Rožaje

Coordinates: 42°50′N 20°10′E / 42.84°N 20.16°E / 42.84; 20.16
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Rožaje
Рожаје
Rozhajë
Town and municipality
From the top, View over the city, Sultan Murat II Mosque, Ganić Tower
View of Rožaje
UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code
84310
Area code+382 51
ISO 3166-2 codeME-17
Car platesRO
ClimateCfb
Websitewww.rozaje.me

Rožaje (Montenegrin: Рожаје, Bosnian: Rožaje, pronounced [rɔ̂ʒajɛ]; Albanian: Rrozhajë) is a town in Montenegro in the northern region.

As of 2023, the town has a population of 13,608 inhabitants.

Surrounded by hills to its west and mountains to its east (notably

KK Ibar and OK Ibar. Rožaje is the centre of the Rožaje Municipality
within the 24 municipalities of Montenegro.

Rožaje annually celebrates its foundation day on September 30.[2]

History

Rožaje was first settled in antiquity by the

migration of the Slavs, Slavs settled in the area.[3] Rožaje was first mentioned in 1571 and 1585. The settlement surrounding the then fort was called Trgovište, which it was called until 1912.[citation needed
]

During the Ottoman Empire's reign over Montenegro, the Sultan Murat II Mosque was constructed in the city in the 1500s, which also contains the turbe of the sultan's body. It is considered to be the oldest mosque in the entire city.

In 1700, after the Great Serb Migration, the Albanian clans of the Kelmendi and Kuçi and other tribes like the Shkreli of Rugova established themselves in the region of Rožaje and the neighboring town of Tutin in Serbia. The Shala, Krasniqi, and Gashi also moved in the region.[4][5][6]

In 1797, the Ganić

kula, a defensive tower was built from the Muslim side of the Kuči, as they supported the Muslim authority and cultural practices, was built. Nowadays, the tower is currently the town's museum.[7]

During World War I, the army of the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.[9][10][11] An estimated 700 Albanians were killed in Rožaje by the Serbian army when the rebellion was quelled.[12] These events resulted in a large influx of Albanians migrating to Albania.[13][14]

During

Battle for Novi Pazar
, came from the village of Biševo, which is 4–5km away from the city.

After World War II, the city of Rožaje became a part of SR Montenegro, which was ultimately a part of the SFR Yugoslavia. Within this time period, the municipality of Rožaje did not exist, as it was a part of the Ivangrad (now Berane) municipality at the time. During the 1960s, the authorities established the Gornji Ibar company, which was a woodworking/lumber/furniture assembling factory. At one point, the company employed more than 53% of the entire city. It expanded the economic status of the city, and became a focal point for woodworking within the region.

In 1992, the Gornji Ibar company was liquidated and subsequently went out of business, which left the city in economic turmoil.

During the Bosnian War, the Bosniaks of Foča who managed to escape the massacre that happened in the area resettled in Rožaje.[15]

During the Kosovo War in 1999, around 1,000 ethnic Albanians that also managed to escape the war settled in the south of Rožaje. They were mostly from the regions of Drenica and Mitrovica.[16]

In 2018, a replica of the Sebilj in Sarajevo has been completed and is currently displayed in the town's main square.[17]

As Rožaje is one of the only Muslim-majority municipalities, it has several mosques within the city, two notable ones being the Kučanska Džamija and the other being the Sultan Murat II mosque. However, there are 2 Orthodox churches that can found in the municipality, with the ruined Ružica church and Gospođin vrh church allegedly built by the wife of the Serbian king Uroš I.

Geography

The municipality is situated on large hills, with the mountains Hajla, Mokra Gora, Ahmica, Krstac, Žljeb, Štedim and Turjak to its east and southeast. Those mountains belong to the northern part of the Accursed Mountains range. The Ibar River flows through it and forests cover the entire region. Thanks to the river, there are abundant sources of large forests, arable pastures and meadows within the municipality. During the winter months, the surrounding mountains experience a major cold front, with snow and ice being very common. The Koppen Climate has been recorded as Cfb, or a marine climate. The city stands at around 1,014m or 3,326ft above sea level.

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±%
19481,461—    
19531,813+24.1%
19612,765+52.5%
19715,327+92.7%
19817,336+37.7%
19918,828+20.3%
20039,121+3.3%
20119,567+4.9%
202313,608+42.2%
Population size may be affected by changes in administrative divisions.

Rožaje is the administrative centre of the Rožaje municipality, which has a total of 25,247 residents. The town of Rožaje itself has a population of 13,608 in 2023.

There are 2 major neighbourhoods within the municipality, Ibarac, and Bandžovo Brdo. Ibarac is split between Lijeva Obala Ibar and Desna Obala Ibar.

Ethnic groups

In the 2011 census, 88,46% declared themselves as

Bosniaks
. Rožaje is considered to be the centre for the Bosniak community of Montenegro. Bosniaks form the majority in both the town and the municipality itself.

Ethnic Albanians, not to mention the present-day descendants of the above-mentioned clans that have settled in the municipality, have been present within the city, as well as the outskirts, especially villages that are close to the border of Kosovo (such as Dacići, Balotići, Plumci, Bać, Besnik, etc). They enjoy and support mutual relations with the Bosniaks and other ethnicities within the city and have also become an integral part of Rožaje's society. The current population of Albanians living in Rožaje rounds up to 1,200, forming 5.04% of the total population in 2011. The Albanians of this region speak in the Gheg dialect of the Albanian language and are majority Muslims.

Albeit very small, the Serbs have also lived in Rožaje for some time. Bijela Crkva is one of the only Serb-majority villages within the municipality.

Also 1.04% declared themselves as Montenegrins.

Languages

Serbo-Croatian language. Bosnian language speaks 72.42% and it‘s the most spoken language in the town. The second most spoken is Montenegrin (17.27%), Albanian speaks 4.59%, and Serbian speaks 4.47% of population. A total of 1.24% of the population have not declared their language.[18]

Religion

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Religion in Rožaje (2011)[19]

  Islam (96.28%)
  Eastern Orthodoxy (3.06%)
  Other religions (0.66%)

Rožaje is predominantly Islamic (96.28%). The population of Rožaje is composed largely of Bosniaks, who predominantly adhere to Sunni Islam. Historically, Islam has played a significant role in shaping the cultural and social fabric of the town. Mosques are prominent landmarks in the municipality, serving as places of worship and community gathering. However, Rožaje is also characterized by religious diversity. Alongside Islam, there are minority populations practicing Orthodox Christianity (3.06%).

Transport

Rožaje is situated on the main road connecting Montenegro with

IB-22 Highway (otherwise known as the Ibarska magistrala) is the main regional road that connects Montenegro with Serbia. It is also connected to the rest of Montenegro by a two-laned highway via Berane
, which is some 30 km (19 mi) in distance.

The nearest airport is the

Pristina International Airport Adem Jashari in Pristina, Kosovo which is 116 km (72 mi) away, compared to Podgorica Airport which is about 180 km (110 mi) away, and has regular flights to major European destinations annually. However, due to the opening of the Bar-Boljare motorway
in November of 2021, the time from getting to Rožaje from Podgorica has greatly reduced, and is slowly becoming more preferred over the earlier option for most of the diaspora from other countries.

International relations

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

Twin towns — Sister cities

Rožaje is

twinned with:[20]

Gallery

Sources

References

  1. ^ "Preliminary results of the 2023 Census of Population, Households, and Dwellings". Monstat. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Skupstina Crne Gore". September 2019.
  3. ^ "History of Rožaje". Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  4. ^ Mušović, Ejup (1985). Tutin i okolina. Serbian Academy of Science and Arts. p. 27.
  5. ISBN 9780857739322
    .
  6. ISBN 3205055454
    .
  7. ISBN 978-1-4053-8425-4
    . Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  8. ISBN 978-1-4438-4283-9
    .
  9. ^ Morrison 2018, p. 56.
  10. ^ Giuseppe Motta, Less than Nations: Central-Eastern European Minorities after WWI, Volume 1 , Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013, p. 11
  11. ^ Klaus Roth, Ulf Brunnbauer, Region, Regional Identity and Regionalism in Southeastern Europe, Part 1, LIT Verlag Münster, 2008, p. 221
  12. ^ Morrison 2018, p. 21.
  13. ISBN 978-0-7391-4667-5
    .
  14. ISBN 978-1-5017-0194-8
    .
  15. ^ Human Rights Watch, 2006-Genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity: a topical digest of the case law of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
  16. ^ MONTENEGRO: ROZAJE: KOSOVO REFUGEE CRISIS LATEST, retrieved 2023-01-01
  17. ^ "Simbol Sarajeva u Sandžaku: Nakon Pazara, Sjenice sebilj ukrašava i Rožaje FOTO/VIDEO". AKOS (in Bosnian). Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  18. ^ Prvi rezultati popisa 2011. (PDF) (in Montenegrin), Monstat, 15 May 2011, p. 9
  19. ^ "Montenegrin census (2011)". MONSTAT. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  20. ^ "Bratimljenje" (PDF). database.uom.me (in Montenegrin). Zajednica opština Crne Gore. January 2013. p. 33. Retrieved 2019-12-29.
  21. ^ "Odluka o bratimljenu opštine Rožaje sa opštinom Kutahya" (PDF). rozaje.me (in Montenegrin). Rožaje. 2015-04-13. Retrieved 2022-09-27.

Bibliography

External links
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