Peć

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Peja / Pejë
Peć / Пећ




leader_name =Ali Berisha |leader_title =Mayor
area_km2 =
elevation_m = 550
population_total = 97,250 |population_footnotes = [World Gazetteer: [http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&dat=32&srt=npan&col=aohdq&geo=-244 Serbia and Montenegro: largest cities and town and statistics of their population] . Retrieved on June 6, 2007.]
population_as_of = 2007
population_density_km2 =
postal code= 30000
subdivision_type =
subdivision_name =
subdivision_type1 = District
subdivision_name1 = District of Peć
subdivision_type2 = Municipality
subdivision_name2 = Municipality of Peć
timezone = CET |utc_offset =+1
website = [http://www.peja-komuna.org Municipality of Peć]
footnotes =

Peć is a city and municipality in north-western Kosovo. It is also the administrative centre of the homonymous district.

Name

The city is known as "Peć" (Пећ) in Serbian and "Pejë" or "Peja" in Albanian. Other names of the city include the Latin "Pescium" and "Siparantum", the Turkish "Ipek" or "İpek", and the formerly used form "Pentza".

History

The city is located in a strategic position on the Pećka Bistrica river, a tributary of the White Drin to the east of the North Albanian Alps. The city was known as "Pescium" during the Roman era; or as reported by Ptolemy in his "Geography", "Siparantum".

The town became a major religious center of medieval Serbia under the Serbian Tsar Stefan Dušan, who made it the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1346. It retained this status until 1766, when the Patriarchate of Peć was abolished. Today, Peć holds the Patriarchate of Serbia. The town and its surrounding area are still revered by adherents of Serbian Orthodoxy; the town is the site of the patriarchal monastery, which stands above the town and consists of four fresco-decorated churches, a library, and a treasury. The 14th century Visoki Dečani monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, lies about 19 km south, in nearby Dečani.

Peć was captured by the Ottomans in the late 14th century, and underwent major changes under their rule, including a change of name to "Ipek". The town was settled by a large number of Turks, many of whose descendants still live in the area, and took on a distinctly oriental character with narrow streets and old-style Turkish houses. It also gained an Islamic character with the construction of a number of mosques, many of which still survive. One of these is the Bajrakli Mosque, built by the Ottomans in the 15th century and located in the center of the city.

The five centuries of Ottoman rule came to an end in the First Balkan War of 1912-1913, when Montenegro took control of the town. In the late 1915, during World War I, Austria-Hungary took the city. Peć was liberated in the October 1918. After World War I, the city became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Between 1931 and 1941 the city was part of Zeta Banovina. During the World War II Peć was occupied by Albania. After World War II, Peć became part of Yugoslavia as part of the People's Republic of Serbia.

Relations between Serbs and Albanians, who were the majority population, were often tense during the 20th century. They came to a head in the Kosovo War of 1999, during which the city suffered heavy damage and mass killings. [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991342-1,00.html Crimes Of War] , "Time Magazine", June 28, 1999] . It suffered further damage in violent inter-ethnic unrest in 2004.

Economy

The economy was inevitably badly affected by the war, but historically it has centered on agricultural activities and craftworks produced by the city's traditional craftsmen – coppersmiths, goldsmiths, slipper makers, leather tanners, saddle makers, etc.

Touristic Places

Peć has beautiful, if undeveloped touristic places, including Rugova Canyon and skiing is possible in the mountains nearby.

Demographics

In 2003 the city had a population of 81,800.fact|date=June 2007

port

Peć is one of the more successful cities in Kosovan sport leagues. Its premier football team is KF Besa, its basketball teams are KB Peja and KF Shqiponja. Both of them are active in the Kosovar Superliga. KB Peja is the older and more established basketball team of. Additionally the city is a host to a handball tea, KH Besa Famiglia, a volleyball team Ejona Peja, a judo team Ippon, as well as a womens basketball team KB Penza.

ee also

* District of Peć

References

External links

* [http://www.albanian.com/information/countries/kosova/peja/index.html - Albanian Information - Peja]