Kosovo – North Kosovo (Kosovska Mitrovica) May 10, 2019
MITROVICA (pop 84,235 – 71,909 in the southern municipality and 12,326 in North Mitrovica)
On the Ibar and Sitnica rivers., in 2013, following the North Kosovo crisis, the Serb-majority municipality of North Mitrovica was created, dividing the city into two administrative units, both operating within the Kosovo legal framework.
History. Inhabited since Neolithic times, it is one of the oldest known settlements in Kosovo. 2.5 km from Mitrovica is the medieval fortress of Zvečan, Rapid development came in the 19th century after lead ore was discovered and it became an industrial town with Trepča Mines.
Both the town and municipality were badly affected by the 1999 Kosovo War. 7,000 French troops were headquartered in Mitrovica. Most of the 6,000 Roma fled to Serbia. 17,000 Kosovo Serbs, with 2,000 Kosovo Albanians and 1,700 Bosniaks inhabit discrete enclaves on the north bank of the Ibar River displaced to North Mitrovica after the war. Ethnic clashes led by nationalist extremists on both sides occurred. The bridges linking the two sides of the town were guarded by police and UN forces determined to prevent incursions by the other side. On March 17, 2004, the drowning of an Albanian child in the river prompted major ethnic violence in the town and a Serbian teenager was killed. Demonstrations by thousands of angry Albanians and Serbs mobilized to stop them crossing 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. At the local prison on 18 April 2004, Ahmed Mustafa Ibrahim, a Jordanian policeman working as a UN prison guard, opened fire on a group of UN police officers leaving a class, killing three.
Tensions rose considerably 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 The explosion of a hand grenade injured several UN and NATO staff on 17 March; UN forces were later withdrawn from the northern part of Mitrovica. Serbs refused to accept the jurisdiction of Kosovo courts. With the 2013 Brussels Agreement Kosovo Serbs accepted the Pristina-run police force and courts and voted on ballots with Republic of Kosovo logos. Elected Serbs swear oaths to the Republic of Kosovo..
The Kosovo war, post-war conflicts and the closure of the smelter resulted in 19,29% leaving. In 2015, 100,000 Kosovo people (5% of the total population of the country) emigrated to Western Europe, 4,889 from south Mitrovica, In south Mitrovica, Albanians make up 96.65% of the total population of Roma, Turks, Bosniaks and only 14 Serbs. North Mitrovica, Serbs and other ethnic groups make up 92.97% or 11,459 inhabitants, while 7.03% or 867 were Albanians.
Religions. In 2011, 99.32% of southern Mitrovica were Muslim. 11 Serbian Orthodox Christians (0.02%) and 42 Catholics (0.06%). As North Mitrovica municipality was not included in the 2011 census, there are no official data on religion.
Economy. The Trepča Mines in Mitrovica are not operating. With the influx of refugees and IDPs and the lack of investment, unemployment is estimated at approximately 77%.
Kosovska Mitrovica, divided city. This is in the NM “Sights” & “The Dark Side” series.
Catholic Church of Vinarc. This relatively modern, small, cast-concrete church is in south Mitrovica. The doors were locked but the Italian priest drove up and let me in. He complained that he had only 5 in his congregation and rubbed his fingers together indicating his financial difficulties. There are 4 polychromes in each corner and a marble altar.
Monument to the Mining Heroes. Visible from all over south Metrovica on top of the so-called miner’s hill in North Metrovica is this unusual monument consisting of two cast-concrete cones supporting a huge cast half cylinder representing a mining cart, it was dedicated to the miners of the city (Albanian and Serbian partisans), who lost their lives during World War II. Two grave slabs are dated 1941-45 and 1959.
ZVECAN (pop 16,650)
Zvečan is a town and municipality located in the Mitrovica District, consisting of a town and 35 villages. Zvečan is a part of North Kosovo, a region with an ethnic Serb majority that functions largely autonomously from the remainder of ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo. After the 2013 Brussels Agreement, the municipality became part of the Community of Serb Municipalities.
History. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Zvečan was one of the royal residences of the Serbian court. Queen Theodora died there in 1322, and nine years later her husband, Stefan Uroš III was imprisoned and strangled there.
In 1389, after the Battle of Kosovo, it was integrated into the Ottoman Empire. From 1878 to 1908 it, along with the rest of the Sanjak, was administered by the Austro-Hungarian Empire as a result of the Congress of Berlin. But in 1908 it was returned to Turkey.
On the highest spot, the Upper Town, there are remains of St George’s church, cistern and the main octagonal tower. The ramparts of this part of the fort are reinforced by massive towers.
Ethnic groups. The majority of Zvečan municipality is composed of Kosovo Serbs with around 16,000 inhabitants (95.1%). Also, there are 500 Kosovo Albanians and 300 inhabitants of other ethnicity. About 3,750 Kosovo Serbs are located in the municipality as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) as well as 250 refugees from Croatia. Most Kosovo Albanians live in the villages of Boletin, Lipë and Zhazhë.
Economy. The largest employer is the lead and zinc melting factory “Trepča”. Its large smokestack is 306 meters the tallest structure in Kosovo. Due to the serious environmental pollution from the factory, however, UN and KFOR shut it down and the only ongoing operation is alloy production for batteries and battery recycling. Once employing up to 4,000, the very low operations of “Trepča” have had a devastating effect on the local economy.
Zvečan Fortress. On the top of a rocky summit, all that remains are a high wall a big Serbian flag and other bastion remnants. It is a steep climb.
Banjska Monastery. A Serbian Orthodox monastery, all the many reconstructions are visible from the outside with brick, rough stone and dressed stone walls. Inside, it is sterile, with modern white plaster and some stone bits, new marble floors and iconoclast. Outside are the ruins of the old monastery under an open roof. Free