GNJILANE

'Gnjilane' (Serbian: Гњилане, or ''Gnjilane''; Albanian: ''Gjilani'' or ''Gjilan'') is a city and municipality in eastern Kosovo, a Serbian province under UN administration. Located at 42.47° North, 21.48° East, it is the administrative center of the Gjilani District.

Contents

Name and history

Population

Features

See also

References

External links

Name and history

The origin of the town name is disputed. Albanian sources claim (a fact that is disputed) that the town was originally established by the Gjinaj family in 1772, who arrived from Novo Brdo, one of the most important late-medieval cities in the central Balkans. It is believed, though, to have been inhabited since the late 14th Century, with the original inhabitants being unknown beyond some doubt.
In 1915, in and around the city the Serbian army made a futile stand against the 1st Army of Bulgaria, during the World War I Battle of Kosovo. That battle resulted in the ultimate defeat of the Serbian military, and the occupation by the forces allied with the then German Empire.
In 1999, Camp Monteith was established outside the city as a base of operations for KFOR during Operation Joint Guardian, on the site of a destroyed Serbian military base. Gjilan has also served as the regional headquarters of the UNMIK International Police task force from 1999.

Population

In 1991, the municipality had a population of 103,675, including 90.54% Albanians, 7.83% Serbs and Montenegrins, etc.
In 2003, the Gnjilane municipality was estimated to have 133,724 citizens, out of which 79,898 live in the urban area.

Features

Gnjilane is now the administrative center of the Gjilani District of Kosovo. Since February 15 2003, it is the headquarters of the Local Democracy Agency in Kosovo of the Council of Europe.

See also

★ Gnjilane District

References

External links

★ Photo of Gjilan-Gnjilane

★ Pictures of NATO bombing of Gjilan-Gnjilane

★ SOK Kosovo and its population