Pristina

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008)

Pristina
—  Municipality and city  —
Pristina Prishtina / Prishtinë Приштина / Priština
Seal
Pristina Location in Kosovo
Coordinates: 42°40′N 21°10′E / 42.667°N 21.167°E / 42.667; 21.167
Country	Kosovo[1]
District	District of Pristina
Area
- Total	854 km2 (329.7 sq mi)
Elevation	652 m (2,139 ft)
Population (2006)
- Total	550,000
- Density	661/km2 (1,712/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Area code(s)	+381 38
Website	Municipality of Pristina (Albanian)

Pristina, also spelled Prishtina or Priština listen (help·info) (Albanian: Prishtinë or Prishtina, Serbian: Приштина, Priština; Turkish: Priştine) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo^[1]. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality and district.

It is estimated that the current population of the city stands between 500,000^[2] and 600,000^[3]. The city has a majority Albanian population, alongside other smaller communities including Turks, Bosniaks, Roma and others. It is the administrative, educational, and cultural centre of Kosovo. The city is home to the University of Pristina and is served by the Pristina International Airport.

Contents 1 Name 2 Geography 3 History 3.1 Early history 3.2 Balkan Wars 3.3 World War II 3.4 Pristina after World War II 3.5 Pristina in the Kosovo War and afterwards 4 Economy 5 Culture 5.1 Environment 6 Sport 7 Demographics 7.1 Ottoman Empire 7.2 Serbia and Kingdom of Yugoslavia 7.3 Socialist Yugoslavia 8 International relations 8.1 Twin towns — Sister cities 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Name

The name of the city is derived from a Slavic form *Prišьčь, a possessive adjective from the personal name *Prišьkъ, (preserved in the Kajkavian surname Prišek, in the Old Polish personal name Przyszek, and in the Polish surname Przyszek) and the derivational suffix -ina 'belonging to X and his kin'. The name is most likely a patronymic of the personal name *Prišь, preserved as a surname in Polish Przysz and Sorbian Priš, a hypochoristic of the Slavic personal name Pribyslavъ^[4]. A false etymology connects the name Priština with Serbo-Croatian prišt (пришт), meaning 'ulcer' or 'tumour', referring to its 'boiling'^[5]. However, this explanation cannot be correct, as Slavic place names ending in -ina corresponding to an adjective and/or name of an inhabitant lacking this suffix are built from personal names or denote a person and never derive, under these conditions, from common nouns (SNOJ 2007: loc. cit.). The inhabitants of this city call themselves Prishtinali in local Gheg Albanian or Prištevci (Приштевци) in the local Serbian dialect.

[edit] Geography

Pristina is located at the geographical coordinates 42° 40' 0" North and 21° 10' 0" East and covers 572 square kilometres (221 sq mi). It lies in the north-eastern part of Kosovo close to the Goljak mountains. From Pristina there is a good view of the Šar Mountains which lie several kilometres away in the south of Kosovo. Pristina is located beside two large towns, Obilić and Kosovo Polje. In fact Pristina has grown so much these past years that it has connected with Kosovo Polje. Lake Badovac is just a few kilometres to the south of the city.

There is no river passing through the city of Pristina now but there was one that passed through the centre. The river flows through underground tunnels and is let out into the surface when it passes the city. The reason for covering the river was because the river passed by the local market and everyone dumped their waste there. This caused an awful smell and the river had to be covered.

The river now only flows through Pristina's suburbs in the north and in the south.

[edit] History

[edit] Early history

In Roman times, a large town called Ulpiana existed 15 kilometers (9 miles) to the south of modern-day Pristina. This city was destroyed but was restored by the Emperor Justinian I. Today the town of Lipljan stands on the site of the Roman city, and remains of the old city can still be seen.

After the fall of Rome, Pristina grew from the ruins of the former Roman city. The city was located at a junction of roads leading in all directions throughout the Balkans. For this reason Pristina rose to become an important trading centre on the main trade routes across south-eastern Europe.

Pristina came to be of great importance to the medieval Serbian state, and served as the capital of King Milutin (1282–1321) and other Serbian rulers from the Nemanjić and Branković dynasties until the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, when an invading Ottoman army decisively defeated the Balkans coalition army. In the following decades the area gradually came under Ottoman control, there was an Ottoman law-court in Pristina in 1423. The whole of Serbia was subsequently conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1459.

Pjeter Bogdani, who is the most original writer of early literature in Albanian, lived and worked in Kosovo. After his return to the Balkans in March 1686 and spent the next years promoting resistance to the armies of the Ottoman Empire, in particular in Kosovo. In 1686 Pristina was briefly liberated by Pjeter Bogdani with aid of Austrians. He published his book Cuneus Profetarum (Alb: Ceta e Profeteve roughly Vanguard of the Prophets) in 1685^[6].

During the Ottoman Empire, Pristina became increasingly Ottoman in character following the conversion to Islam of many of its inhabitants, both Albanians and Slavs.

From the 1870s onwards Albanians in the region formed the League of Prizren to resist Ottoman rule, and a provisional government was formed in 1881. In 1912 Pristina along with the rest of Kosovo was briefly included in the newly independent state of Albania. But the following year the Great Powers forced Albania to cede the region to the Kingdom of Serbia. In 1918 Kosovo became a part of the newly formed Yugoslavia, though without any of the autonomy that the region later enjoyed.

Before World War II, Pristina was an ethnically mixed town with large communities of Albanians and Serbs. Many Albanians and Turks were deported to Turkey as a consequence of the ethnic cleaning program applied by the Serbs. Muslim Albanians were identified as Turkish and thus forcibly evicted from their ancestors' homes. The Albanians were sent to Turkey and settle the Turkish provinces formerly inhabited by Greeks and Armenians.

[edit] Balkan Wars

After the Serbian army took the city of Pristina in October 1912, the retaliation against the civilian population was fierce^[7]. Reports say that immediately upon entering the city, the Serbian army began "hunting" the Albanians, making bloodshed and "literally decimated" Pristina population^[8].

Number of Albanians of Pristina killed in the early days of the Serbian rule is estimated at 5,000^[7][9].

[edit] World War II

The Second World War saw the decline of Pristina's Serbian community as well as a large-scale settling of Albanians in the town. Between 1941 and 1945 Pristina was incorporated into the Italian-occupied Greater Albania.

[edit] Pristina after World War II

In 1946, Pristina became the capital of the Socialist Autonomous Region of Kosovo. Between 1953 and 1999, the population increased from around 24,000 to over 300,000. All of the national communities of the city increased over this period, but the greatest increase was among the Albanian population, a large number of whom had moved from Mountains areas to settle in the city. The Albanian population increased from around 9,000 in 1953 to nearly 76,000 in 1981. The Serbian and Montenegrin population increased too but by a far more modest number, from just under 8,000 in 1953 to around 21,000 by 1981. By the start of the 1980s, Albanians constituted over 70% of the city's population.

Although Kosovo was under the rule of local Albanian members of the Communist Party, economic decline and political instability in the late 1960s and at the start of the 1980s led to outbreaks of nationalist unrest. In November 1968, student demonstrations and riots in Belgrade spread to Pristina, but were put down by the Yugoslav security forces. Some of the demands of the students were nonetheless met by the Tito government, including the establishment in 1970 of the University of Pristina as an independent institution. This ended a long period when the institution had been run as an outpost of Belgrade University and gave a major boost to Albanian-language education and culture in Kosovo. The Albanians were also allowed to use the Albanian flag.

In March 1981, students at Pristina University rioted over poor food in their university canteen. This seemingly trivial dispute rapidly spread throughout Kosovo and took on the character of a national revolt, with massive popular demonstrations in Pristina and other Kosovo towns. The Communist Yugoslav presidency quelled the disturbances by sending in riot police and the army and proclaiming a state of emergency, with several people being killed in clashes and thousands subsequently being imprisoned or disciplined.

[edit] Pristina in the Kosovo War and afterwards

Following the reduction of Kosovo's autonomy by Serbian President Slobodan Milošević in 1989, a harshly repressive regime was imposed throughout Kosovo by the Serbian government with Albanians largely being purged from state industries and institutions. University of Pristina was seen as a hotbed of Albanian nationalism and was duly purged: 800 lecturers were sacked and 22,500 of the 23,000 students expelled. In response, the Kosovo Albanians set up a "shadow government" under the authority of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), led by the writer Ibrahim Rugova. Although the city was formally controlled by Serbs appointed by the Milošević government, the LDK established parallel structures, funded by private contributions, to provide free services such as health care and education that were largely denied to the Albanian population.

The LDK's role meant, that when the Kosovo Liberation Army began to attack Serbian and Yugoslav forces from 1996 onwards, Pristina remained largely calm until the outbreak of the Kosovo War in March 1999. The city was placed under a state of emergency at the end of March and large areas were sealed off. After NATO began air strikes against Yugoslavia on March 24, 1999, widespread violence broke out in Pristina. Serbian and Yugoslav forces shelled several districts and, in conjunction with paramilitaries, conducted large-scale expulsions of ethnic Albanians accompanied by widespread looting and destruction of Albanian properties. Many of those expelled were directed onto trains apparently brought to Pristina's main station for the express purpose of deporting them to the border of the Republic of Macedonia, where they were forced into exile. The United States Department of State estimated in May 1999 that between 100,000-120,000 people had been driven out of Pristina by government forces and paramilitaries.^{[citation needed]}

On or about 1 April 1999, Serbian police went to the homes of Kosovo Albanians in the city of Pristina/Prishtinë and forced the residents to leave in a matter of minutes. During the course of these forced expulsions, a number of people were killed. Many of those forced from their homes went directly to the train station, while others sought shelter in nearby neighbourhoods. Hundreds of ethnic Albanians, guided by Serb police at all the intersections, gathered at the train station and then were loaded onto overcrowded trains or buses after a long wait where no food or water was provided. Those on the trains went as far as General Jankovic, a village near the Macedonian border. During the train ride many people had their identification papers taken from them.^[10]

– War Crimes Indictment against Milosevic and others

Several strategic targets in Pristina were attacked by NATO during the war, but physical damage appears to have largely been restricted to a few specific neighbourhoods shelled by Yugoslav security forces. At the end of the war, most of the city's 40,000^[11] Serbs fled. The few who remained were subjected to harassment and violence in revenge by Albanian gangs, which reduced Pristina's Serb population still further. Other national groups accused by Albanians of collaboration with the Serbian war effort; notably the Roma– were also driven out. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, by August 1999 fewer than 2,000 Serbs were left in the city. The number reportedly fell even further after the March 2004 unrest in Kosovo. In early 2008 only a few dozen Serbs remained in Pristina, most of whom were elderly people^[11] As of 2009 there are no remaining Serbs in Pristina.^[12].

[edit] Economy

The number of registered businesses in Pristina is currently at 8,725, with a total of 75,089 employees^{[citation needed]}. The exact number of businesses is unknown due to the fact that not all are registered. Since independence the Mayor of Pristina, Isa Mustafa has built many new roads in Pristina. Also he has plans to construct a ring road around the city^[13]. The national government is taking part in modernising the roadways as well, building motorways to Uroševac and other cities^{[citation needed]}. An Albanian millionaire in Croatia is building the largest building in the Balkans with a projected height of up to 262 metres (860 ft) and capacity to hold 20,000 people. The cost for this is 400 million Euro^[14]. The Lakriste area is designated by Municipality as high-rise area with many complex building. The buildings such as ENK, World Trade Centre, Hysi and AXIS towers are being constructed in an area which previously served as an industrial zone^[15].

Limak Holding and French firm Aéroport de Lyon won the concession tender for Pristina International Airport. Two companies pledged investment of 140 million euros by 2012^[16].

[edit] Culture

The Museum of Kosovo is located in an Austro-Hungarian inspired building originally built for the regional administration of the Ottoman Vilayet of Kosovo. From 1945 until 1975 it served as headquarters for the Yugoslav National Army. In 1963 it was sold to the Kosovo Museum. From 1999 until 2002, the European Agency for Reconstruction had its main office in the museum building.

The Kosovo Museum has an extensive collection of archaeological and ethnological artifacts, including the Neolithic Goddess on the Throne terracotta, unearthed near Pristina in 1960^[17] and depicted in the city's emblem. Although a large number of artifacts from antiquity is still in Belgrade, even though the museum was looted in 1999.

The Clock Tower (Sahat Kulla) dates back to the 19th century. Following a fire, the tower has been reconstructed using bricks. The original bell was brought to Kosovo from Moldavia. It bore an inscription reading "this bell was made in 1764 for Jon Moldova Rumen." In 2001, the original bell was stolen. The same year, French KFOR troops replaced the old clock mechanism with an electric one. Given Kosovo's electricity problems the tower is struggling to keep time.

[edit] Environment

During the city's rule by Serbia, Pristina had very few green places. Parku i Qytetit (English: City Park), was a badly managed park and was the only real green place in Pristina. Three markets (one of them very large) used to be a hotspot for dumping waste and other materials on the roads. This made the city look unattractive and unfriendly.

After the war of 1999, Pristina has changed dramatically. City Park has been fully changed. It now has stone pathways, tall trees, flowers have been planted and a public area has been built for children. The much larger Gërmia Park, located to the east of the city is the best place for a family to go and relax. Restaurants, small paths for people to have a run and a large outdoor swimming pool, basketball and volleyball court have been built for the pleasure of the citizens. Lately a new green place called Tauk Bashqe has been made half way between Gërmia and City Park.

After the construction of the new Mother Teresa Square, many trees and flowers have been planted. This had a big impact on the city because of the trees releasing oxygen in the air. Many old buildings in front of the government building have been cleared to provide open space.

[edit] Sport

Basketball has been, since 2000, one of the most popular sports in Pristina. In this sport Pristina is represented in the Basketball National League by two teams. Streetball Kosova is a traditionally organised sport and cultural event in Germia Lake in Pristina, since Year 2000, too. Football is also very popular. Pristina's representatives KF Prishtina play their home games in the city's stadium.

Handball is also very popular. Pristina's representatives are recognised internationally and play international matches.

[edit] Demographics

[edit] Ottoman Empire

The Ottomans started conducting census surveys in Rumelia in 1486. Approximate populations reported were:

• 1486: 392 families
• 1487: 412 Christian households and 94 Muslim households
• 1569: 692 families
• 1669: 2,060 families
• 1685: 3,000 families
• 1689: 4,000 families

From 1850, surveys were conducted in the Vilayet of Kosovo. Populations reported were:

• 1850: 12,000 citizens, in 3,000 families
• 1902: 18,000 citizens, in 3,760 families

[edit] Serbia and Kingdom of Yugoslavia

• The 1921 official population census conducted by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes listed 14,338 citizens.
• The 1931 official population census organised by the Kingdom of Yugoslavia listed 18,358 inhabitants by mother tongues:

• Turkish - 7,573 (41%)
• Serbian - 5,738 (31%)
• Albanian - 2,351 (13%)
• other languages (Romani, Circassian etc.) - 2,651 (14%)

[edit] Socialist Yugoslavia

The 1948 official population census of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija organised by the government of the People's Republic of Serbia under the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia government recorded 19,631 citizens in 4,667 families.

The 1953 official population census of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija organised by the government of Serbia under the Yugoslav government recorded 24,229 citizens:

• 9,034 Albanians (37%)
• 7,951 Serbs and Montenegrins (33%)
• 4,726 Turks (20%)
• 2,518 Roma and others (10%)

The 1961 official population census of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija organised by the government of the Socialist Republic of Serbia under the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia government recorded 38,593 citizens in 9,095 families:

• 19,060 Albanians (49%)
• 14,695 Serbs and Montenegrins (38%)
• 404 Croats (1%)
• 195 Roma

The 1971 official population census of the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo organised by the government of the Socialist Republic of Serbia under the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia government 69,514 citizens in 14,813 families:

• 40,873 Albanians (59%)
• 19,767 Serbs and Montenegrins (28%)
• 4,119 Roma (6%)

The 1981 official population census of the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo organised by the government of the Socialist Republic of Serbia under the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia government 108,083 citizens in 21,017 families:

• 75,803 Albanians (70%)
• 21,067 Serbs and Montenegrins (19%)
• 5,101 Roma (5%)
• 2,504 Muslims (2%)

According to the last census in 1991 (boycotted by the Albanian majority), the population of the Pristina municipality was 199,654, including 77.63% Albanians, 15.43% Serbs and Montenegrins, 1.72% Muslims by nationality, and others^[18]. This census cannot be considered accurate as it is based on previous records and estimates.

In 2004 it was estimated that the population exceeded half a million, and that Albanians form around 98% of it. The Serbian population in the city has fallen significantly since 1999, many of the city's Serbs having fled or been expelled following the end of the war. In early 1999 Pristina had about 230,000 inhabitants. There were more than 40,000 Serbs and about 6,500 Romas with the remainder being Albanians.

Ethnic Composition, Including IDPs1
Year	Albanians	%	Serbs	%	Roma	%	Others2	%	Total
1991 census3	161,314	78.7	27,293	13.3	6,625	3.2	9,861	4.8	205,093
19984	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	225,388
February 2000 estimate5	550,000	97.4	12,000	2.2	1,000	0.1	1,800	0.3	564,800
Source: OSCE Priština municipal profilePDF (511 KB), June 2006, page 2 (Table 1.1). 1. IDP: Internally displaced person. 2. Others include Montenegrins, Muslim Slavs, Turks, etc. 3. 1991 figures from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) Institute for Statistics. It is noted that the 1991 census was highly politicised and is thus unreliable. 4. 1999 figures from UNHCR, "Kosovo Village List", 9 March 1999 (1998 population estimate excluding forced displacement). 5. 2001 figures from KFOR – MNB (c) and for minority figures OSCE/UNHCR ‘Situation of Ethnic Minorities in Kosovo’, February 2001.

[edit] International relations

[edit] Twin towns — Sister cities

Pristina is twinned with:

• Ankara, Turkey.
• Bursa, Turkey.^[19]
• Durrës, Albania.
• Karachi, Pakistan.
• Tirana, Albania^[20][21].

[edit] See also

• District of Pristina
• Kosovo War
• University of Pristina
• Bregu i Diellit
• Pristina City Stadium
• Pristina International Airport

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Pristina In Your Pocket city guide
• Pristina travel guide from Wikitravel
• University of Pristina
• Pristina Airport
• Interactive map of Pristina

Coordinates: 42°40′N 21°10′E / 42.667°N 21.167°E / 42.667; 21.167.

v • d • e Municipalities of Kosovo1 Dečani • Đakovica • Dragaš • Glogovac • Gnjilane • Istok • Kačanik • Klina • Kosovo Polje • Kosovska Kamenica • Kosovska Mitrovica • Leposavić • Lipljan • Mališevo • Novo Brdo • Obilić • Orahovac • Peć • Podujevo • Pristina • Prizren • Srbica • Štimlje • Štrpce • Suva Reka • Uroševac • Vitina • Vučitrn • Zubin Potok • Zvečan New Municipalities: Đeneral Janković • Gračanica • Junik • Klokot-Vrbovac • Mamuša • Parteš • Ranilug 1 Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. Kosovo declared independence on 17 February 2008, while Serbia claims it as part of its own sovereign territory. Kosovo is recognised by 70 of the 192 UN member states.

v • d • e Hero Cities of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Beograd · Cetinje · Drvar · Ljubljana · Novi Sad · Prilep · Pristina · Zagreb

v • d • e Historical capitals of Serbia     ?640–c.950 Destinikon  950–1034 Ras 1034–1113 Podgorica / Ston 1113–1276 Ras 1276–1283 Debrc 1283–1430 Belgrade 1300–1345 Prizren 1345–1371 Serres / Skopje 1371–1389 Priština / Kruševac 1430–1453 Smederevo 1526–1527 Subotica 1818–1841 Kragujevac 1914–1915 Kragujevac 1915 Niš since 1841 Belgrade

v • d • e Capitals of European states and territories Capitals of non-sovereign territories or constituent nations shown in SmallCaps Western Northern Central Southern Eastern Amsterdam, Netherlands Andorra la Vella, Andorra Belfast, Northern Ireland Brussels, Belgium 5 Douglas, Isle of Man4 Cardiff, Wales Dublin, Ireland Edinburgh, Scotland Lisbon, Portugal London, United Kingdom Luxembourg, Luxembourg Madrid, Spain Monaco, Monaco Paris, France Saint Helier, Jersey4 Saint Peter Port, Guernsey4 Copenhagen, Denmark Helsinki, Finland Longyearbyen, Svalbard Mariehamn, Åland Islands Oslo, Norway Reykjavík, Iceland Riga, Latvia Stockholm, Sweden Tallinn, Estonia Tórshavn, Faroe Islands Vilnius, Lithuania Belgrade, Serbia Berlin, Germany Bern, Switzerland Bratislava, Slovakia Budapest, Hungary Ljubljana, Slovenia Prague, Czech Republic Vienna, Austria Warsaw, Poland Vaduz, Liechtenstein Zagreb, Croatia Ankara, Turkey 1 Athens, Greece Gibraltar, Gibraltar4 Nicosia, Cyprus 2, Northern Cyprus 2, 3 Podgorica, Montenegro Pristina, Kosovo 3 Rome, Italy San Marino, San Marino Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Skopje, Republic of Macedonia Tirana, Albania Valletta, Malta Vatican City, Vatican City Astana, Kazakhstan 1 Baku, Azerbaijan 1 Bucharest, Romania Chişinău, Moldova Kiev, Ukraine Minsk, Belarus Moscow, Russia 1 Sofia, Bulgaria Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic 3 Sukhumi, Abkhazia 3 Tbilisi, Georgia 1 Tiraspol, Transnistria 3 Tskhinvali, South Ossetia 3 Yerevan, Armenia 1 1 Transcontinental country.  2 Entirely in Southwest Asia but having socio-political connections with Europe.  3 Partially recognised country.  4 Crown Dependency or Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom.  5 Also the seat of the European Union, see Location of European Union institutions and Brussels and the European Union.