Zvečan ( sr-Cyrl, Звечан) or Zveçan ( sq-definite, Zveçani) is a town and municipality located in the Mitrovica District in

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 ...

. As of 2015, it has a population of 16,650 inhabitants. It covers an area of , and consists of a town and 35 villages. Zvečan is a part of North Kosovo, a region with an ethnic Serb majority. According to the 2013 Brussels Agreement, the municipality should become a part of the

Community of Serb Municipalities The Community of Serb Municipalities (, ZSO; , AKS) is a planned inter-municipal association of Serbs in Kosovo, ethnic Serb majority Municipalities of Kosovo, municipalities in Kosovo. The proposal for the association came as a result of the 20 ...

once they are established.

History

The town of Zvečan is located near Mitrovica. It was mentioned for the first time in connection with the border clashes between the

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

and Byzantines between 1091 and 1094. There is also an inscription that Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja, after the victory over the Byzantines in 1170, ordered that a prayer for the successful outcome of the battle be held in the church of St George at Zvečan. In the 13th and 14th centuries Zvečan was one of the royal residences of the Serbian court. Queen Theodora died there in December 1322, and nine years later her husband, Stefan Uroš III was imprisoned and strangled there. First, the Musić, then the

Vojinović noble family The Vojinović family (Serbian Cyrillic: Војиновић, Vojinovići / Војиновићи) was a medieval Serbian noble family that played an important role in the Serbian Empire during the 14th century. Following the death of Emperor Du ...

, held the fortified city and region during the

Serbian Empire The Serbian Empire ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српско царство, Srpsko carstvo, separator=" / ", ) was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expande ...

of Uroš V (r. 1355–1371). As imperial power collapsed Zvečan was in a disputed zone being held by nobleman Miloš Pović in 1370 but claimed by Nikola Altomanović. In 1389, after the Battle of Kosovo, it was integrated into the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and later became part of the Sanjak of Novi Pazar. On 26 May 2023,

Kosovo Police The Kosovo Police (Albanian language, Albanian: ''Policia e'' ''Kosovës'') is the national police, policing law enforcement agency of Kosovo. It was established in 1999 and took its current form with the 2008 police law. It consists of five dep ...

took control of the municipal buildings of four Serb majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo. In September 2023, Banjska attack was carried by Serb militants against Kosovo Police in a village of the municipality of Zvečan, named Banjska. During the fighting, one Kosovar police officer and several Serb militants were killed. The attackers sought refuge within Banjska Monastery, which was eventually retaken by the Kosovo Police. During this operation, a significant cache of weaponry was confiscated.

Demographics

According to the 2011 estimations by the Government of Kosovo, Zvečan has 1,838 households and 7,481 inhabitants. In 2015 report by

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...

, the population of Zvečan municipality stands at 16,650 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

The majority of Zvečan municipality is composed of Kosovo Serbs with around 16,000 inhabitants (95.1%). Also, there are 500

Kosovo Albanians The Albanians of Kosovo (, ), also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars (), constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo. Kosovo Albanians belong to the Albanians, ethnic Albanian sub-group of Ghegs, who inhabit the ...

and 300 inhabitants of other ethnicity. About 3,750 Kosovo Serbs are located in the municipality as

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. I ...

s (IDPs) as well as 250 refugees from

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. Most of Kosovo Albanians live in the villages of Boletin (Boljetin), Lipë/Kelmend (Lipa) and Zhazhë (Žaža). The ethnic composition of the municipality of Zvečan, including IDPs:

Economy

The largest employer in Zvečan is the lead and zinc melting factory " Trepča". Its large smokestack is with 306 meters the tallest structure in Kosovo. Due to the serious environmental pollution from the factory, however, UN and KFOR shut it down and the only ongoing operation is alloy production for batteries and battery recycling. Once employing up to 4,000, the very low operations of "Trepča" has had a devastating effect on the local economy. Today, in the municipality only about 500 people are working at 60 small private companies and 150 shops.

Culture and education

The Faculty of Arts, part of the University of Priština at North Mitrovica, is situated at Zvečan. Zvečan has hosted annually two international music festivals: The ''North City, Jazz & Blues

Festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

'', and international rock festival ''Overdrive'', as well as international art colony ''Sokolica''''Krstarica'', 22 August 2007
/ref> and children song festival ''Cvrkuti sa Ibra'' (''Chirrups from the Ibar River''). The Zvečan Fortress and Sokolica Monastery, both from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, have been located in the Zvečan area.

Gallery

File:Banjska.jpg, '' Banjska monastery'' File:Rudnik Trepča Zvečan.jpg, '' Trepča Mines'' File:Zitkovac.jpg, ''Zvečan landscape'' File:Zvečan Fortress overview.jpg, '' Zvečan Fortress'' File:Tvrdjava Zvecan.jpg, ''Zvečan Fortress'' File:Kulla e Isa Boletinit, Mitrovicë.JPG, ''Isa Boletini Complex'' File:29.09.13 Zvečan 711.005 (10101084894).jpg, ''Zvečan Railway Station''

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zvecan Populated places in the District of Mitrovica North Kosovo Municipalities of Kosovo Medieval Serbian sites in Kosovo