| Gračanica | |
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| — municipality — | |
| Gračanica/Грачаница Graçanicë/Graçanica |
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Gračanica
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Serbia[a] |
| District | District of Pristina |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Bojan Stojanović |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 11,006 (municipality) 4,500 City |
| • Density | 83.8/km2 (217/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| Website | [1] |
Gračanica (Serbian Cyrillic: Грачаница, pronounced [ɡratʃǎnitsa]; Albanian: Graçanicë, Graçanica) is a town and municipality in central Kosovo[a], and a Serb enclave centered around the Gračanica monastery, located ten kilometers away from Pristina. The 1999 Kosovo War and its aftermath transformed Gračanica from a sleepy village into an administrative center serving the needs of the 75,000 Kosovo Serbs living south of the Ibar River. International banks, internet cafes, and outlets of Serbian governmental institutions are located amidst traditional farmhouses, giving Gračanica the feel of a semi-urban center dislocated into a rural community.
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Municipality of Gračanica was formed in 2008 by the Government of Kosovo out of parts of the municipalities of Lipljan, Kosovo Polje and Pristina (City of Priština, according to the Serbian laws).[1] Although the new municipality is primarily inhabited by Serbs, this move is not recognized by Serbian government which does not recognize Municipality of Gračanica.[2]
The first municipal elections were held on 15 November 2009.[3] Government of Serbia asked Serbs not to participate in the elections[3] which it does not recognize, but many of them did. Serb Bojan Stojanović was elected Mayor.[4] Town of Gračanica is also temporary seat of the administration of Serbia-recognized City of Priština. The Serbia-sponsored local elections were held on 11 May 2008. Those elections were boycotted by the Albanians who consider Kosovo independent from Serbia, so only Serbs participated. Radovan Ničić was elected Mayor.
Gračanica proper is said to contain approximately 11,006 inhabitants, many of whom are Serbian refugees driven out of Pristina.[5] Differing estimates exist for the enclave as a whole, ranging from 13,000[6] to 11,006 inhabitants in the 15 villages that make up the enclave,[7] and down from 120,000 in 1999.[7] The enclave has a roughly ten-kilometer radius in which Serbs enjoy freedom of movement and attempt to organize a meaningful life for themselves.[5]
Ethnic composition of the municipality, as of 2010 is: Serbs - 85.7%, Albanians - 3.7% and Others - 10.6% (Roma, Ashkali, Egyptians).[8]
Gračanica has been a Serb enclave since the end of the 1999 Kosovo War, and is the largest and most secure Serbian enclave in central Kosovo. It runs along the Skopje-Pristina road, and unites several neighboring Serbian villages. The enclave, which contains rich farmland and is strategically located in the center of Kosovo, on major roads and near Pristina, has been seen as a potential threat by some Albanian nationalists, who view it as "a den of Serbian intrigue".[9]
Gračanica has an elementary school, several small stores, an open-air market and a police station that employs ethnic Albanians and international police officers, who do not speak the Serbian language. The health care center is located in the central part of the town, next to the UNMIK headquarters. An elementary school was reconstructed after the 1999 war.[9] In December 2008, the Serbian government built a €90,000 postal and telecommunications building in Gracanica, and promised further investments.[10]
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Notes:
| a. | ^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, while Serbia claims it as part of its own sovereign territory. Its independence is recognised by 86 UN member states. |
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