Prizren Fortress

Prizren Fortress (Albanian: Каlаја e Prizrenit), Serbian Latin: Prizrenska Kaljaja) or (Serbian: Призренски град/Prizrenski grad), is a medieval fortress in Prizren, Kosovo[a]. It was built on a hill above Prizrenska Bistrica, around which the modern city developed. The first fort, erected on this location by the Byzantines, was further expanded by Emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–55). In the 14th century the fort served as the capital of the Serbian Empire which later came under the control of the Ottomans for four centuries. It was declared a Monument of Culture of Exceptional Importance in 1948.[1]

Prizren Fortress
Albanian: Kalaja e Prizrenit
Serbian Latin: Prizrenska Kaljaja
Prizren in Kosovo
Site information
Controlled by Byzantine Empire
 Serbian Empire
 Ottoman Empire
Open to
the public		yes
Websitedtk.rks-gov.net/tkk_objekti.aspx?id=6229
Site history
Built11th century (11th century)
Built byByzantine Empire (first constructed in the 11th century)


Stefan Dušan (further expanded during the 14th century)


Ottoman Empire (further expanded between the 15th and 20th century)
EventsDokufest

History

Prizren was founded in the 11th century on the ruins of ancient Theranda, first mentioned in 1019 at the time of Basil II (r. 976–1025) in the form of Prizdrijana. In 1072, Serbian ruler Constantine Bodin (r. 1081–1101) was declared "Emperor of the Bulgarians" in Prizren during the Uprising of Georgi Voiteh against the Byzantine Empire.

Left: Basil II, Byzantine Emperor
Right: Stefan Dušan, Serbian Emperor

From the time of Stefan the First-Crowned (r. 1196–1228) and onwards, Prizren's importance increased, particularly during the reigns of King Stefan Milutin (r. 1282–1321) and Emperors Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–55) and Uroš V (r. 1355–71). The Prizren square and its stronghold developed the Via de Zenta trade route which passed through the Drin valley and connected the Adriatic Sea with the interior of the Balkan Peninsula. Tsar Dušan expanded the fortification and had his endowment, the Monastery of the Holy Archangels, built in its vicinity, by the Višegrad fortress. Prizren served as the first Serbian imperial capital for which it is called the City of the Emperor or Serbian Tsarigrad.

Left: Main Gate
Right: The remains of one of the towers

During the fall of the Serbian Empire, up until the turn of the 14th century, the city was in the possession of several Serbian noble families, such as the Mrnjavčević family, the Balšić family, and the Branković family. With Ottoman expansion, it began to lose its commercial importance, so in 1433 it is mentioned as a deserted square. Prizren fell to the Ottomans on 21 June 1455, although some sources place it in 1459. The Ottomans expanded the fortress, and held it up until Prizren's capture by Serbia during the First Balkan War (1912).

During the Ottoman occupation of Serbia, Serbs held social gatherings at several monumental places, such as Kaljaja, where they danced the Kolo in the evening.[2]

See also

References
  1. Monuments of Culture in Serbia: ПРИЗРЕНСКА ТВРЂАВА, ДУШАНОВ ГРАД-КАЉАЈА (SANU) (in Serbian and English)
  2. Serbian Folk Dance Tradition in Prizren Ethnomusicology, Vol. 6, No. 2 (May, 1962)

Sources
  • Deroko, Aleksandar (1950). Srednjevekovni gradovi u Srbiji. Prosveta.
  • Zdravković, Ivan M. (1970). Srednjovekovni gradovi i dvorci na Kosovu u Srbiji. Turistička štampa.

Annotations
a. ^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008, but Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the 2013 Brussels Agreement. Kosovo is currently recognized as an independent state by 97 out of the 193 United Nations member states. In total, 112 UN member states recognized Kosovo at some point, of which 15 later withdrew their recognition.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.