| Podujevo | |
|---|---|
| — Municipality and city — | |
| Подујево (Podujevo) Podujeva (Podujevë, Besiana) |
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| Podujevo center | |
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Podujevo
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Kosovo |
| District | District of Pristina |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Agim Veliu (LDK) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 63.25997 km2 (24.4 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 87,933 (municipality) |
| • Density | 139.0/km2 (360/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code | 11000 |
| Area code(s) | +381 38 |
| Car plates | 01 |
| Website | Municipality of Pudojevo |
Podujevo or Podujeva (Albanian: Podujevë, Podujeva or Besiana; Serbian: Подујево, Podujevo) is a town and municipality located in the district of Pristina of north-eastern Kosovo[a].
Podujevo[1] is situated in a strategic position due to a regional motorway and railroad passing through it which links surrounding regions. Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, is located some 35 km (22 mi) to the south. Although there is no official data, the total population of the municipality is estimated at 87,933, including the estimated 35,000 inhabitants of the town.[2]
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The Albanian name Besiana dates back at least from the 6th century in the writings of Prokopius, who lists Podujevo's fort as one of the forts of Dardania restaured by Justinian.[3]
The founding member of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), Zahir Pajaziti, was from the Podujevo region.
During the 1998-99 Kosovo War, the town was the site of the Podujevo massacre, on March 28, in which 14 Kosovo Albanian women and children were executed by Serbian paramilitary forces.
Podujevo is known for its cattle trade and for its battlefields during the Kosovo War. It has over 70 villages. Podujevo is not one of the major cities of Kosovo, but has a good potential to invite tourists from around Kosovo and other foreign places for its beautiful mountains and Lake Batlava.
The road coming into Podujevo from Central Serbia was the site of the 2001 Podujevo bus bombing, when 12 Serb pilgrims heading to the Gračanica monastery site were killed and dozens more were injured by a bomb placed by Albanian terrorists.
During the violent unrest in 2004, the Serbian Orthodox Saint Elijah Church in Podujevo was burned down and desecrated by Albanian extremists.[4]
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