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Prizren In Your Pocket
Prizren was founded in the Byzantine era beneath mount Sharr along the Lumbardh river. In the 14th century, the city was the seat of the imperial court of the Serb Tsar Stefan Dusan and became an important trading town on the route from Shkodra on the Adriatic coast into the Balkan interior – it was the location of the Ragusan (Dubrovnik) Republic's consulate for Kosovo. Under Ottoman rule the city maintained its important trade town status, and by the 19th century it was mainly Muslim and a cultural centre for Albanians, who started the League of Prizren liberation movement here in 1878. During World War I, Serb forces took the city, massacring hundreds of Albanian inhabitants. After the World War II occupation, the city and Kosovo returned to Serbian control, only to be forced free in 1999.
The Kosovo crisis lead to the near complete evauation of the Albanian population, after which the situation was reversed when the Albanian refugees came back and the 10.000 Serbs left. Today, less then 200 remain, in a city of about 165.000 people. Serb forces destroyed and bulldozed the historical Prizren League building on 27 March 1999, which was tit-for-tatted after the crisis with the burning down of several Serb-Orthodox churches and houses, with further vandalism inflicted during the 2004 riots. As a result, the remaining Orthodox buildings are now under guard from bored German KFOR troops.
The small city centre is dominated by the large Sinan Pasha Mosque (1561), with its beautifully painted interior. Wandering around town, you'll see dozens of examples of 18th and 19th-century Ottoman houses which have nearly all disappeared in Pristina. The small cobbled Shadervan square nearby is home to several pleasant bars and cafés, with more drinking options lining the river upstream from the pretty arched 15th century Ottoman bridge. West of the square stands the burnt-out shell of the 19th century church of St. George.
Walking up the steep road behind the mosque, you'll climb up past a neighbourhood of destroyed Serb houses, and the small, preserved 14th century Saint Saviour church (guarded by KFOR troops and stark warning signs) before arriving at the large 11th century Kaljaja Fortress with its upper and lower town. Three kilometres upstream, past a series of dramatic gorges, you arrive at the ruins of the huge medieval Monastery of the Holy Archangels.
Back in town and on the other side of the river, beside the nasty Theranda hotel, the beautiful 15th century Gazi Mehmed Pasha Hamam is a well-preserved 15th century dual bath house complex that is currently closed for visitors. It has two symmetrical sections for men and women, and a multitude of cute domes. Across the road stands the lone minaret of the Arasta Mosque that was destroyed in 1963, and just behind it along the river is the rebuilt Prizren League building, which holds a small ethnological museum (tel. 444 87, admission €1). A short walk north of the hamam stands the 12th century Orthodox Cathedral Church of the Virgin of Leviša, placed on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger in 2006, and home to many beautiful medieval frescoes.
Further reading
In 2001, the Council of Europe published a 48-page book called "Architectural and urban heritage of Prizren" containing beautiful photographs of Prizrens monuments and trilingual texts. Although the 2004 riots have damaged several of the buildings mentioned in the book, it's a great publication, highlighting the diversity of Prizren's treasures. Though the book is not available locally in Kosovo, the photos and texts can be viewed online (click the link above), and you can also request to be mailed a copy of the book free of charge.
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