Misplaced Pages

#994005

103-462: The large karst field is directed northwest–south. The plain stretches from Mitrovica southwards including Obiliq , Kosovo Polje (which lies in the centre), Lipjan , and almost to Kaçanik . The region of Kosovo stretches roughly from Ferizaj to Vushtrri . It is situated 500–600 m above sea level. In the central part, to the west, is the Drenica valley. The region was an economic hub of

206-674: A new Yugoslav constitution that was adopted in 1974 . When Slobodan Milošević came to power in 1989, the provinces' autonomy was removed and Belgrade gained political control. Thus, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (ended 1992) and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (its successor in the Breakup of Yugoslavia ) managed Kosovo up until the Kosovo War in 1998–1999, at the conclusion of which

309-678: A Latinis, Grecis et Sclauis ita quod in nullo se intelligunt cum aliis nationibus. (Namely, the above-mentioned Albanians have a language that is different from the languages of Latins, Greeks and Slavs, so that they do not understand each other at all.) The oldest attested document written in Albanian dates to 1462, while the first audio recording in the language was made by Norbert Jokl on 4 April 1914 in Vienna . However, as Fortson notes, Albanian written works existed before this point; they have simply been lost. The existence of written Albanian

412-552: A class, killing three. Tensions rose considerably in the city of Mitrovica after Kosovo declared independence on 17 February 2008. Some 150 Kosovo Serb police officers refused to take orders from the ethnic Albanian authorities and were suspended. Serb protesters prevented ethnic Albanian court employees from crossing the bridge over the Ibar River. UN police raided and seized the courthouse on 14 March using tear gas against Serbs and leaving some of them wounded. The explosion of

515-905: A common branch in the current phylogenetic classification of the Indo-European language family. The first written mention of Albanian was in 1284 in a witness testimony from the Republic of Ragusa , while a letter written by Dominican Friar Gulielmus Adea in 1332 mentions the Albanians using the Latin alphabet in their writings. The oldest surviving attestation of modern Albanian is from 1462. The two main Albanian dialect groups (or varieties ), Gheg and Tosk , are primarily distinguished by phonological differences and are mutually intelligible in their standard varieties, with Gheg spoken to

618-573: A common period of prehistoric coexistence of several Indo-European dialects in the Balkans prior to 2000 BC. To this group would belong Albanian, Ancient Greek , Armenian , Phrygian , fragmentary attested languages such as Macedonian , Thracian , or Illyrian , and the relatively well-attested Messapic in Southern Italy. The common features of this group appear at the phonological, morphological, and lexical levels, presumably resulting from

721-483: A decrease of 19.29% from 1991. In 2015, a wave of mass migration of approximately 100,000 Kosovo people occurred towards Western Europe with the total population of Kosovo declining by almost 5%. During this period, 4,889 people fled south Mitrovica, which resulted in a population decline to 68,400 inhabitants. By 2015 the population of North Mitrovica municipality slightly increased to 12,223 inhabitants. In total, according to Kosovo Agency of Statistics estimation, at

824-555: A hand-grenade injured several UN and NATO staff on 17 March; UN forces were later withdrawn from the northern part of Mitrovica. The Serbian minority initially formed the Community Assembly of Kosovo and Metohija in the city, but it has no police force. Serbs refused to accept the jurisdiction of Kosovo courts. Kosovar leaders have expressed concern over the future of the region, stating their commitment to keep Mitrovica part of Kosovo and prevent crime or war there. With

927-472: A large amount (or the majority) of their sea environment lexicon. A similar phenomenon could be observed with agricultural terms. While the words for 'arable land', 'wheat', 'cereals', 'vineyard', 'yoke', 'harvesting', 'cattle breeding', etc. are native, the words for 'ploughing', 'farm' and 'farmer', agricultural practices, and some harvesting tools are foreign. This, again, points to intense contact with other languages and people, rather than providing evidence of

1030-475: A number of isoglosses with Albanian. Other linguists linked the Albanian language with Latin , Greek and Armenian , while placing Germanic and Balto-Slavic in another branch of Indo-European. In current scholarship there is evidence that Albanian is closely related to Greek and Armenian, while the fact that it is a satem language is less significant. Armenian Greek Phrygian (extinct) Messapic (extinct) Gheg Tosk Messapic

1133-495: A pivotal role in the expansion and development of the Kingdom of Serbia under Nemanjić rule. Its strategic position made it a center of power in the region. Simultaneously, the settlement of Trepca began to evolve into a thriving mining town. The development of mining activities and trade significantly contributed to the region's significance and economic growth. Notable structures were constructed during this era, including

SECTION 10

#1732781189995

1236-547: A possible linguistic homeland (also known as a Urheimat ). The centre of Albanian settlement remained the Mat River. In 1079, the Albanians were recorded farther south in the valley of the Shkumbin River. The Shkumbin, a 181 km long river that lies near the old Via Egnatia , is approximately the boundary of the primary dialect division for Albanian, Tosk and Gheg . The characteristics of Tosk and Gheg in

1339-933: A strong sense of identity and are unique in that they speak an archaic dialect of Tosk Albanian called Arbëresh . In the United States and Canada, there are approximately 250,000 Albanian speakers. It is primarily spoken on the East Coast of the United States, in cities like New York City, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Detroit, as well as in parts of the states of New Jersey, Ohio, and Connecticut. In Argentina, there are nearly 40,000 Albanian speakers , mostly in Buenos Aires. Approximately 1.3 million people of Albanian ancestry live in Turkey , with more than 500,000 recognizing their ancestry, language and culture . There are other estimates, however, that place

1442-462: Is Muslim . Small numbers of Serbian Orthodox and Roman Catholics exist in the city. Albanians , Bosniaks , Turks , Roma and other smaller ethnic groups are mainly Muslim. In the results of 2011 census, 71,422 people or 99.32% of total population of southern municipality of Mitrovica, were Muslims. Orthodox Christians comprised 11 or 0.02% of total population of municipality, while Catholics comprised 42 or 0.06%. As North Mitrovica municipality

1545-478: Is 65%. Publicly owned enterprises and local administration is largely responsible for the functioning of the economy, along with Serbian government assistance and EU donations. In the southern municipality of Mitrovica there are 31 primary and lower secondary schools, which, since some of the schools function in separate parallels in different areas, operate in 42 educational facilities. In the southern municipality exists also 5 upper secondary schools. Although there

1648-476: Is a city in northern Kosovo and administrative center of the District of Mitrovica . In 2013, the city was split into two municipalities, South Mitrovica and North Mitrovica . Settled 10 km (6.2 mi) from Ujmani/Gazivoda Lake , on the confluence of the rivers Ibër , Sitnicë , Lushta, and Trepça, the city is surrounded by the mountains of Kopaonik , Rogozna , Mokna , and Çyçavica . According to

1751-667: Is also spoken by 450,000 Albanian immigrants in Greece, making it one of the commonly spoken languages in the country after Greek. Albanian is the third most common mother tongue among foreign residents in Italy . This is due to a substantial Albanian immigration to Italy. Italy has a historical Albanian minority of about 500,000, scattered across southern Italy, known as Arbëreshë . Approximately 1 million Albanians from Kosovo are dispersed throughout Germany , Switzerland and Austria . These are mainly immigrants from Kosovo who migrated during

1854-709: Is also spoken in Greece and by the Albanian diaspora , which is generally concentrated in the Americas , Europe and Oceania . Albanian is estimated to have as many as 7.5 million native speakers. Albanian and other Paleo-Balkan languages had their formative core in the Balkans after the Indo-European migrations in the region. Albanian in antiquity is often thought to have been an Illyrian language for obvious geographic and historical reasons, or otherwise an unmentioned Balkan Indo-European language that

1957-601: Is an Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid branch , which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan group . It is the native language of the Albanian people . Standard Albanian is the official language of Albania and Kosovo , and a co-official language in North Macedonia and Montenegro , as well as a recognized minority language of Italy , Croatia , Romania and Serbia . It

2060-437: Is characterised by a longtime annual precipitation of 640 mm year", and a longtime annual mean temperature of 10°C. 42°43′03″N 21°05′06″E  /  42.71750°N 21.08500°E  / 42.71750; 21.08500 Mitrovica, Kosovo Mitrovica ( Albanian indefinite form : Mitrovicë ; Serbian Cyrillic : Косовска Митровица ), also referred to as South Mitrovica ( Albanian : Mitrovicë e Jugut ),

2163-608: Is considered the closest language to Albanian, grouped in a common branch titled Illyric in Hyllested & Joseph (2022). Hyllested & Joseph (2022) in agreement with recent bibliography identify Greco-Phrygian as the IE branch closest to the Albanian-Messapic one. These two branches form an areal grouping – which is often called "Balkan IE" – with Armenian. The hypothesis of the " Balkan Indo-European " continuum posits

SECTION 20

#1732781189995

2266-687: Is explicitly mentioned in a letter attested from 1332, and the first preserved books, including both those in Gheg and in Tosk, share orthographic features that indicate that some form of common literary language had developed. By the Late Middle Ages , during the period of Humanism and the European Renaissance , the term lingua epirotica ' Epirotan language ' was preferred in the intellectual, literary, and clerical circles of

2369-753: Is one of the most important cultural centers in Kosovo. The city has the Cultural Center “Rexhep Mitrovica”, City Library “Latif Berisha”, City Museum of Mitrovica , the Professional City Theater, various ensembles, several galleries, and alternative social/cultural spaces. Additionally, it is home to many sports clubs and venues, including the Adem Jashari Olympic Stadium, Riza Lushta Stadium, Fatime Xhaka Stadium, Minatori Sports Hall and Omni Sports Center. In

2472-478: Is only one kindergarten, it has a large capacity, available for 300 kids. The higher education is also provided through the Public University of Mitrovica "Isa Boletini" and University of Applied Sciences. In North Mitrovica there are 11 primary schools, four secondary schools and one kindergarten. Regarding the higher education institutions, the public University of Pristina is functional. It hold

2575-600: Is positioned on a plateau near the Zhitkoc train station. In 1958, a series of preliminary excavations were conducted near the banks of the Ibër River, revealing the remains of a typical Neolithic settlement that belonged to both the earlier Starčevo culture and the later Vinča culture . The adjacent archaeological site of Karagaç is found on a lower terrace along the riverbank and was investigated between 1955 and 1960. The archaeological findings indicated occupation during

2678-411: Is situated in the suburban area of Mitrovica. The archaeological site of Fafos is located in the suburban area of Mitrovica, within the industrial zone adjacent to the a phosphates production factory. This site underwent excavation between 1955 and 1961, covering a total area of approximately 1,200 square meters. The findings confirmed the presence of two separate Neolithic settlements associated with

2781-598: Is spoken in North-western Greece, while Arvanitika is spoken by the Arvanites in southern Greece. In addition, Arbëresh is spoken by the Arbëreshë people, descendants of 15th and 16th century migrants who settled in southeastern Italy, in small communities in the regions of Sicily and Calabria . These settlements originated from the (Arvanites) communities probably of Peloponnese known as Morea in

2884-486: Is spoken in the south, and Gheg spoken in the north. Standard Albanian is based on the Tosk dialect. The Shkumbin River is the rough dividing line between the two dialects. Gheg is divided into four sub-dialects: Northwest Gheg, Northeast Gheg, Central Gheg and Southern Gheg. It is primarily spoken in northern Albania, Kosovo , and throughout Montenegro and northwestern North Macedonia . One fairly divergent dialect

2987-576: Is the Upper Reka dialect , which is however classified as Central Gheg. There is also a diaspora dialect in Croatia , the Arbanasi dialect . Tosk is divided into five sub-dialects, including Northern Tosk (the most numerous in speakers), Labërisht , Cham , Arvanitika , and Arbëresh . Tosk is spoken in southern Albania, southwestern North Macedonia and northern and southern Greece. Cham Albanian

3090-399: Is the most probable. Although Albanian shares lexical isoglosses with Greek , Germanic , and to a lesser extent Balto-Slavic , the vocabulary of Albanian is quite distinct. In 1995, Taylor, Ringe , and Warnow used quantitative linguistic techniques that appeared to obtain an Albanian subgrouping with Germanic, a result which the authors had already reasonably downplayed. Indeed,

3193-569: Is the official language of Albania and Kosovo and a co-official language in North Macedonia and Montenegro . Albanian is a recognised minority language in Croatia , Italy , Romania and in Serbia . Albanian is also spoken by a minority in Greece , specifically in the Thesprotia and Preveza regional units and in a few villages in Ioannina and Florina regional units in Greece. It

Kosovo field - Misplaced Pages Continue

3296-612: Is used to distinguish it from Sremska Mitrovica , a city in Serbia. In Turkish , the city is called Mitroviça . Since the split of the Municipality of Mitrovica into two municipalities in 2013, with the creation of Serb-majority municipality in the northern side, the official names of the municipalities have changed. The original Municipality of Mitrovica is now officially known as South Mitrovica (Albanian: Mitrovica e Jugut; Serbian: Јужна Митровица, romanized: Južna Mitrovica) while

3399-641: The 2013 Brussels Agreement Kosovo Serbs accepted the Pristina-run police force and courts and vote on ballots with republic of Kosovo logos. Elected Serbs swear oaths to Republic of Kosovo. Since 2012 the northern and the southern part of the city, and in particular the New Bridge over the Ibar River are patrolled 24/7 by Italian Carabinieri from KFOR - MSU . The city of Mitrovica in 2011 had 84,235 inhabitants, 71,909 of which were living in

3502-703: The Banjska Monastery , Sokolica Monastery , and the Saxon St. Peter's Basilica Church, Stari Trg . The Saxon Church in Stan Terg, built by Saxons , underlines the importance of the mining industry during this period in the region. With the Ottoman occupation in 1389, after the Battle of Kosovo , the fortified town of Zvecan turned into an active military site well into the 18th century, after which it

3605-463: The Congress of Dibra decided that Albanian schools would finally be allowed. Albanian is an isolate within the Indo-European language family; no other language has been conclusively linked to its branch . The only other languages that are the sole surviving members of a branch of Indo-European are Armenian and Greek. The Albanian language is part of the Indo-European language family and

3708-698: The District of Branković took place in the Kosovo field which is in a part of eastern Kosovo In 1877, the Kosovo Vilayet was established by the Ottoman Empire a first-level administrative division. This area included the majority of the modern Kosovo . In 1912-13 the Kingdom of Serbia conquered the Vilayet. During World War I, the army of the Kingdom of Serbia retreated to the Kosovo plain by November 1915. Then, under attack from both sides,

3811-629: The Janissary of Muhammad Ali Pasha , an Albanian who became Wāli , and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan . In addition to the dynasty that he established, a large part of the former Egyptian and Sudanese aristocracy was of Albanian origin. In addition to the recent emigrants, there are older diasporic communities around the world. Albanian is also spoken by Albanian diaspora communities residing in Australia and New Zealand . The Albanian language has two distinct dialects, Tosk which

3914-808: The Korçë District , Kamnik in Kolonja , Kolsh in the Kukës District , Rashtan in Librazhd , and Nezir in the Mat District . As in other parts of Europe, these PreIE people joined the migratory Indo-European tribes that entered the Balkans and contributed to the formation of the historical Paleo-Balkan tribes. In terms of linguistics, the pre-Indo-European substrate language spoken in the southern Balkans probably influenced pre-Proto-Albanian ,

4017-867: The League of Prizren and culminated with the Congress of Manastir held by Albanian intellectuals from 14 to 22 November 1908, in Manastir (present day Bitola ), which decided on which alphabet to use, and what the standardised spelling would be for standard Albanian. This is how the literary language remains. The alphabet is the Latin alphabet with the addition of the letters ⟨ ë ⟩ , ⟨ ç ⟩ , and ten digraphs : dh , th , xh , gj , nj , ng , ll , rr , zh and sh . According to Robert Elsie : The hundred years between 1750 and 1850 were an age of astounding orthographic diversity in Albania. In this period,

4120-522: The University of Mitrovica “Isa Boletini” in the south, the faculties of the parallel institution of University of Pristina in the north and several private universities. The name of Mitrovica derives from the name Demetrius . It was most probably named after the 8th century Byzantine church St. Demetrius which was built near Zvečan Fortress , just above the modern Mitrovica, in honor of Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki . The earliest evidence of

4223-698: The Vinča culture , situated about 200 meters apart from each other. The earlier settlement, referred to as Fafos I, consisted of characteristic semi-subterranean huts used for shelter. In contrast, the later settlement, known as Fafos II, featured house-huts arranged in a row. Notably, archaeological research indicated that a significant portion of the huts in both settlements had been destroyed by an extensive fire. Artifacts discovered in these settlements included various everyday objects such as cult items, ritual vases, and anthropomorphic figurines. The Neolithic site of Zhitkoc, situated approximately 3 km north of Zveçan,

Kosovo field - Misplaced Pages Continue

4326-692: The 14th century, but they failed to cite specific words. The oldest surviving documents written in Albanian are the " formula e pagëzimit " (Baptismal formula), Un'te paghesont' pr'emenit t'Atit e t'Birit e t'Spertit Senit . ("I baptize thee in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit ") recorded by Pal Engjelli, Bishop of Durrës in 1462 in the Gheg dialect, and some New Testament verses from that period. The linguists Stefan Schumacher and Joachim Matzinger (University of Vienna) assert that

4429-531: The 1990s. In Switzerland , the Albanian language is the sixth most spoken language with 176,293 native speakers. Albanian became an official language in North Macedonia on 15 January 2019. There are large numbers of Albanian speakers in the United States, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Canada . Some of the first ethnic Albanians to arrive in the United States were the Arbëreshë. The Arbëreshë have

4532-528: The 2011 Census, the two municipalities had 97,686 inhabitants of which 85,360 reside in south and 12,326 in north. The history of Mitrovica is rooted in antiquity, with evidence of early settlements of neolithic and Roman -era artifacts discovered in the region. During the Middle Ages , the area played an important role in the Byzantine and Serbian Empires , while the modern city was founded during

4635-459: The 90s and Kosovo war have damaged the libraries of this city in Bare , Vllahi , Banjë and Ibër with 27,061 books. The city is known for music and has Mitrovica Rock School. It hosts numerous cultural events, such as Green Fest, Mitrovica Jazz Days Festival, MittrixFest, Mitrovica Guitar Days, ArtFest, Nomad Fest, North Jazz Festival, and others. Among the most important historical monuments in

4738-505: The Albanian and Germanic branches share a relatively moderate number of lexical cognates. Many shared grammatical elements or features of these two branches do not corroborate the lexical isoglosses. Albanian also shares lexical linguistic affinity with Latin and Romance languages. Sharing linguistic features unique to the languages of the Balkans , Albanian also forms a part of the Balkan linguistic area or sprachbund . The place and

4841-560: The Albanian language was on 14 July 1284 in Ragusa in modern Croatia ( Dubrovnik ) when a crime witness named Matthew testified: "I heard a voice crying on the mountain in the Albanian language" ( Latin : Audivi unam vocem, clamantem in monte in lingua albanesca ). The Albanian language is also mentioned in the Descriptio Europae Orientalis dated in 1308: Habent enim Albani prefati linguam distinctam

4944-435: The Albanian language was put to writing in at least ten different alphabets – most certainly a record for European languages. ... the diverse forms in which this old Balkan language was recorded, from the earliest documents to the beginning of the twentieth century ... consist of adaptations of the Latin, Greek, Arabic, and Cyrillic alphabets and (what is even more interesting) a number of locally invented writing systems. Most of

5047-564: The Kosovo War in 1999 and the city’s ethnic division, Mitrovica suffered economic collapse, turning from the economic center of Kosovo before 1999 to the poorest region in Kosovo after. According to the Kosovo Statistics Agency, of all urban municipalities in Kosovo, Mitrovica has the highest unemployment rate and the highest number of dependents from state transfers. Mitrovica is also an important university center with

5150-521: The Middle Ages. Among them the Arvanites call themselves Arbëror and sometime Arbëresh. The Arbëresh dialect is closely related to the Arvanites dialect with more Italian vocabulary absorbed during different periods of time. The Albanian language has been written using many alphabets since the earliest records from the 15th century. The history of Albanian language orthography is closely related to

5253-544: The Ottoman defters of 1591 indicate that the area of Trepča in the 16th century had a significant Albanian population, with some Albanian names being combined with other Christian or Slavic names. Under Ottoman rule Mitrovica was a small city typical to the region. Rapid development came in the 19th century after lead ore was discovered and mined in the region, providing what has historically been one of Kosovo's largest industries. It became an industrial town, formerly

SECTION 50

#1732781189995

5356-479: The Ottoman period city hamam, the house of Koroglu Family, several house buildings of Xhafer Deva, the former Jadran Hotel, the cultural house, the Miners Monument. Ura e Ibrit has become a symbol of division and the city’s main landmark. The strategic position of the region of Mitrovica in the middle of two great rivers Ibar and Sitnica and its mineral wealth in Albanik (Monte Argentarum), made this location populated since prehistoric period. This region

5459-443: The Shkumbin river since the Post-Roman and Pre-Slavic period, straddling the Jireček Line . Centuries-old communities speaking Albanian dialects can be found scattered in Greece (the Arvanites and some communities in Epirus , Western Macedonia and Western Thrace ), Croatia (the Arbanasi ), Italy (the Arbëreshë ) as well as in Romania , Turkey and Ukraine . The Malsia e Madhe Gheg Albanian and two varieties of

5562-412: The Tosk dialect, Arvanitika in Greece and Arbëresh in southern Italy, have preserved archaic elements of the language. Ethnic Albanians constitute a large diaspora , with many having long assimilated in different cultures and communities. Consequently, Albanian-speakers do not correspond to the total ethnic Albanian population, as many ethnic Albanians may identify as Albanian but are unable to speak

5665-450: The army withdrew across the mountains into Albania . The Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918-1941) controlled Kosovo Field and its residents. Kosovo and Vojvodina , another formerly autonomous region of Serbia, had practically comparable status with the other six Yugoslav republics according to constitutional revisions made in 1971. The provinces were granted the opportunity to create their own constitutions and were granted equal status under

5768-512: The battle, that the Kosovo region and contemporary Kosovo , and in turn the historical Kosovo Vilayet and Yugoslav Kosovo and Metohija is named. The modern city of Kosovo Polje is also named after the field. Serbian ruler Stefan Lazarević (1389–1427) erected a marble column with inscriptions on the field, in memory of his father. The Second Battle of Kosovo was fought between the Ottoman Empire and Kingdom of Hungary in 1448 . The Ottoman cadastral tax census ( defter ) of 1455 in

5871-418: The city as Bazar Mitrovica . In 1660, the Ottoman explorer Evliya Çelebi mentioned the city with the name Mitrovica for the first time. From 1878 to 1890, the city was known as Mitrovica of Bazar , most probably due to the fact that it was under the Sanjak of Novi Pazar (Jenipazar)". After President Tito 's death in 1980, each of the constituent parts of Yugoslavia had to have one place named with

5974-401: The city respectively as Dimitrovica in 1430 and 'De Dimitruic' 1446, while the German traveler Arnold von Harff mentioned the city in 1499 as 'Mitrix. Several neighborhoods in the area of Trepča according to the Ottoman defter of the 16th century were Islamised and the other neighborhoods contained people with a mixture of Christian, Albanian and Slavic names. According to Selami Pulaha,

6077-399: The contact between the various languages. The concept of this linguistic group is explained as a kind of language league of the Bronze Age (a specific areal-linguistics phenomenon), although it also consisted of languages that were related to each other. A common prestage posterior to PIE comprising Albanian, Greek, and Armenian, is considered as a possible scenario. In this light, due to

6180-578: The cultural orientation and knowledge of certain foreign languages among Albanian writers. The earliest written Albanian records come from the Gheg area in makeshift spellings based on Italian or Greek. Originally, the Tosk dialect was written in the Greek alphabet and the Gheg dialect was written in the Latin script . Both dialects had also been written in the Ottoman Turkish version of the Arabic script , Cyrillic , and some local alphabets ( Elbasan , Vithkuqi , Todhri , Veso Bey, Jan Vellara and others, see original Albanian alphabets ). More specifically,

6283-399: The early Eastern Roman Empire in the province of Dardania . Praevalitana ( the region before the valley ), a province that bordered Dardania was named after the fact that it was located directly to the west of the field. A reference to the field may appear in the early Christian cult of Florus and Laurus of the fourth century AD, which was recorded no earlier than the sixth century AD. In

SECTION 60

#1732781189995

6386-469: The economic centre of Kosovo because of the nearby Trepça Mines . It grew in size as a centre of trade and industry with the completion of the railway line to Skopje in 1873–1878, which linked Mitrovica to the port of Thessaloniki . Another line later linked the town to Belgrade and Western Europe . By 1890, Mitrovica had a population of 7,000 and it had a strategic importance. For this reason, Russian Empire and Austria-Hungary opened consulates in

6489-484: The end of 2015, 80,623 people were living in the city of Mitrovica. Mitrovica is characterized with a large ethnic diversity, dominated by Albanians and followed by Serbs , Bosniaks , Turks , Roma and other ethnic groups. In south municipality of Mitrovica, Albanians make 96.65% of the total population, while other ethnic groups are Roma, Turks, Bosniaks and others. According to 2011 census, only 14 Serbs live in south Mitrovica municipality. The main religious group

6592-411: The first literary records of Albanian date from the 16th century. The oldest known Albanian printed book, Meshari , or "missal", was written in 1555 by Gjon Buzuku , a Roman Catholic cleric. In 1635, Frang Bardhi wrote the first Latin–Albanian dictionary. The first Albanian school is believed to have been opened by Franciscans in 1638 in Pdhanë . One of the earliest Albanian dictionaries

6695-469: The forces of Milosevic left the field and the region was overseen by the UN with the installation of an interim government. During the war, the Kosovo Liberation Army and FR Yugoslavia forces actively battled around the region, especially the parts in which many Albanians resided. In the 21st century, plans have been made to establish multiple coal mines around the Kosovo field. Kosovo plain (Rrafshi i Kosovés), which lies 500–600 in above sea level, and

6798-424: The industrial development of Trepça Mines , a major mining and metallurgy complex, during the Yugoslav period ; the Kosovo War and the ethnic divisions that emerged in its aftermath in 1999. In 2013, following the North Kosovo crisis , the city was divided by the Ibar River into two separate municipalities, South Mitrovica with an ethnic Albanian majority and North Mitrovica with an ethnic Serb majority. Following

6901-477: The language. Standard Albanian is a standardised form of spoken Albanian based on Tosk . The language is spoken by approximately 6 million people in the Balkans, primarily in Albania, Kosovo , North Macedonia , Serbia , Montenegro and Greece . However, due to old communities in Italy and the large Albanian diaspora , the worldwide total of speakers is much higher than in Southern Europe and numbers approximately 7.5 million. The Albanian language

7004-534: The larger number of possible shared innovations between Greek and Armenian, it appears reasonable to assume, at least tentatively, that Albanian was the first Balkan IE language to branch off. This split and the following ones were perhaps very close in time, allowing only a narrow time frame for shared innovations. Albanian represents one of the core languages of the Balkan Sprachbund . Glottolog and Ethnologue recognize four Albanian languages. They are classified as follows: The first attested written mention of

7107-465: The latter alphabets have now been forgotten and are unknown, even to the Albanians themselves. Albanian constitutes one of the eleven major branches of the Indo-European language family , within which it occupies an independent position. In 1854, Albanian was demonstrated to be an Indo-European language by the philologist Franz Bopp . Albanian was formerly compared by a few Indo-European linguists with Germanic and Balto-Slavic , all of which share

7210-453: The middle Neolithic period. The settlement mainly consisted of semi-subterranean, elliptical huts, protected by ditches. Inside these dwellings, a significant amount of pottery associated with the Starcevo culture was uncovered. Furthermore, the settlement persisted into a later phase, with huts constructed from interwoven timber beams coated with earth/mud. Evidence from ceramic fragments and anthropomorphic figurines suggests that this settlement

7313-473: The name University of Priština after the Serbian faculties of the University of Pristina were relocated from Pristina to North Mitrovica after the Kosovo War . However, many institutions refer to it as University of Mitrovica, including UNMIK and EUA . There are two private universities that operate in the south Mitrovica, College "Fama" and International Business College Mitrovica (IBCM). IBCM has campuses in both municipalities of Mitrovica. Mitrovica

7416-503: The name of this city dates back to 1430 when it was mentioned in a Roman document as 'Dimitrovica.' In the Republic of Ragusa, in the documents 'Lamenta de foris' from 1446, the city was referred to as De Dimitruic . Throughout the late Middle Ages and Ottoman era, various travelers documented the name of the city. The German traveler Arnold von Harff mentioned Mitrovica in 1499 as Mitrix , while Benedikt Kuripečič , in 1530, referred to

7519-429: The names for fish and for agricultural activities (such as ploughing ) are borrowed from other languages. A deeper analysis of the vocabulary, however, shows that could be a consequence of a prolonged Latin domination of the coastal and plain areas of the country, rather than evidence of the original environment in which the Albanian language was formed. For example, the word for 'fish' is borrowed from Latin, but not

7622-512: The newly formed municipality is North Mitrovica (Albanian: Mitrovica e Veriut; Serbian: Ceвepнa Митровица, romanized: Severna Mitrovica). There is archaeological evidence that proves the region of Mitrovica has been inhabited since the Neolithic era. The oldest settlements discovered in the area are the archeological sites of Zhitkoc, Karagaç and Vallaç, near Zvecan (around 5 km north of Mitrovica) and archaeological site of Fafos which

7725-456: The north and Tosk spoken to the south of the Shkumbin river . Their characteristics in the treatment of both native words and loanwords provide evidence that the split into the northern and the southern dialects occurred after Christianisation of the region (4th century AD), and most likely not later than the 6th century AD, hence possibly occupying roughly their present area divided by

7828-473: The north, live some 17,000 Kosovo Serbs, with 2,000 Kosovo Albanians and 1,700 Bosniaks inhabiting discrete enclaves on the north bank of the Ibar River . Almost all of the Serbs living on the south bank were displaced to North Mitrovica after the Kosovo War . In 2011, the city had an estimated total population of 71,601. Mitrovica became the focus for ethnic clashes between the two communities, exacerbated by

7931-518: The number of people in Turkey with Albanian ancestry and or background upward to 5 million. However, the vast majority of this population is assimilated and no longer possesses fluency in the Albanian language, though a vibrant Albanian community maintains its distinct identity in Istanbul to this day. Egypt also lays claim to about 18,000 Albanians, mostly Tosk speakers. Many are descendants of

8034-412: The only surviving representative of its own branch , which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan group . Although it is still uncertain which ancient mentioned language of the Balkans it continues, or where in the region its speakers lived. In general, there is insufficient evidence to connect Albanian with one of those languages, whether Illyrian , Thracian , or Dacian . Among these possibilities, Illyrian

8137-515: The presence of nationalist extremists on both sides. The bridges linking the two sides of the town were guarded by armed groups determined to prevent incursions by the other side. Because of the tense situation in the town, KFOR troops and the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) police were stationed there in large numbers to head off trouble. However, violence and harassment

8240-634: The recorded version in Constantinople , the geographical location of Ulpiana , which was a settlement in the field of Kosovo, is described in Greek as Eucharis Koilas (the Gracious Valley). The Kosovo field was the site of the Battle of Kosovo in June 1389, the battlefield northwest of Pristina where an army led by Prince Lazar of Serbia fought the Ottoman army. It is for this field, and

8343-399: The region are the 13th century remains of St. Peter's Catholic Church , the 14th century monasteries of Banjska and Sokolica , and the mosque of Mazhiq , Zveçan Fortress and Rashan and Isa Boletini Towers Complex , all located outside of the city. In the city several buildings from the past few centuries have remained, such as the former Jadran Hotel building, the house of Xhafer Deva,

8446-422: The river degenerated into rioting and gunfire, leaving at least eight Albanians dead and at least 300 injured. The bloodshed sparked off the worst unrest in Kosovo seen since the end of the 1999 war (in which 16 Serbs were killed). The local prison was the scene of an international incident on 18 April 2004 when a Jordanian policeman working as a UN prison guard opened fire on a group of UN police officers leaving

8549-478: The rule of the Ottoman Empire , being first mentioned in the 17th century. Its strategic location along trade routes made it an important center for commerce and cultural exchange during this time. The complex historical context of these foreign influences contributed to the diverse heritage and cultural mosaic of Mitrovica, which continues to be a notable aspect of the city's identity. In the modern era, Mitrovica's history has been marked by various events, including

8652-627: The southern municipality, while 12,326 in North Mitrovica municipality. Since the 2011 census was not applied in the now four Serb-majority municipalities in North Kosovo , the data from an Update in 2008–2009 conducted by Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS) has been taken as official data for North Mitrovica municipality, as well as for the towns of Zvečan , Leposavić and Zubin Potok . According to KAS, 58,458 inhabitants were living in

8755-478: The time that the Albanian language was formed are uncertain. The American linguist Eric Hamp has said that during an unknown chronological period a pre-Albanian population (termed as "Albanoid" by Hamp) inhabited areas stretching from Poland to the southwestern Balkans. Further analysis has suggested that it was in a mountainous region rather than on a plain or seacoast. The words for plants and animals characteristic of mountainous regions are entirely original, but

8858-510: The time, and used as a synonym for the Albanian language. Published in Rome in 1635, by the Albanian bishop and writer Frang Bardhi, the first dictionary of the Albanian language was titled Latin : Dictionarium latino-epiroticum ' Latin-Epirotan dictionary ' . During the five-century period of the Ottoman presence in Albania , the language was not officially recognised until 1909, when

8961-650: The town. During World War II , it took the Germans one week to conquer the whole of Kosovo. Kosovo was then divided into three occupation zones specifically into the German, Italian and Bulgarian zones. The Germans, however, reserved the right to control the mines in Mitrovica, namely the Trepça Mines , and the railway line passing through Kosovo. Mitrovica became the head of an Austrian infantry division. The city

9064-572: The treatment of the native words and loanwords from other languages are evidence that the dialectal split preceded the Slavic migrations to the Balkans , which means that in that period (the 5th to 6th centuries AD), Albanians were occupying nearly the same area around the Shkumbin river, which straddled the Jireček Line . References to the existence of Albanian as a distinct language survive from

9167-499: The urban area of the city: 46,132 of them in southern municipality, 12,326 in the north. The Kosovo war and post-war conflicts, the destruction of economy, especially the operating stoppage of industrial sector, as well as other socio-economic factors, have influenced high emigration (both internal and external). After 1948 (32,800 inhabitants) the city had continual high population growth tripling by 1991 to 104,885 inhabitants, but in 2011 only 84,235 inhabitants were living in Mitrovica,

9270-473: The village of Stantërg , the National Museum of Crystals and Minerals is located with over 2000 exhibits of various types of crystals from the mines of the area. The municipality of Mitrovica has seven public libraries with a collection of 152,858 books. The main library of Mitrovica has collections of 111,546, while the branch libraries have 41,312 books. The war and violent Serbian measures during

9373-560: The war. It came under the command of NATO 's French sector; 7,000 French troops were stationed in the western sector with their headquarters in Mitrovica. They were reinforced with a contingent of 1,200 troops from the United Arab Emirates , and a small number of Danish troops. Most of the approximately 6,000 Roma fled to Serbia, or were relocated to one of two resettlement camps, Cesmin Lug, or Osterode, in North Mitrovica . In

9476-615: The word "Tito" (or "Tito's") included, the city was then known as Titova Mitrovica (Титова Митровица) in Serbian or Mitrovica e Titos in Albanian, until 1991. The official name of the city in the Republic of Kosovo is Mitrovicë or Mitrovica (in Albanian) and Mitrovica (in Serbian), reflecting its bilingual character and regional context. In Serbian context, the name is Kosovska Mitrovica ( Serbian Cyrillic : Косовска Митровица )

9579-421: The word for 'gills' which is native. Indigenous are also the words for 'ship', 'raft', 'navigation', 'sea shelves' and a few names of fish kinds, but not the words for 'sail', 'row' and 'harbor'; objects pertaining to navigation itself and a large part of sea fauna. This rather shows that Proto-Albanians were pushed away from coastal areas in early times (probably after the Latin conquest of the region) and thus lost

9682-544: The writers from northern Albania and under the influence of the Catholic Church used Latin letters, those in southern Albania and under the influence of the Greek Orthodox church used Greek letters, while others throughout Albania and under the influence of Islam used Arabic letters. There were initial attempts to create an original Albanian alphabet during the 1750–1850 period. These attempts intensified after

9785-407: Was abandoned. During this time the population settled along the valley of Ibar and Sitnica , founding this way the modern settlement of Mitrovica. Mitrovica probably got the name after the 8th century Byzantine church St. Demetrius which was built near Zvečan Fortress, just above the modern Mitrovica, in honor of Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki . Several Roman and Ragusian documents mention

9888-573: Was also inhabited during the earlier stage of the Late Neolithic, specifically the Vinca culture. In addition to Neolithic artifacts, traces of a settlement and cemetery from the Bronze and Iron Ages were discovered in the same area, underscoring the continuity of human habitation from prehistoric times. While there is limited historical evidence regarding the early Middle Ages when the region

9991-409: Was closely related to Illyrian and Messapic . The Indo-European subfamily that gave rise to Albanian is called Albanoid in reference to a specific ethnolinguistically pertinent and historically compact language group. Whether descendants or sisters of what was called ' Illyrian ' by classical sources, Albanian and Messapic , on the basis of shared features and innovations, are grouped together in

10094-425: Was not covered by population estimation in 2011 by Kosovo Agency of Statistics , there are no official data on religion. The Trepça Mines are located in Mitrovica. Once one of Europe's largest mines, its production has since dwindled and most of its operations closed off following the war. Due to Mitrovica's political instability and divisions between the Albanian and Serb communities, the city's unemployment rate

10197-473: Was often directed against members of the "wrong" ethnic community on both sides of the river, necessitating the presence of troops and police checkpoints around individual areas of the city and even in front of individual buildings. On 17 March 2004, the drowning of three Albanian children in the river prompted major ethnic violence in the town and a Serbian teenager was killed. Demonstrations by thousands of angry Albanians and Serbs mobilised to stop them crossing

10300-658: Was part of Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia . In 1948, Mitrovica had a population of 13,901 and in the early 1990s of about 75,000. Both the town and municipality were badly affected by the 1999 Kosovo War . According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the area had been the scene of guerrilla activity by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) prior to

10403-575: Was populated by Illyrians , respectively Dardan tribe . The first data for the archaeological sites in the region of Mitrovica, begin with the researches of Sir Arthur John Evans , who was the first to pinpoint the Roman town of the Municipium Dardanorum . Albanian language Albanian ( endonym : shqip [ʃcip] , gjuha shqipe [ˈɟuha ˈʃcipɛ] , or arbërisht [aɾbəˈɾiʃt] )

10506-615: Was under Byzantine rule, the period between the 9th and 15th centuries witnessed a series of significant events that made the area a focal point for conflicts involving the Byzantine Empire , the Medieval Kingdom of Serbia , the Bulgarian Empire and Ottoman Empire , being ruled by each of them in different periods. During this time, the fortified settlement of Zvečan emerged as a key location, playing

10609-735: Was written in 1693; it was the Italian manuscript Pratichae Schrivaneschae authored by the Montenegrin sea captain Julije Balović and includes a multilingual dictionary of hundreds of the most frequently used words in everyday life in Italian, Slavic, Greek, Albanian, and Turkish . Pre-Indo-European (PreIE) sites are found throughout the territory of Albania. Such PreIE sites existed in Maliq , Vashtëmi , Burimas , Barç , Dërsnik in

#994005