Gjilan

Gjilan / Gjilani 1 Gnjilane / Гњилане 2
Basic data
State :	Kosovo 3
District :	Gjilan
Municipality :	Gjilan
Coordinates :	42 ° 28 '  N , 21 ° 28'  E Coordinates: 42 ° 27 '53 "  N , 21 ° 28' 1"  E
Height :	508  m above sea level A.
Residents :	54,239 (2011)
Telephone code :	+383 (0) 280
Postal code :	60000
License plate :	06
1  Albanian (indefinite / definite form) , 2  Serbian (Latin / Cyrillic spelling) 3  Kosovo's independence is controversial. Serbia continues to regard the country as a Serbian province.

Gjilan ( Albanian  also  Gjilani , Serbian Гњилане Gnjilane ) is a city with about 54,000 inhabitants in Kosovo . It is the administrative center of Gjilan Municipality .

geography

The city of Gjilan is one of the seven largest cities in Kosovo in terms of geographic size. The city itself is part of the Anamorava region in the south-eastern part of Kosovo. The greater community of Gjilan has an area of ​​515 square kilometers with a population density of about 175 people per square kilometer.

In total, the municipality of Gjilan includes 53 villages in addition to the city. The Gjilan Valley is a fertile agricultural region surrounded by mountains. The climate is continental . Summers are mostly hot and dry; the winters are cold and rainy.

To the southeast of the city are the Karadak mountain ranges , which reach heights of up to 1000 meters in the border area with Macedonia .

population

Ethnic composition
Year / population	Albanians	%	Serbs	%	Roma	%	Other	%	Total
1953	24,797	50.87	19,196	39.32					48,748
1961	29,942	57.12	18,297	34.91	735	1.50			52,415
1971	43,754	64.45	20,237	29.81	1,824	2.69			67,893
1981	59,764	71.08	19,212	22.85	3,347	3.98	1,762	2.1	84.085
1991	79,357	76.54	19,370	18.68	3,477	3.4	1,471	1.4	103,675
1998	94,218	79.4	19,481	16.4	3,568	3	1,387	1.2	118,654
2011	87,814	97.45	624	0.7	361	0.4	1,379	1.52	90.178
Source: Yugoslav Population Censuses for data through 1991, and Kosovo 2011 census.

The population of Gjilan is a mixture of different ethnic groups, some of whom have lived together for centuries. The population grew continuously until the outbreak of the Kosovo war in 1999. For the year 2002 a population of 133,724 was given in the large municipality of Gjilan. 68,814 of these were men (51%) and 64,910 women (49%). Ethnically speaking, the Albanians formed the largest group of the population with 116,246 inhabitants (87%). The Serbs were the largest ethnic minority with 17,478 people (13%). The urbanization was 60 percent, the remaining 40 percent lived spread out in the 53 rural villages of the Gjilan municipality.

By 2011, the population fell rapidly to 90,178. This is a decrease of 43,456 people or around 32.5%. While the Albanian population group was able to increase its share to 97.45% (87,814 people), the number of the Serbian population group fell to only 624 people, which was 0.7% of the total population. The proportion of Roma also fell sharply to 0.4% (361 people). According to estimates by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe , around 25,000 Serbs and 6,000 Roma lived in the community before the war in Kosovo. The sharp decline in the population of the non-Albanian population is due to their flight and displacement , especially during the 2004 nationwide pogrom-like riots against the Serbian or non-Albanian population by extremist Albanians, the Serbs who remained in Gjilan were or were forcibly expelled fled to nearby villages.

history

The exact circumstances of the founding of the city of Gjilan have not yet been fully clarified. There are two theories proposed by historians, which are summarized below:

• The Ottoman traveler Evliya Çelebi (1611–1683) mentions in his travel book ( Seyahatnâme ) a place called Morava as a station on the main road between Constantinople and Novo Brdo . It is mentioned as the official seat of a Kaza in the Sanjak of Vushtrria .

• Local tradition says that Gjilan was established as a settlement much later, around 1750, and established itself as a city in 1772. The rise of Gjilan was closely related to the collapse of the northern mining town of Novo Brdo , which was an important trade, economic and mining center in the region in the Middle Ages.

The US military base Camp Monteith was located near the city from 1999 to 2007 , about 32 kilometers east of Camp Bondsteel .

economy

General

By the late 1990s, Gjilan had a vibrant trading sector and a fairly solid economy. However, after the break-up of Yugoslavia, due to the political transition phase, industrial production fell sharply due to competition in the now free market and newer technologies in the region and in the country. Exports make an essential contribution to economic recovery and are crucial factors in economic progress.

Business branches

According to a list drawn up by the municipality in December 2002, 3,084 companies were registered with a total of 9,961 employees.

The branches are as follows: 1,730 companies in trade (56.1%); 277 companies in the processing industry (9%); 269 ​​companies in the transport and traffic sector (8.7%); 256 restaurants (8.3%); 166 companies in the construction industry (5.4%); 84 real estate and service companies (2.7%); 45 companies and businesses that are active in the education and training sector (1.5%); 36 companies in the health sector (1.2%); 30 farms (1%); 7 companies in the industrial and minerals sector (0.2%); 3 financial intermediaries (0.1%); 2 utility companies (electricity, gas and water; 0.06%) and 179 companies for other social activities (5.8%).

Infrastructure

traffic

In downtown Gjilan

Gjilan has a very favorable traffic situation, whereby the roads to and from the highways are not sufficiently developed. This often leads to overloads and traffic disruptions.

In the western part of the city, an additional road has been built under the coordination of KFOR , which relieves traffic within the city. The traffic that comes from the surrounding towns very often has the city center as its destination and therefore has special effects on smaller roads, which often do not meet the capacity. Furthermore, there are industrial centers in the north and south of the city, which cause heavy traffic through the city.

Most of the smaller businesses are scattered across the city, representing the second contributing factor to traffic congestion. Furthermore, motorization is increasing and is also putting a strain on the infrastructure. Another traffic-related problem is the insufficient number of parking spaces, which means that vehicles are often parked in private zones, on sidewalks or in areas where parking is prohibited.

Public transport

Gjilan does not currently own a state-owned transport company. Private bus companies connect the place with the neighboring towns and villages in the area. The national bus station is located in the southern part of the city. There are no bus routes within the city. The numerous taxi companies fill this gap. The city center is very small, so most of the sights are within walking distance.

telecommunications

The communications service provider is Telekomi i Kosovës and has a telephone system with a capacity of 10,000 landline connections and also supplies 10,000 mobile phones. The first telephone services were offered in 1980. The installation of the landline connections in 1989 enabled the city to have the first telecommunications connection with the surrounding area, the capital and the rest of the world.

The number of fixed line subscribers is growing, as is the general demand for mobile telephony, so Telekomi i Kosovës is planning to increase not only the range but also the capacity of their network. Additional antennas were installed on the outskirts for this purpose. Foreign investors, who see this as a large growth market, are developing further dynamism in this sector.

The media in Gjilan consists of two independent, private television stations ( TV Vali and Men-TV ), as well as four radio stations - Radio Gjilani , Radio Victoria , Radio Energie and a youth radio.

Culture

music school

Architecture and landmarks

There are a number of historical buildings in the community. The house of the noble Gjinolli family from the second half of the 18th century and the fortress of Pogragja are a cultural attraction.

The Albanian defense towers (alb. Kulla ) are further sights of the city. Due to their unique construction, they are a cultural heritage of the city. These defense towers consist exclusively of stone and wood. They usually have four floors. The defense towers of the Hajdinaj and Terzijaj families , which date from 1850, are particularly well-known .

Other sights in the city are the Medrese Mosque , built in 1604 , the Great Mosque from the 19th century, the now vacant Catholic Church Shën Ana e Danubit from 1938, which is made entirely of stone, the town hall and the famous music school.

Natural attractions in the area

The most famous geographical sights of the city surroundings are the Bresalce cave , the Llapushnica valley with the fortress of Pogragja, the thermal springs in Uglar and Miresh and the Livoc and Perlepnica dams .

Sports

Gjilan owns three local soccer clubs: KF Drita , KF Gjilani and KF Bashkimi . KF Drita and KF Gjilani are currently playing in the highest league, the Raiffeisen Superliga . KF Bashkimi, however, in Group B, the third division ( Liga e Dytë ). The city derby between KF Drita and KF Gjilani is one of the biggest games in the country , not least thanks to its respective fan groups Intelekeltualët and Skifterat .

Twin cities

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Gjilan has a twinning relationship with three cities in Europe: Lutterbach in France , Ypres in Belgium and Kukës in Albania .

sons and daughters of the town

• Idriz Seferi (1874–1927), leader of the Albanian national movement in the region
• Mulla Idriz Gjilani (1901–1949), Islamic clergyman
• Haki Sermaxhaj (1914–1948), Islamic clergyman
• Mustafë Koka (1931–1951), educator and civil rights activist
• Rexhep Elmazi (1938–1978), writer
• Zejnullah Halili (1945-2004), writer
• Beqir Musliu (1945–1996), writer and literary critic
• Hilmi Ibar (* 1947), chemist and educator
• Zija Shemsiu (1950–1985), political activist
• Maxhide Shaqiri (* 1951), civil and women's rights activist
• Xhavit Ahmeti (1952–1996), chemist, politician and educator
• Kadri Zeka (1953-1982), journalist
• Hydajet Hyseni (* 1954), poet and publicist
• Haki Bunjaku (* 1944), poet
• Sabit Rrustemi (* 1959), poet and prose writer
• Muharrem Ibrahimi (1959–1999), militarist and KLA member
• Mehmet Behluli (* 1962), painter and conceptual artist
• Goran Svilanović (* 1963), politician
• Agim Ramadani (1964–1999), writer and UÇK sub-commander
• Bujar Salihu (* 1972), writer
• Zoran Antić (* 1975), football player
• Albert Bunjaku (* 1983), football player
• Gentiana Ismajli (* 1984), pop singer
• Faton Toski (* 1987), football player
• Xherdan Shaqiri (born 1991), soccer player

Web links

Commons : Gnjilane  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the city (Albanian, English, Serbian)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Geographical position Gjilans. In: Official website of the large community. Retrieved September 12, 2012 . 
2. ↑ Geographical position Gjilans. In: Official website of the large community. Retrieved September 12, 2012 (Albanian). 
3. ^ Gjilan / Gnjilane - Municipal Profiles. OSCE , January 2013, accessed on 17 May 2013 (English, PDF file, 287 kB). 
4. ↑ ^{a b} After the storm ( memento of March 14, 2013 on WebCite ) , Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, March 24, 2004, No. 71, page 3, by Michael Martens, archived from the original on May 17, 2013.
5. ↑ Historia. Official website of the large community of Gjilan, accessed on May 17, 2013 (Albanian). 
6. ↑ Urban Development Plan of Gnjilane 2006-2015 +. In: Gjilan Municipality. Retrieved September 12, 2012 (English, unknown language, Albanian, PDF file; 6.44 MB). 
7. ↑ Gjilan - Community Report. (No longer available online.) In: GAP - Institute for Advanced Studies. October 2009, formerly in the original ; Retrieved September 12, 2012 (Albanian, PDF file; 324 KB).  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
8. ↑ PTK investon 17 milionë euro për telefoninë fikse. In: Nisma Ekonomike për Kosovën. April 14, 2004, accessed September 12, 2012 (Albanian).