Content deleted Content added
m robot Adding: sq |
Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
||
| (683 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{Redirect|Srbica|the village in the municipality of Kičevo, North Macedonia|Srbica, Kičevo|the country|Serbia}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!--See the Table at Infobox settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage-->
<!-- Basic info ---------------->| name = Skenderaj
| native_name = Srbica
| named_for = [[Skanderbeg]]<ref name=SK/>
| settlement_type = [[List of cities and towns in Kosovo|Town]] and [[Municipalities of Kosovo|municipality]]
| image_skyline = {{multiple image
| border = infobox
| perrow = 1/2
|total_width = 300
|caption_align = center
|image1 = CenterSkenderaj.JPG
|caption1 = Skenderaj Town Centre
|image2 = Xhamia ne Skenderaj.jpg
|caption2 = Skenderaj Mosque
|image3 = Palestra Sportive Ilaz Kodra.jpg
|caption3 = Ilaz Kodra Sports Hall
}}
| imagesize =
| image_caption =
| image_flag = Flag of Skenderaj.png
| flag_size =
| image_seal =
| seal_size =
| image_shield =
| shield_size =
| image_blank_emblem = Stema e Komunës Skënderaj.svg
| blank_emblem_type = Emblem
| blank_emblem_size = 75px
| pushpin_map = Kosovo#Europe
| pushpin_relief = 1
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = [[Kosovo]]
| subdivision_type1 = [[Districts of Kosovo|District]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[District of Mitrovica|Mitrovica]]
| subdivision_type2 =
| subdivision_name2 = <!-- Politics ----------------->
| government_footnotes =
| government_type =
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_party = [[Democratic Party of Kosovo|PDK]]
| leader_name = [[Fadil Nura]]
| established_title =
| established_date = <!-- Area --------------------->
| total_type = Municipality
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_total_km2 = 374
| population_total = 40664
| population_as_of = 2024
| population_footnotes = <ref name="Census2024">{{Cite web |title=Regjistrimi i popullsisë, ekonomive familjare dhe banesave në Kosovë 2024 - Popullsia sipas gjinisë, etnicitetit dhe vendbanimit |trans-title=Population, Household Economies, and Housing Census in Kosovo 2024 - Population by Gender, Ethnicity, and Place of Residence |url=https://askapi.rks-gov.net/Custom/e4183cd5-1a95-4dfc-a87c-4627e7d3396b.pdf |access-date=25 July 2025 |publisher=[[Kosovo Agency of Statistics]] |language=sq |date=July 2025 |___location=Pristina}}</ref>
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_urban = 11185
| population_note =
| population_blank1_title = Ethnicity
| population_blank1 = {{ubl|99.32% [[Albanians]]|0.68% [[Demographics of Kosovo|Other]]}}
| timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset = +1
| timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +2
| coordinates = {{coord|42|44|N|20|47|E|region:XK|display=inline,title}}
| elevation_footnotes = <!--for references: use tags-->
| elevation_m = 620
| elevation_ft = <!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->
| postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code = 41000
| area_code = +383 28
| website = {{url|http://skenderaj.rks-gov.net|Official site}}
| footnotes =
| area_rank = [[Municipalities of Kosovo#List_of_municipalities|11th in Kosovo]]
| registration_plate_type = [[Vehicle registration plates of Kosovo|Vehicle registration]]
| registration_plate = 02
}}
'''Skenderaj''' ({{lang-sq-definite|Skënderaji}}) or '''Srbica''' ({{lang-sr-Cyrl|Србица}}) is a [[List of cities in Kosovo|town]] and [[Municipalities of Kosovo|municipality]] located in the [[District of Mitrovica|Mitrovica District]] of [[Kosovo]]. According to the 2024 census, the municipality of Skënderaj has 40,664 inhabitants.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |date=July 2025 |title=Regjistrimi i popullsisë, ekonomive familjare dhe banesave në Kosovë 2024 - Popullsia sipas gjinisë, etnicitetit dhe vendbanimit |trans-title=Population, Household Economies, and Housing Census in Kosovo 2024 - Population by Gender, Ethnicity, and Place of Residence |url=https://askapi.rks-gov.net/Custom/e4183cd5-1a95-4dfc-a87c-4627e7d3396b.pdf |access-date=18 July 2025 |publisher=[[Kosovo Agency of Statistics]] |language=sq |___location=Pristina}}</ref>
It is the largest city in the [[Drenica]] geographical region of Kosovo.<ref name="OSCE">{{Cite web |url=http://www.osce.org/documents/mik/2008/04/1278_en.pdf |title=OSCE Municipal Profile, April 2008 |access-date=2008-06-06 |archive-date=2019-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191201155212/https://www.osce.org/documents/mik/2008/04/1278_en.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is mainly populated by ethnic [[Albanians]]. It is the place where the [[Kosovo War]] began in 1998, and to which the most damage was done.<ref name="OSCE"/>
==Etymology==
Albanians use the name Skenderaj from the name of the Albanian medieval hero, Gjergj Kastrioti - [[Skanderbeg]],<ref name=SK>{{cite news|url=https://www.drenicapress.info/kjo-eshte-historia-e-emrit-skenderaj-e-domethenia-e-tij-mesoje-historine-si-u-be-komune-skenderaj/|title=Kjo është historia e emrit Skenderaj e domëthënia e tij, mësoje historinë si u bë komunë Skenderaj|trans-title=This is the story of the name Skenderaj and its meaning, learn the story of how Skenderaj became a municipality|language=Albanian|website=Drenica Press|date=28 November 2016}}</ref> while the Serbian name was applied after the [[First Balkan War]] as an attempt of [[Serbianisation]] the region and the whole of Kosovo.<ref>[https://www.radiandradi.com/argumentet-dhe-metodat-e-politikes-ekspansioniste-serbe-per-ta-sunduar-kosoven-nga-akademik-mark-krasniqi/ Argumentet dhe metodat e politikes ekspansioniste Serbe per ta sunduar Kosoven nga akademik Mark Krasniqi]</ref>
==Geography==
The settlement is by the [[Klina River|Klina river]], in the Klina field.{{sfn|Marković|1967|p=407}} It is the main settlement of the [[Drenica]] region.{{sfn|Marković|1967|p=407}} The Klina river belongs to the [[Dukagjin (Kosovo)|Dukagjin]] region, while the settlement morphologically and hydrologically gravitates towards the [[Kosovo (region)|Kosovo]] region.{{sfn|Marković|1967|p=407}}
The municipality covers an area of {{Convert|378|km2|abbr=on}}, including the town of Skenderaj and 49 villages.
==History==
The village of [[Runik]], {{convert|10|km}} northwest of Skenderaj, is one of the most prominent [[Neolithic sites in Kosovo]] to date, contains artefacts from the [[Starcevo culture|Starcevo]] and [[Vinca culture]]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]] {{convert|8|cm|in}} in length, known as the Runik Ocarina, the oldest musical instrument found in Kosovo to date.{{sfn|Berisha|2012|p=18}}
[[File:Runik Ocarina.jpg|left|thumb|The [[Neolithic]] Runik [[Ocarina]] is 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 [[Leočina|Liqinë]], [[Poljance|Polac]], [[Banja, Srbica|Banjë]], and others.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Božanić|first=S.|year=2009|title=O zemljišnim međama srpskog srednjovekovnog sela|journal=Istraživanja |issue=20|pages=47–64|url=http://scindeks-clanci.nb.rs/data/pdf/0350-2112/2009/0350-21120920047B.pdf}}{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> There are ruins of a church dating to the 14th century in southern Leqinë.<ref>{{cite web|title=Преобрашка-Калуђерска црква|publisher=Споменици културе у Србији|url=http://spomenicikulture.mi.sanu.ac.rs/spomenik.php?id=421}}</ref> The Church of St. Nicholas was built in 1436, in Banjë, as the endowment of Serbian magnate Rodop.<ref>{{cite web|title=Црква Св. Николе|publisher=Споменици културе у Србији|url=http://spomenicikulture.mi.sanu.ac.rs/spomenik.php?id=417}}</ref> The [[Devič|Devič monastery]] was built in Llausha near Skënderaj in the 15th century, dedicated to the local monk, [[Joanikije Devic|St. Joanikije]] (d. 1430).<ref>{{cite web|title=Манастир Девич у близини Србице|publisher=Споменици културе у Србији|url=http://spomenicikulture.mi.sanu.ac.rs/spomenik.php?id=419}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Црква Св. Јована|publisher=Споменици културе у Србији|url=http://spomenicikulture.mi.sanu.ac.rs/spomenik.php?id=420}}</ref> A 16th-century church and cemetery is located in Runik.<ref>{{cite web|title=Црква Св. Ђорђа са гробљем|publisher=Споменици културе у Србији|url=http://spomenicikulture.mi.sanu.ac.rs/spomenik.php?id=422}}</ref>
In the early 20th century Albanian resistance began with the [[Kachak]] movement led by [[Azem Bejta]] and his wife [[Shote Galica]], who fought against Bulgarian, Austro-Hungarian and Yugoslav forces.<ref name="Elsie">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fnbw1wsacSAC&pg=PA63 | author=Elsie, Robert | author-link=Robert Elsie | year=2004 | title=Historical Dictionary of Kosova| publisher=The Scarecrow Press | page=63 | isbn=0-8108-5309-4}}</ref> At the end of World War II in 1944, the leader of the Drenica Brigade [[Shaban Polluzha]] 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.<ref name="Elsie2010">{{cite book|author=Robert Elsie|title=Historical Dictionary of Kosovo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pg-aeA-nUeAC&pg=PA219|access-date=30 August 2012|date=1 December 2010|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7231-8|page=219}}</ref>
=== Modern ===
During the [[Kosovo War]], Serbian forces reportedly emptied the town of its Albanian inhabitants and executed approximately 115 ethnic [[Albanians|Albanian]] males over the age of 18.<ref name=":42">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kxm45gC5-5MC |title=Erasing History: Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo |date=1999 |publisher=Department of State |isbn=978-0-16-050065-7 |language=en}}</ref> Serbian authorities reportedly were holding detainees in an ammunition factory in the town.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kxm45gC5-5MC |title=Erasing History: Ethnic Cleansing in Kosovo |date=1999 |publisher=Department of State |isbn=978-0-16-050065-7 |language=en}}</ref>
== Demography ==
The municipality of Skenderaj has a population of 40,664 inhabitants, while the town has a population of 11,185 inhabitants. The municipality is homogenous in terms of ethnicity, referring to the fact that ethnic [[Albanians]] comprise 99.83% of the population.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=July 2025 |title=Regjistrimi i popullsisë, ekonomive familjare dhe banesave në Kosovë 2024 - Popullsia sipas gjinisë, etnicitetit dhe vendbanimit |trans-title=Population, Household Economies, and Housing Census in Kosovo 2024 - Population by Gender, Ethnicity, and Place of Residence |url=https://askapi.rks-gov.net/Custom/e4183cd5-1a95-4dfc-a87c-4627e7d3396b.pdf |access-date=18 July 2025 |publisher=[[Kosovo Agency of Statistics]] |language=sq |___location=Pristina}}</ref>
{{Historical populations
|title=Municipal historical population
| percentages = pagr
|1948|23744 |1953|26166 |1961|30308 |1971|36660 |1981|46927 |1991|55471 |2011|50858 |2024|40664|source = [http://pop-stat.mashke.org/kosovo-division.htm][https://askapi.rks-gov.net/Custom/e4183cd5-1a95-4dfc-a87c-4627e7d3396b.pdf]
}}
=== Language ===
The Albanians of Skenderaj, as well as the other Albanians of Kosovo, speak the dialect of the [[Albanian language]], Northeastern [[Gheg Albanian|Gheg]].
==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.<ref name="OSCE"/>
==Sport==
Skënderaj is home of the [[Football (soccer)|football]] club [[KF Drenica]], which plays their home games in the Bajram Aliu Stadium and competes in the second tier league called [[First Football League of Kosovo]]. Skënderaj is also home of the Kosovar Superliga volleyball club KV Skenderaj women's and KV Drenica men's.
==Cultural heritage==
*[[File:12-Devic.jpg|thumb|220px|[[Devič|Devič monastery]] was founded by [[Đurađ Branković]], [[Serbian Despotate|Serbian Despot]]]][[Devič]], Serbian Orthodox abbey
==Notable people==
* [[Adem Jashari]], one of the [[Kosovo Liberation Army|KLA]] founders and commander, [[Hero of Kosovo Order|Hero of Kosovo]]
* [[Ahmet Delia]], activist of [[League of Prizren]]
* [[Bashkim Jashari]], military general and commander of [[Kosovo Security Force]]
* [[Flora Brovina]], poet, pediatrician and women's rights activist
* [[Gazmend Çitaku]], photographer, publisher and librarian
* [[Hamëz Jashari]], one of the founders of [[Kosovo Liberation Army|KLA]] and brother of [[Adem Jashari]]
* [[Hasan Prishtina]], political leader of Albanian National Movement
* [[Hashim Thaçi]], politician, former [[Prime Minister of Kosovo|prime minister]] and [[president of Kosovo]]
* [[Ilaz Kodra]], [[Kosovo Liberation Army|KLA]] commander
* [[Leonora Jakupi]], singer and songwriter
* [[Malush Ahmeti]], [[Kosovo Liberation Army|KLA]] commander
* [[Mehmet Hetemaj]], footballer
* [[Përparim Hetemaj]], footballer
* [[Shaban Polluzha]], military leader
* [[Shote Galica]], Kachak leader
* [[Sylejman Selimi]], comrade of Jashari
* [[Tahir Meha]], famous Albanian political activist
==See also==
*[[Municipalities of Kosovo]]
*[[Cities and towns in Kosovo]]
*[[Populated places in Kosovo]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
=== Sources ===
*{{cite web |last=Berisha |first=Milot |title=Archaeological Guide of Kosovo |url=https://www.mkrs-ks.org/repository/docs/drafti_i_guides_-anglisht_final.pdf |year=2012 |publisher=Ministry of Culture of Kosovo}}
*{{cite book|last=Radovanović|first=Milovan|title=Etnički i demografski procesi na Kosovu i Metohiji|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AKotAQAAIAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Liber Press|isbn=9788675560180 }}
*{{cite book|last=Marković|first=Jovan Đ.|title=Geografske oblasti Socijalističke Federativne Republike Jugoslavije|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QlwMAQAAIAAJ|year=1967|publisher=Zavod za izdavanje udžbenika Socijalističke Republike Srbije}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Skënderaj}}
* [http://skenderaj.rks-gov.net/ Municipality of Skenderaj]
* [http://www.osce.org/documents/mik/2008/04/1278_en.pdf OSCE Profile of Skenderaj] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191201155212/https://www.osce.org/documents/mik/2008/04/1278_en.pdf |date=2019-12-01 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090326134730/http://www.sok-kosovo.org/pdf/population/Kosovo_and_its_population.pdf SOK Kosovo and its population]
{{Kosovo municipalities}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Skenderaj| ]]
[[Category:Cities in Kosovo]]
[[Category:Municipalities of Kosovo]]
[[Category:Populated places in the District of Mitrovica]]
[[Category:Drenica]]
| |||