Suva Reka | |
|---|---|
Town andmunicipality | |
  .jpg) From the top, View of Suhareka, Xhamia e Qytetit, Suva Reka Bus station | |
 Flag  Seal | |
  Suva Reka  Suva Reka | |
| Coordinates:42°22′48″N20°49′19″E / 42.38000°N 20.82194°E /42.38000; 20.82194 | |
| Location | Kosovo |
| District | Prizren |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Bali Muharremaj (AAK) |
| Area | |
• Municipality | 361 km2 (139 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 12th in Kosovo |
| Elevation | 389 m (1,276 ft) |
| Population (2024)[1] | |
• Municipality | 45,713 |
| Demonym(s) | Albanian:Therandas (m), Therandase (f) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 23000 |
| Area code | +383 29 |
| Vehicle registration | 04 |
| Climate | Cfb |
| Website | kk |
Suva Reka (Serbian Cyrillic:Сува Река) orSuharekë (Albaniandefinite form:Suhareka) orTherandë (Albaniandefinite form:Theranda) is atown andmunicipality located in thePrizren district of central-southernKosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town has 10,422 inhabitants, while the municipality has 59,722 inhabitants mostlyKosovo Albanians.
Suva Reka is located 18 km (11 mi) from the city ofPrizren, and 57 km (35 mi) from Kosovo's capital,Pristina.
Suva Reka means "dry river" in theSerbian language.[2] The Albanian spellings areSuharekë[3] orSuhareka (derived from the Slavic form), while an alternative[4][5]Therandë,[6] was adopted from an unlocated ancient site (possibly in Suhareka or Lubizhda in the Mirusha valley.[7][8]
The municipality includes several medieval sites and old settlements, such as the villages ofBanjë, Suharekë,Duhël,Mushtishtë,Popolan,Reçan, and churches ofVirgin Hodegetria, St. George, Holy Trinity, St. Nicholas, among others. The settlement of Theranda itself was first mentioned in 1465.
In 1651, the Albanian Catholic Gregor Mazrreku reported that all the men in Suharekë (Suva Reka), where there had been previously 160 Catholic households, had converted to Islam, but that about 36 or 37 of their wives remained Catholic.[9]
From 1929 to 1941, Suva Reka was a town part of theVardar Banovina of theKingdom 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 theToplica District.[10]
On the night of 9–10 June 1984, ethnic Albanians desecrated 29 tombstones of the Church of the Holy Saviour.[11][12]
During theKosovo War (1998–99), theKosovo Liberation Army (KLA) operated in the region and it was reported that it had killed and wounded several Serbian policemen and civilians. Among KLA attacks against police officers recorded in 1998 in the municipality were: on 16 August in Blace (one badly wounded), on 23 August in Dulje (three badly, four lightly wounded) and in Reštane (one badly wounded), on 25 August in Dulje (one badly wounded), on 28 September in Budakovo (three badly wounded) and in Vranić (one lightly wounded).[13] KLA shot at an OSCE vehicle driving behind a FR Yugoslav military convoy between Suva Reka and Štimlje on 5 November 1998.[14] On 8 January 1999, KLA membersambushed aMUP convoy near Suva Reka, killing three Serbian policemen.[15] In 10–16 January 1999, FR Yugoslav forces conducted counter-insurgency operations in Suva Reka.[16]
TheUNHCR estimated on 18 March 1999 that the Suva Reka municipality had 6,100 displaced and 5,600 returnees.[17] On 25 March, the town was surrounded by the Yugoslav army and police, and 48 Albanians weremassacred. 46 of the victims were members of the Berisha family, 14 of whom were under 15 years old.[18] There were reports that Serb forces extorted Albanians in Belanica on 27 March.[19] In April and May 1999, Serb paramilitary repeatedly attacked the villages in the municipality, forcing the population to leave and gather in KLA territory.[19]Human Rights Watch also reported the killing of 11 Albanian men in one village, 24 killed in Trnje, and 12 killed in the village of Belanica. According to the Suva Reka office of the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms, 430 people were killed in the Suva Reka municipality during theNATO bombing campaign (24 March-11 June).[20] On 11–12 June 1999, a Serb family of four was kidnapped inDvorane and never located.[21][22] On 12 June 1999, KLA attacked Mušutište and kidnapped eighteen Serb civilians.[23][24]
After the war,Serbian heritage was destroyed all over Kosovo. The churches (including cemeteries) ofVirgin Hodegetria, St. George, Holy Trinity, St. Nicholas and others were completely destroyed in 1999 after the arrival ofKFOR and the end of the war.[25]
NATO set up a military base in the municipality,Camp Casablanca.
Churches[edit]
| Mosques[edit]
|
| 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% |
| 2024 | 45,713 | −2.04% |
| Source:Division of Kosovo | ||
According to the 2011 census done by theGovernment of Kosovo, the municipality of Suva Reka had 59,722 inhabitants of which 98.9% wereKosovo Albanians.[26] According toOSCE, the whereabouts of the displaced Serb and Roma communities is unknown.[26]
Suva Reka istwinned with:
| District of Ferizaj |  | |
|---|---|---|
| District of Gjakova | ||
| District of Gjilan | ||
| District of Mitrovica | ||
| District of Peja | ||
| District of Pristina | ||
| District of Prizren | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
