Suva Reka

For other uses, see Theranda (disambiguation).

Suhareka (also known as Suharekë and Therandë in Albanian) оr Suva Reka (Serbian Cyrillic: Сува Река) is a town and municipality located in the Prizren district of central-southern Kosovo.^[a] According to the 2011 census, the town has 10,422 inhabitants, while the municipality has 59,722 inhabitants.

Suhareka Suharekë or Therandë (Albanian) Сува Река or Suva Reka (Serbian)
Town and municipality
Komuna e Suharekës
Suhareka
Flag Seal
Location of the municipality of Suhareka within Kosovo
Coordinates: 42°22′48″N 20°49′19″E / 42.38000°N 20.82194°E / 42.38000; 20.82194Coordinates: 42°22′48″N 20°49′19″E / 42.38000°N 20.82194°E / 42.38000; 20.82194
Location	Kosovo^[a]
District	Prizren
Government
• Mayor	Bali Muharremaj (AAK)
• Municipal	361 km^2 (139 sq mi)
Elevation	389 m (1,276 ft)
Population  (2011)
• Urban	10,422
• Municipal	59,722
• Municipal density	170/km^2 (430/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	23000
Area code	+383 29
Car plates	04
Climate	Cfb
Website	kk.rks-gov.net/suhareke

Suhareka is located 18 km (11 mi) from the city of Prizren, and 57 km (35 mi) from Kosovo's capital, Prishtina.

Name

Suva Reka means "dry river" in Serbian. The Albanian spellings are Suharekë^[1] or Suhareka (derived from the Slavic form), while an alternative^[2] name was recently created by the Albanological Institute,^[3] Therandë,^[4] adopted from an unlocated ancient site (possibly in Suhareka or Lubizhda in the Mirusha valley^[5]).^[6]

History

Historical background

The municipality includes several medieval Serbian sites and old settlements, such as the villages of Banja, Suva Reka, Dulje, Mušutište, Popovljane, Rečane, Suva Reka, and churches of Virgin Hodegetria, St. George, Holy Trinity, St. Nicholas, among others. The settlement of Suva Reka itself was first mentioned in 1465.

Yugoslav period

From 1929 to 1941, Suva Reka was a village part of the Vardar Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Between 1918 and 1941 the demographic structure of the municipality of Suva Reka has been affected by settlements and colonization such as the Serbian colonization and population settlement, for the most part from the Toplica District.^[7]

On the night of 9–10 June 1984, ethnic Albanians desecrated 29 tombstones of the Church of the Holy Saviour.^[8][9]

Kosovo War and aftermath

During the Kosovo War (1998–99), the Yugoslav army operated in the region and it was reported that it had killed and wounded many Albanian civilians. According to the Suva Reka office of the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms, 430 people were killed in the municipality and 67 people were missing as of late August 1999.

The Suhareka massacre conducted on 26 March 1999 committed by Serbian police officers resulted in 48 victims, fourteen of which were under 15 years old. 46 members of the victims were part of the Berisha family who were targeted because they had rented one of their homes to the OSCE observers in Suva Reke/Suharekë, who provided a sense of security to the local Albanians but withdrew from the area when NATO bombing began. After the slight withdrawal of the OSCE, incidences^[spelling?] of abuse increased around late March, specifically with the beating and the harassment of ethnic Albanians residents by the Serbian police. Consequently, tensions soon increased after at least seven ethnic Albanians were killed by police or disappeared in unclear circumstances.

According to the OSCE, killings of smaller numbers of people also took place in the following villages: Bukos (Bukosh), Budakovo (Budakove), Vranic (Vraniq), Geljance (Gelanc), Sopina (Sopine), Mus-utiste (Mushtishte), and Lesane (Leshane).

After the war, Serbian heritage was destroyed all over Kosovo. The churches (including cemeteries) of Virgin Hodegetria, St. George, Holy Trinity, St. Nicholas and others were completely destroyed in 1999 after the arrival of KFOR and the end of the war.^[10]

NATO set up a military base in the municipality, Camp Casablanca.

Culture

Churches Church of the Virgin Hodegetria, Mušutište, built 1315, destroyed 1999 Church of St. George, Rečane, built in the 14th century, destroyed 1999 Church of the Holy Trinity, Mušutište, built before 1465, destroyed 1999 Church of the Holy Saviour, Mušutište, built in 1465, destroyed 1999 Church of St. Nicholas, Popovljane, built in 1626, destroyed 1999 Church of Archangel Michael, Dvorane, built in the 19th century, destroyed 1999 Church of the Holy Saviour, Dvorane, built in the 19th century, destroyed 1999 Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, Suva Reka, built 1938, destroyed 1999 Church of St. Parasčeva, Mušutište, built 1973, destroyed 1999

Mosques Suva Reka City Mosque Peqani Mosque Semetisht Mosque Gjinoc Mosque Sopine Mosque

Demographics

Municipal historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1948	27,044	—
1953	30,184	+2.22%
1961	34,729	+1.77%
1971	45,316	+2.70%
1981	59,434	+2.75%
1991	72,229	+1.97%
2011	59,722	−0.95%
2016 est.	59,681	−0.01%
Source: Division of Kosovo

According to the 2011 census done by the Government of Kosovo, the municipality of Suhareka had 59,722 inhabitants of which 98.9% were Kosovo Albanians.^[11] According to OSCE, the whereabouts of the displaced Serb and Roma communities is unknown.^[11]

Twin towns – Sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Kosovo

Suva Reka is twinned with:

•   Sarandë, Albania
•   Fellbach, Germany^[12]
•   Lilburn, United States^[13]

Notes and references

Notes

1. The political status of Kosovo is disputed. Having unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008, Kosovo is formally recognised as an independent state by 101 UN member states (with another 13 states recognising it at some point but then withdrawing their recognition) and 92 states not recognizing it, while Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own territory.

References

1. "Suhareke". kk.rks-gov.net. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
2. Robert Elsie (15 November 2010). Historical Dictionary of Kosovo. Scarecrow Press. pp. 298–. ISBN 978-0-8108-7483-1.
3. Saskia Drude (2008). Hundert Wochen Kosovo: Alltag in einem unfertigen Land. Karin Fischer Verlag. pp. 99–. ISBN 978-3-89514-836-1.
4. Elsie,R. (2010-11-15). Historical Dictionary of Kosovo. p. 268. ISBN 9780810874831.
5. Arheološko blago Kosova i Metohije: Text. Srpska Akademija nauka i umetnosti. 1998. p. 286.
6. Andreas Wittkowsky (2011). Grand Hotel Kosovo: Schlaglichter einer europäischen Staatsbildung (in German). LIT Verlag Münster. pp. 69–. ISBN 978-3-643-11425-9.
7. (in Albanian). 9 Jan 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-01-09..
8. Православље (429). 1 February 1985 . Archived from the original on 27 November 2011. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
9. Antonije Isaković (1990). "Kosovsko-metohijski zbornik". SANU: 84. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
10. Влада Републике Србије за Косово и Метохију. "Уништена и оштећена културна добра на Косову и Метохији у периоду од 1999. до 2004. године" (PDF). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
11. http://www.osce.org/kosovo/13131?download=true^{[bare URL]}
12. "Komuna Suhareke - Suhareka & Fellbach". kk.rks-gov.net. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
13. "Lilburn Becomes a 'Sister City' With Kosovo Town". patch.com. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2018.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Suva Reka.

• Municipality of Suhareka
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