Gnjilane

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Gjilani
Gjilan
Гњилане
Gnjilane
Coat of Arms
[[Image:{{{image_coatofarms}}}\|center\|Coat of Arms ]]
Location in Kosovo

General Information
Mayor	Xhemajl Hyseni
Land area	515
Altitude	?
Population (2005)	130,000 [1]
Population density (2005)	253
Coordinates	?
Postal code:	{{{postal code}}}
Area code	+381 280
Time zone	UTC+1
Website	Municipality of Gjilan

Gjilani or Gjilan (Albanian) or Gnjilane (Serbian; Cyrillic: Гњилане), is a city and the centrum of Gjilani District, located in Kosovo (under UN administration, formally part of Serbia) at 42.47° North, 21.48° East.

1 Name and history
2 Population
3 Features
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Name and history

The origin of the town name is disputed. Albanian sources claim the town was established by Gjinaj family in 1772, who arrived from Novo Brdo, one of the most important late medieval cities in the central Balkans, with the founder of the city believed to be Bahti Beg Gjinolli. Serbs claim that its name stems from the word "putrid" in the Serbian language (gnjidav / gnjio) and that it has been inhabited since the 14th Century.

In 1999, Camp Monteith was established outside the city as a base of operations for KFOR during Operation Joint Guardian.

[edit] Population

In 1991, the municipality had a population of 103,675, including 76.54% Albanians, 18.83% Serbs and Montenegrins, etc.

In 2003, the Gnjilane/Gjilan municipality was estimated to have 133,724 citizens, out of which 79,898 live in the urban area.

[edit] Features

Gnjilane/Gjilan is now the administrative center of the Gjilani District of Kosovo. Since February 15, 2003, it is the headquarters of the Local Democracy Agency in Kosovo of the Council of Europe.