Peć District

Infobox Serbian district
name_alb = Peja District
name_serC = Пећки округ
name_serL = Pećki okrug
en_name = Peć District
province_or_region = Kosovo
capital = Peć
commissioner =
municipalities = 5
settlements =
cities_and_towns =
villages =
area =
population = 414,187
density =
footnotes = The Peć District (Serbian: Пећки округ or "Pećki okrug"), also called "Dukagjin" or "Regjioni i Pejës" in Albanian, is a district. It is located in the west part of Kosovo. 90% of its population of 414,187 is Albanian, but there also live another ethnic groups such as Serbs, Roma, etc. Its seat is in the city of Peć.

Municipalities

It included the municipalities of:
*Peć (Albanian: "Pejë/Peja", in medieval history also known as "Ipek" ; the Western practice is to mention Albanian masculine place-names in the indefinite, and the feminine names in the definite forms ; hence, "Peja" and not "Pejë", "Istog" and not "Istogu")
*Istok (Albanian: "Istog", or, more recently also known as "Burim", the Albanian "translation" of the Serbian "Istok" : "Spring")
*Klina (Albanian: "Klina")
*Dečani (Albanian: "Deçan")
*Đakovica (Albanian: "Gjakova")

Culture and history

Peć is first mentioned in 1302, as a seat of the Serbian Patriarchy. The Patriarchate of Peć consists of a group of monasteries and has been the seat of the Serb Archbishops and Patriarchs for about 200 years since its foundation. It is famous for the Patriarchate of Peć Church, the official residence of the Patriarchs of the Serb Orthodox Church. The Patriarchy was restored by the Muslim Serb Mehmed Paša Sokolović from Eastern Bosnia, who was the Ottoman Vizier. However the Patriarchs do not actually reside here for many years, they reside in Belgrade.

The frescoes from the church of St. Apostles, dating from the thirteenth century, rank among the most remarkable medieval Serbian paintings. Over the centuries, churches and other buildings of the Peć Patriarchy have been destroyed and reconstructed several times. Today's appearance dates back to 1931-1932. The Visoki Dečani Monastery is one of the most grandiose monuments of the Serb medieval culture. It is the endowment of King Stefan Dečanski, built from 1327 to 1335.

Economy

The main activities in Peja District are leather and footwear, forestry, industrial, agricultural-industrial, and a car spare-parts factory.

ee also

*History of Kosovo
*History of Serbia