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Gračanica, Kosovo

Coordinates: 42°36′N 21°12′E / 42.600°N 21.200°E / 42.600; 21.200
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For other uses, see Gračanica.
Gračanica
Грачаница/Gračanica (Serbian)
Graçanica or Graçanicë (Albanian)
Town and municipality
Center of Gračanica
Center of Gračanica
Flag of Gračanica
Flag
Official logo of Gračanica
Emblem
Gračanica is located in Kosovo
Gračanica
Gračanica
Gračanica is located in Europe
Gračanica
Gračanica
Coordinates: 42°36′N 21°12′E / 42.600°N 21.200°E / 42.600; 21.200
CountryKosovo
DistrictDistrict of Pristina
Settlements16
Established29 December 2009[1]
Government
 • Provisional presidentLjiljana Šubarić (SL)
Area
 • Total
131.25 km2 (50.68 sq mi)
Elevation
588 m (1,929 ft)
Population
 (2024)[2]
 • Total
19,371
 • Density150/km2 (380/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
Postal code
10500[3]
Area code+383(0)38
Vehicle registration01
WebsiteOfficial site

Gračanica (Serbian Cyrillic: Грачаница) or Graçanicë (Albanian definite form: Graçanica), is a town and municipality located in Pristina District in Kosovo. As of 2024, the town has a population of 19,371 inhabitants.[4]

It is centered around the Gračanica Monastery, ten kilometers east of Pristina. The 1999 Kosovo War and its aftermath transformed Gračanica from a sleepy village into an administrative center serving the needs of the 75,000 Kosovo Serbs living south of the Ibar River. After the 2013 Brussels Agreement, the municipality was expected to become part of a proposed Community of Serb Municipalities, however the agreement was never implemented as it was deemed unconstitutional. The town is also known for being the location of Gračanica Monastery, one of the richest Serbian medieval monuments from the 14th century.

History

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Pope Benedict IX mentioned the village as Grazaniza in a letter from 1303.[5] It was mentioned in King Stefan Milutin's founding charter of the Gračanica Monastery (1321).[6] The name is derived from Slavic Gradac, a toponym of fortified cities[7] In the 15th century the settlement was a notable commercial centre.[8] Until the 17th century it had a notable Ragusan community.[8] It seems that the settlement was abandoned in 1689 during the Austrian penetration into Kosovo in the Great Turkish War.[9] In 1901, it had 60 houses, all Serb, with 400 inhabitants.[10]

2000–present

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On 6 June 2000, a grenade was thrown at a crowd of ethnic Serbs waiting for a bus in the town square, injuring three people, which was followed by some civil unrest.[11] On 15 March 2004 a Serb teenager was killed in a drive-by shooting in the village of Čaglavica (partly in Gračanica).[12] This event led to the 2004 unrest in Kosovo. In the aftermath of the unrest, another Serb teenager Dimitrije Popović was killed in a drive-by shooting by Albanians on June 5, 2004.[13][14][15]

The “Missing” monument to the Serb victims missing from the Kosovo War

Archaeology

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A votive altar was found in Gračanica. Dedicated to the well-being of two unnamed emperors, it was erected by priests of Jupiter Dolichenus, possibly between 208 and 211 AD.[16]

Politics

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The first municipal elections were held on 15 November 2009.[17] The government of Serbia asked Serbs not to participate in the elections[17] which it does not recognize, but many of them did. Serb Bojan Stojanović was elected Mayor.[18]

The town of Gračanica is also temporary seat of the administration of Serbia-claimed Municipality of Pristina. The Serbia-sponsored local elections were held on 11 May 2008. Those elections were boycotted by ethnic Albanians who consider Kosovo independent from Serbia, so only ethnic Serbs participated.

Settlements

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Aside from the town of Gračanica, the municipality has the following villages:

  • Badovac
  • Batuše
  • Čaglavica (part)
  • Dobrotin
  • Donja Gušterica
  • Gornja Gušterica
  • Laplje Selo
  • Lepina
  • Livade
  • Preoce
  • Skulanevo
  • Sušica
  • Suvi Do
  • Radevo
  • Ugljare

Demographics

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Serbian soldiers and villagers in 1913
Population census
YearPop.±% p.a.
2011 10,675—    
2024 18,486+4.31%

The municipality of Gračanica has 18,486 inhabitants according to the 2024 census. In 2011, the town had 11,931, of which the majority were Serbs, also true for the municipality as a whole; by 2024, however, Serbs and Albanians made up roughly equal parts of the population, though the latter overtook the former for the first time.

Ethnic groups

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The ethnic composition of the municipality of Gračanica:

Ethnic group 2011 census[19] in % 2024 census[20] in %
Albanians 2,474 23.17 8,623 46.65
Serbs 7,209 67.53 8,560 46.31
Romani 745 6.98 909 4.92
Ashkali 104 0.97 133 0.72
Others 247 2.31 261 1.14
Total 10,675 100 18,486 100

Religions

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The religious composition of the municipality of Gračanica:

Religion 2024 census[21] in %
Muslim 9,135 49.42
Eastern Orthodox 8,589 46.46
Roman Catholic 189 1.02
Others 124 0.67
No religion 164 0.89
Prefer not to answer 285 1.54
Total 18,486 100.00

Geography and infrastructure

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The settlement is situated in the spacious valley of the Gračanka river, by the river, on the exit of the gorge between the hill of Veletina (874m) and sloping hill of Glasnovik on the south, and hill of Steževac (794m) on the northeast.[9]

Infrastructure

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Gračanica Monastery

Gračanica has been a Serb enclave since the end of the 1999 Kosovo War, and is the largest and most secure Serbian enclave in central Kosovo.[clarification needed] It runs along the Skopje-Pristina road, and unites several neighboring Serbian villages. The enclave, which contains rich farmland and is strategically located in the center of Kosovo, on major roads and near Pristina, has been seen as a potential threat by some Albanian nationalists, who view it as "a den of Serbian intrigue".[22]

Gračanica has an elementary school, several small stores, an open-air market and a police station that employs ethnic Albanians and international police officers, who notably do not speak the Serbian language.[citation needed] The health care center is located in the central part of the town, next to the UNMIK headquarters. An elementary school was reconstructed after the 1999 war.[22] In December 2008, the Serbian government built a €90,000 post office in Gračanica and promised further investments.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "(Serbian) Opština Gračanica / Komuna e Gracanices". Archived from the original on 2015-01-09. Retrieved 2015-01-17.
  2. ^ "Population and housing census in Kosovo preliminary results - July 2024" (PDF). Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Zip codes - Post of Kosovo". Retrieved 2020-10-22.
  4. ^ "Population and housing census in Kosovo preliminary results - July 2024" (PDF). Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  5. ^ Ivan Marković (1904). Slaveni i pape: Preveo [s talijanskoga]. Tisak Dioničke tiskare.
  6. ^ Slobodan Mileusnić (1998). Medieval monasteries of Serbia. Pravoslavna reč. p. 54. ISBN 9788676393701.
  7. ^ ALEKSANDAR LOMA (2013). LA TOPONYMIE DE LA CHARTE DE FONDATION DE BANJSKA: Vers la conception d'un dictionnaire des noms de lieux de la Serbie medievale et une meilleure connaissance des structures onomastiques du slave commun. Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti. pp. 133, 199, 260. ISBN 978-86-7025-621-7.
  8. ^ a b Stamenković 2002, p. 455.
  9. ^ a b Urošević 1990, p. 189.
  10. ^ Pregled geografske literature o Balkanskom poluostrvu za ...: Revue de la littérature géographique de la péninsule Balkanique. Državna štamparija kraljevine Srbije. 1901.
  11. ^ "Civil unrest in Gračanica". Archived from the original on August 19, 2000.
  12. ^ "U Čaglavici pucano na srpskog mladića iz automobila u pokretu". B92. Beta. 15 March 2004. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  13. ^ Nerasvetljeni Zlocin (2015-07-29), Zločin u Gračanici - Dimitrije Popović, retrieved 2018-03-16
  14. ^ "U Gračanici ubijen Dimitrije Popović".
  15. ^ "Serb teenager shot dead in Kosovo". 2004-06-06.
  16. ^ Vitas, Nadežda Gavrilović (2021). Ex Asia et Syria: Oriental Religions in the Roman Central Balkans. Archaeopress. p. 99. doi:10.2307/j.ctv1gt94hj.12. JSTOR j.ctv1gt94hj.
  17. ^ a b Nova Srpska Politička Misao: Грачаница: Срби да бојкотују изборе које организују косовске институције Archived 2009-11-01 at the Wayback Machine, 29 October 2009 (in Serbian)
  18. ^ B92: Gračanica: Protest zbog izbora, 27 November 2009 (in Serbian)
  19. ^ "Municipal Profile 2018 - Prishtinë/Priština Region - Gračanica/Graçanicë" (PDF). osce.org. OSCE. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  20. ^ "Regjistrimi i Popullsisë, Ekonomive Familjare dhe Banesave 2024 - Të Dhënat E Para Finale" [Population, Family Economy and Housing Census 2024 - First Final Data] (PDF). Agjencia e Statistikave të Kosovës (in Albanian). 19 December 2024. p. 66. Retrieved 24 December 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ "Regjistrimi i Popullsisë, Ekonomive Familjare dhe Banesave 2024 - Të Dhënat E Para Finale" [Population, Family Economy and Housing Census 2024 - First Final Data] (PDF). Agjencia e Statistikave të Kosovës (in Albanian). 19 December 2024. p. 69. Retrieved 24 December 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ a b "Balkan Analysis – Kosovo: The Deadly Game Continues, 6/7/2004". Archived from the original on 2006-10-29. Retrieved 2008-05-16.

Sources

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