Svirce (Medveđa)

Svirce
Свирце
Svircë
Village
Svirce, 2017 (vegatation covers abandoned homes since the 1999-2001 conflict)
Svirce
Coordinates: 42°42′58″N 21°34′27″E / 42.71611°N 21.57417°E / 42.71611; 21.57417
Country  Serbia
District Jablanica District
Municipality Medveđa
Area
 • Total 8.5 sq mi (21.9 km2)
Elevation 3,284 ft (1,001 m)
Population (2002)
 • Total 501
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)

Svirce (Albanian: Svircë) is a village in the south of municipality of Medveđa, Serbia. Until the 1999 Kosovo War it had 1300 people, the largest village in population in Medvedja municipality after the town of Medvedja itself. According to the 2002 census, the village has a population of 501 people.[1] Of these, 499 were ethnic Albanians, and 2 others.[1]

Geography

Svirce is mostly a mountainous village in altitude but having a big territory of 22 km2, the village has a low altitude around 460 meters in the north to Sijarina village and reaching up to 1080 meters to the south in the border with Republic of Kosovo and the Kosovan part of the Svirce village. In the west it borders Borovac village and a small part of Vrapce village. In the north is the Spa town of Sijarinska Banja and the village of Sijarina, in the east borders Ravna Banja and Stara Banja villages. It has different types of vegetation and animals and also some artificial plantations of mostly Pine trees in the border with Kosovo during the time of Yugoslavia. It is a part of the Goljak old mountain range that is located in Serbia and Kosovo.

History

Albanians in the Medveđa municipality according to villages (as of 2002).

The village of Svirce is separated in two due to the events of the Serbo-Turkish War (1876–78) which was part of the wider Russo-Turkish War (1877-78). The war ended in defeat for the Ottoman Empire. The larger portion of Svirce became part of Serbia and the smaller portion toward the south remained part of Ottoman Kosovo. It is one of few villages in the region that were spared from the Expulsion of Albanians (1877-1878) by the Serb army. The discrimination and difficult circumstances arising from the Serbian police and army along with the economic situation all combined during the Kosovo conflict of 1998-2001 caused a great depopulation of the area. In 1971 and 1981 Svirce had around 1300 people all ethnic local Albanians. Today it has less than 100 people in summer and less than 50 in winter. There is a police station in the center of the village 42°45′N 21°35′E / 42.75°N 21.58°E / 42.75; 21.58 which controls every citizen when going to visit their abandoned homes closer to the border with Kosovo.

Albanian language school and police station in Svirce

References

  1. 1 2 Popis stanovništva, domaćinstava i Stanova 2002. Knjiga 1: Nacionalna ili etnička pripadnost po naseljima. Republika Srbija, Republički zavod za statistiku Beograd 2003. ISBN 86-84433-00-9

See also

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