Banja, Skenderaj
Geography
Banja is located circa 2 km from Runik, on the Pejë–Mitrovica road.
History
Banja was mentioned for the first time in a charter of Serbian King Stefan Uroš I (r. 1243–1276), dating to the mid-13th century, granted (metochion) to the Gračanica monastery. It was then granted by King Stefan Milutin (r. 1282–1321) to the Banjska Monastery. The village church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, as founded by nobleman Rodop who served Serbian Despot Đurađ Branković (r. 1427–1456), and was buried here in 1436. Two bells found in its ruins are preserved in the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć and National Museum in Belgrade. Between 1936–41 the church was renovated, but destroyed during World War II by Albanian fascists. The village was among those in North Kosovo that was burned down by Albanian paramilitaries and the Serb population expelled. In 1971 the church was reconstructed. The church was used as a model for an Orthodox church in Norway.
On the night of 21 May 1998 a large number of Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army members of Drenica attacked the villages of Banja and Suvo Grlo (which are inhabited by Serbs) and a military station in Rudnik, above Skenderaj. Serbs and Serbian police answered the fire, no deaths or injuries were reported by them.
| Ethnic group | 1948 | 1953 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serbs | 338 | |||||
| Albanians | 32 | |||||
| Total | 552 | 595 | 636 | 513 | 371 | 274 |
References
- ^ 2011 Kosovo Census results
- ^ Kalezić 2002, p. 131.
- ^ Spomenici.
- ^ "Kosovo i Metohija, sećanje (IV) – Zoran Bogavac: Nečujna zvona; Dobrica Erić: Svi moji preci". NSPM.
- ^ "HRIŠĆANSKO NASLEĐE KOSMETA (1)". Glas Srspke.
- ^ "Православне светиње на Косову и Метохији". Kosmet.
- ^ Antonijević, Nenad (2009). Албански злочини над Србима на Косову и Метохији у Другом светском рату, документа (PDF). Muzej žrtava genocida. p. 40. ISBN 9788690632992.
- ^ "Hellige Trifon skita". Ortodoks.
- ^ "Dnevnik od 19. do 24. maja". Ilustrovana Politika (2054). 30 May 1998. Archived from the original on 3 January 2009.
- ^ 1981 Census, Kosovo Archived 2012-03-17 at the Wayback Machine (Preliminary)
- ^ "Kosovo censuses 1948-1991". Archived from the original on 2020-01-13. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
Sources
- Kalezić, Dimitrije M. (2002). A - Z. Savremena administracija. p. 131. ISBN 9788638706716.
- Maletić, Mihailo (1937). Kosovo nekad i danas. p. 402.
- Ristanović, Slobodan (2005). Kroz Srbiju i Crnu Goru. КСЕ-НА. p. 690.
- Влада Републике Србије за Косово и Метохију. "Угрожена културна добра на Косову и Метохији" (PDF).
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - "Црква Св. Николе". Spomenici kulture.
- "Čudesno selo Banje: U srcu Drenice, Srbija u srcu". KoSSev.
- "САДА НАМ ЈЕ НАЈТЕЖЕ!". Srpska.