Prizren, Kosovo

History | 21st century | Geography | Economy

🇽🇰 Prizren (Prizreni, Призрен) is the second most populous city and municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and district. It is located on the banks of the Prizren River between the foothills of the Sharr Mountains in southern Kosovo. Prizren experiences an oceanic climate under the influence of the surrounding mountains.

Prizren is constitutionally designated as the historical capital of the country. Archaeological excavations in Prizren Fortress indicate that its fortress area has seen habitation and use since the Bronze Age. Prizren has been traditionally identified with the settlement of Theranda in Roman Dardania, although other locations have been suggested in recent research. In late antiquity it was part of the defensive fortification system in western Dardania and the fort was reconstructed in the era of eastern Roman Emperor Justinian. Byzantine rule in the region ended definitively in 1219-20 as the Serbian Nemanjić dynasty controlled the fort and the town until 1371. Since 1371, a series of regional feudal rulers came to control Prizren: the Balšić, the Dukagjini, the Hrebeljanović and finally the Branković, often with Ottoman support. The Ottoman Empire assumed direct control after 1450. Prizren first developed in the area below the fortress which overlooks the Bistrica river on its left bank. Since the 16th century, economic development fueled the expansion of the city's neighbourhoods to the river's right bank.

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History The earliest archaeological find is the so-called Runner of Prizren which is a bronze figure of a running girl. A dealer sold it to the British Museum in 1876. According to the museum, the object was possibly made in Sparta between 520BC and 500BC. It may have arrived in Prizren as a gift or loot and used as a grave-god.

Prizren has been traditionally identified with Theranda, a town of the Roman era. Another location which may have been that of Theranda is present-day Suhareka as has been suggested in recent research. Archaeological research has shown that the site of the Prizren Fortress has had several eras of habitation since prehistoric times. In its lower part, material from the upper part of the fort has been deposited over the centuries. It dates from the Middle Bronze Age (c. 2000 BCE) to the late Iron Age (c. 1st century CE) and is comparable to the material found in the nearby prehistoric site in the village of Vlashnjë (~10 km west of Prizren). In 2005, prehistoric rock paintings in a ritual site related to the cycle of life were found near Vlashnjë. They represent the first find of prehistoric rock art in the region. In late antiquity, the fortification saw a phase of reconstruction. It is part of a series of forts that were built or reconstructed in the same period by Justinian along the White Drin in northern Albania and western Kosovo in the routes that linked the coastal areas with the Kosovo valley. At this time, the Prizren fortress likely appears in historical record as Petrizen in the 6th century CE in the work of Procopius as one of the fortifications which Justinian commissioned to be reconstructed in Dardania.

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21st century The municipality of Prizren is still the most culturally and ethnically heterogeneous of Kosovo, retaining communities of Bosniaks, Turks, and Romani in addition to the majority Kosovo Albanian population live in Prizren. Only a small number of Kosovo Serbs remains in Prizren and area, residing in small villages, enclaves, or protected housing complexes. Furthermore, Prizren's Turkish community is socially prominent and influential, and the Turkish language is widely spoken even by non-ethnic Turks.

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Geography Prizren is located on the foothills of the Šar Mountains (Albanian: Malet e Sharrit) in southern Kosovo on the banks of Prizren River. Prizren Mnicipality borders Albania to the southweast and North Macedonia to the southeast.

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Economy For a long time the economy of Kosovo was based on the retail industry fueled by remittance income coming from a large number of immigrant communities in Western Europe. Private enterprise, mostly small business, is slowly emerging. Private businesses, like elsewhere in Kosovo, predominantly face difficulties because of a lack of structural capacity to grow. Education is poor, financial institutions basic, and regulatory institutions lack experience. Securing capital investment from foreign entities cannot emerge in such an environment. Due to financial hardships, several companies and factories have closed and others are reducing personnel. This general economic downturn contributes directly to the growing rate of unemployment and poverty, making the economic viability in the region more tenuous. Many restaurants, private retail stores, and service-related businesses operate out of small shops. Larger grocery and department stores have recently opened. In town, there are eight sizeable markets, including three produce markets, one car market, one cattle market, and three personal hygiene and houseware markets. There is an abundance of kiosks selling small goods. However, reducing international presence and repatriation of refugees and internally displaced persons is expected to further strain the local economy. Market saturation, high unemployment, and a reduction of financial remittances from abroad are negative economic indicators.

There are three agricultural co-operatives in three villages. Most livestock breeding and agricultural production are private, informal, and small-scale. There are nine operational banks with branches in Prizren, ProCredit Bank, the Raiffeisen Bank, the NLB Bank, TEB Bank, Banka për Biznes (Bank for Business), İşbank, Banka Kombëtare Tregtare (National Trade Bank), Iutecredit, and the Payment and Banking Authority of Kosovo (BPK).

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Prizren, Kosovo 
<b>Prizren, Kosovo</b>
Image: Aljabakphoto

Prizren has a population of over 85,119 people. Prizren also forms the centre of the wider Prizren District which has a population of over 177,781 people.

To set up a UBI Lab for Prizren see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Prizren has links with:

🇹🇷 Amasya, Turkey 🇹🇷 Balıkesir, Turkey 🇦🇱 Berat, Albania 🇹🇷 Beykoz, Turkey 🇩🇪 Bingen am Rhein, Germany 🇹🇷 Bodrum, Turkey 🇲🇪 Herceg Novi, Montenegro 🇹🇷 Karşıyaka, Turkey 🇧🇬 Kavarna, Bulgaria 🇦🇱 Kukës, Albania 🇹🇷 Kuşadası, Turkey 🇨🇿 Kyjov, Czech Republic 🇷🇸 Leskovac, Serbia 🇭🇷 Osijek, Croatia 🇲🇰 Tetovo, North Macedonia
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

Antipodal to Prizren is: -159.267,-42.2

Locations Near: Prizren 20.7333,42.2

🇽🇰 Orahovac 20.65,42.383 d: 21.5  

🇽🇰 Malisheva 20.733,42.467 d: 29.7  

🇲🇰 Tetovo 20.967,42 d: 29.4  

🇦🇱 Kukës 20.417,42.083 d: 29.2  

🇽🇰 Gjakova 20.433,42.383 d: 32  

🇲🇰 Gostivar 20.917,41.8 d: 47  

🇽🇰 Drenas 20.883,42.617 d: 47.9  

🇽🇰 Ferizaj 21.167,42.367 d: 40.2  

🇽🇰 Deçan 20.283,42.533 d: 52.3  

🇽🇰 Pristina 21.158,42.66 d: 61.9  

Antipodal to: Prizren -159.267,-42.2

🇹🇴 Nuku'alofa -175.216,-21.136 d: 17239.3  

🇵🇫 Papeete -149.566,-17.537 d: 17122.4  

🇦🇸 Pago Pago -170.701,-14.279 d: 16721.8  

🇼🇸 Apia -171.76,-13.833 d: 16639.5  

🇺🇸 Hilo -155.089,19.725 d: 13115.9  

🇺🇸 Maui -156.446,20.72 d: 13012.7  

🇺🇸 Maui County -156.617,20.868 d: 12997  

🇺🇸 Kahului -156.466,20.891 d: 12993.7  

🇺🇸 Wailuku -156.505,20.894 d: 12993.6  

🇺🇸 Honolulu -157.85,21.3 d: 12952.7  

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