Dragash/Dragaš | |
|---|---|
Town andmunicipality | |
 | |
 Emblem | |
  Dragash/Dragaš  Dragash/Dragaš | |
| Coordinates:42°03′40″N20°39′10″E / 42.06111°N 20.65278°E /42.06111; 20.65278 | |
| Country | Kosovo |
| District | Prizren |
| Named after | Konstantin Dragaš |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Behxhet Xheladini |
| Area | |
• Municipal | 430 km2 (170 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 8th in Kosovo |
| Population (2024)[1] | |
• Municipal | 28,896 |
| • Density | 67/km2 (170/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 1,332 |
| • Ethnicity | |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 22000 |
| Area code | +383 |
| Vehicle registration | 04 |
| Website | dragash |
Dragash orSharr (Albaniandefinite form:Dragashi orSharri;Serbian Cyrillic:Драгаш) is atown andmunicipality located in thePrizren District ofKosovo. According to the 2024 census, the municipality has 28,896 inhabitants.
The Albanian nameSharri is a reference to theSharr Mountains (in AlbanianSharr).Sharr can be traced toAlbanian:sharrë meaning 'saw', denoting the jagged peaks and 'saw-toothed ridge'.[2] The Serbian nameDragaš comes from medieval Serbian lordConstantine Dragaš.
The oldest mosque in Kosovo and in theBalkans was built in 1289 and it is calledAl-Aga Mosque.[3]
Dragash was named after aSerbian medieval noble family of the same name which servedDušan the Mighty (r. 1331-1355) andUroš the Weak (r. 1355-1371).[citation needed] From 1877 to 1913, Dragash was part ofKosovo Vilayet in the Ottoman Empire. From 1929 to 1941, Dragash was part of theVardar Banovina of theKingdom of Yugoslavia. In 1941, Yugoslavia came underAxis invasion, and Dragash became a part ofAlbania; first under theDebar prefecture and later in 1943 transferred to the Kosovo prefecture afterGerman takeover. From 1945 to 1992 Dragash was part of theSocialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo within theSocialist Republic of Serbia and after itsdisintegration part of the significantly less autonomousAutonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within theRepublic of Serbia of theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia until 1999. During the period between 1991 and the end of theKosovo War in 1999, the area was claimed by the self-declaredproto-state ofKosova, but it was never fully administered by its partially recognized government.
The Gora municipality andOpoja region (attached to Prizren municipality) remained separated during the Milošević period.[4][5] During the Kosovo war, Albanians from Opoja fled to neighbouringAlbania in cars, trucks and tractors along with others on foot who following the conflict returned home.[6] After the war, theGorani-majority Gora municipality was merged with the Albanian-inhabitedOpoja region to form the municipality of Dragash by theUnited Nations Mission (UNMIK), and the new administrative unit has an Albanian majority.[4][7][6]
The town of Dragash is the regional and municipal centre for both the Gora and Opoja regions of Dragash municipality.[4] Following 1999, Dragash has a mixed population ofGorani, who live in the lower neighbourhood andAlbanians in the upper neighbourhood that constitute the majority of inhabitants.[4]
Apart from the multiethnic town of Dragash, the Gorani of Kosovo continue to live in villages primarily inhabited by their community in Gora, and relations with Albanians remain tense.[4] Albanians predominantly live in the Opoja region.[6] Mixed marriage between both communities do not occur, with the exception of a few Gorani families that have migrated toPrizren.[4]
The territory of the Dragash municipality lies in the northern latitude of 41 52' 30" to 42 09' 03" and longitude of 20 35' 39" to 20 48' 26". The whole territory is surrounded by theŠar Mountains, thenKoritnik Mountain, mountain Gjalic and Cylen in the direction ofPrizren. Only one part of the territory in Prizren direction is hilly with a relatively slight slope by which this territory is connected with Prizren basin and through Prizren with the world.
Aside from the town of Dragash, the following settlements comprise the municipality:
The former emblem of Dragash included an image of theŠarplaninac dog.[8] Another symbol of Dragash isŠar cheese.
The main employers in the area are the Municipality,Kosovo Police, and private companies such as KUK Commerc, Meka and former state-owned enterprises.[9]
All major local companies were formerly state-run and, as elsewhere in Kosovo, are currently under the responsibility of KTA. The original UNMIK strategy towards these public enterprises consisted of carrying out a process of 'commercialisation'. This process was believed to be the best way to revive the enterprises, although no foreign investors decided to invest.[9]
The municipality is mountainous and therefore has related infrastructural problems (e.g. problematic access to some villages during winter season). Its infrastructure was in a state of serious disrepair before the war, due to a combination of harsh winters and state neglect.[citation needed] Roads, in particular, (Zhur–Dragash; Dragash-Brod; Dragash-Restelica) require urgent improvement for the social-economic development of the area. Bus connections between Dragash town and the Opoja area continue to improve and the services to Gora are organized by the two OSCE-SIMF buses donated to the municipality. There is a free school bus service provided by the municipality along Gora routes. Taxi services exist but are largely unaffordable for the population. OSCE through SIMF/ ECSF funds supported also the rehabilitation of the Heath House.
Mobile coverage is also improving. Water supply is ensured in all villages.[9]
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 26,850 | — |
| 1981 | 35,054 | +2.70% |
| 1991 | 39,435 | +1.18% |
| 2011 | 34,827 | −0.62% |
| 2024 | 28,896 | −1.43% |
According to the last official census done in 2011, the municipality of Dragash has 34,827 inhabitants. Based on the population estimates from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics in 2016, the municipality has 34,349 inhabitants. The municipality's population mostly lives in rural areas (97%).
The municipality is split into the regions ofOpolje andGora. Most of theGorani live in Gora, whilst mostAlbanians live in Opoja and are majority population of whole municipality.[4][6]
Due to geopolitical circumstances, some of the local Gorani people have over time self declared themselves asAlbanians,Macedonians,Bosniaks, MuslimBulgarians,Serbs,Turks andMuslims (nationality).[10][11]
The ethnic composition of the municipality:
OSCE estimates say the following:[9]
According to the census in 2011, a significant number of people (4,100) self identified asBosniaks in the municipality.
