 inhabitants in 1961 and 7,400 fifty years later. Around 43.5% of inhabitants live in urban areas. As of the 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 6,360 inhabitants.

Aside from the town of Medveđa, the municipality includes the following settlements:

* Bogunovac
* Borovac
* Čokotin
* Crni Vrh
* Donji Bučumet
* Donji Gajtan
* Đulekare
* Gazdare
* Gornja Lapaštica
* Gornji Bučumet
* Gornji Gajtan
* Grbavce
* Gubavce
* Gurgutovo
* Kapit
* Lece
* Maćedonce
* Maćedonce (Retkocersko)
* Mala Braina
* Marovac
* Medevce
* Mrkonje
* Negosavlje
* Petrilje
* Poroštica
* Pusto Šilovo
* Ravna Banja
* Retkocer
* Rujkovac
* Sijarina
* Sijarinska Banja
* Sponce
* Srednji Bučumet
* Stara Banja
* Stubla
* Svirce
* Tulare
* Tupale
* Varadin
* Velika Braina
* Vrapce

Demographics

Ethnic groups

The majority of the municipality's population are Serbs, numbering more than 75%. Other ethnic groups include Albanians who numbered 32% in 1981 and 26.2% in the 2002 census. In 2011 they numbered only 7.1% as they mostly boycotted the census. The 2022 census showed that 14.2% of the municipality's population are Albanians.

There are other small minorities of Montenegrins and Roma people. The ethnic composition of the municipality:

Economy

The municipality of Medveđa is one of the least developed municipalities in Serbia. It has many natural advantages for tourism development, as it is in the vicinity of a spa resort with dozens of mineral springs in Sijarinska Banja, Stara Banja and Tulare.

On its territory there are mineral resources for mining, semi-precious stones and marble-onyx. The most promising branch of industry is mining, having mine and flotation "Lece", within the ''Group Farmakom''. It has also solid prospects for development in agriculture and industries such as livestock (sheep, goats, cows) and fruit (plums, pears, apples, quince), also the timber industry and processing.

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2022):

Politics

Seats in the municipality parliament won in the 2012 local elections:
* Group of Citizens "For North Jablanica" (16)
* Party for Democratic Action (6)
* Democratic Party (6)
* United Regions of Serbia (4)
* Serbian Progressive Party (3)

Gallery

File:Spomenik u Medvedji.jpg, ''Monument in town center''
File:Medvedja.jpg, ''Town streets''
File:Svirca-Medvegjë(2017).jpg, '' Svirce in 2017''
File:Svirca foto.jpg, ''Albanian language school and police station in Svirce''
File:Xhamia-Sijarine(2018).jpg, ''Mosque of Sijarina, built around 1880's''

Notable people

* Dušan Spasojević, deceased head of the Zemun clan
* Idriz Ajeti, historian
* Agim Ajdarević, football player
* Veli Dedi Albanian General

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medveda

Populated places in Jablanica District
Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia
Albanian communities in Serbia