Janjevci

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Janjevci


Total population	10,000 approx.
Regions with significant populations	Croatia, Serbia (Kosovo)
Language	Janjevci subdialect of the Croatian language. (Very similar to the Dubrovnik subdialect)
Religion	Catholic
Related ethnic groups	Croats

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Janjevci are the inhabitants of the Kosovo town of Janjevo and surrounding villages, located near Pristina as well as villages centered on Letnica near Vitina (Papare, Vrmez, Vrnavo Kolo).

The Janjevci as a specific group are one of two Croatian regional subgroups in Kosovo, belonging to the Slavic ethnic. The Janjevci are mostly descended from traders who settled in Kosovo during the 14th century from the Republic of Dubrovnik, modern-day Croatia, and nearby Bosnia and Herzegovina. They have maintained their Catholic faith and Croatian identity throughout the centuries.

The first written mention is by pope Benedict XII in 1303, mentioning Janjevo as the center of the catholic parish of Sveti Nikola.

Since 1991, due to Serbian pressure first, and then because of the Kosovo War they have been migrating from Kosovo, mostly to Croatia, a singular choice for Slavic catholics during the process of Yugoslavia's disintegration and the Yugoslav wars.

In 1992, some inhabitants from Letnica, another Croatian village in Kosovo, emigrated to Croatia and settled in abandoned homes of Serbs in the villages of Voćin and Varešnica in western Slavonia. The previous Serb landlords fled during the war.

Many of the Janjevci settled in Serb homes in inner Dalmatia in 1996, particularly the village of Kistanje, which was abandoned in 1995 following Operation Storm. After the return of Serbian refugees, the village became divided between two hostile communities. The Janjevci have since returned the Serbian houses to their owners and instead built properties for themselves in a new part of Kistanje called Novo Naselje (lit. New Settlement).

Another population center of Janjevci is on and around Konjščinska Street in the Dubrava quarter of Zagreb. They have since turn this area into vibrant shopping district.

Janjevci families started migrating to Croatia in the 1950's , with most of them settling in Zagreb. By the beginning of the 1970's, there was a large community of Janjevci along & within the vicinity of Konjšćinska Street in Dubrava, Zagreb. Since that period, Konjšćinska Street became a synonym for Janjevci, a category of cheap trade.

According to records in 2002, there are 966 families of Janjevci on Croatia, with the majority of them residing in the capital Zagreb (669 families), and the rest in other parts of Croatia (297 families).

Before 1991, there were 8,062 Janjevci in Kosovo. In 1998 about 1,300 remained. After the Kosovo War, in Janjevo itself only around 350 remained, the rest fled mostly to Croatia.

The present sitation for Croats in Kosovo is as described: 'With the downfall of Milosevic's policy in Kosovo and with the exodus of most of the Serb population, the survival of the remaining Croat population also became uncertain. Albanian plunderers from neighbouring villages terrorised them and as a result they asked Croatia to help them leave Letnica collectively' [1]

There is an attempt in progress to find proper place for them in Croatia, and to enable it to take them all together on secure ground.