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| Prizren Travel Guide Edit This The best resource for sights, hotels, restaurants, bars, what to do and see Prizren Prizren Shener Pervance Prizren is one of the most beautiful towns of Kosovo. It is located on the slopes of the Shara/Sharr Mountains and on the banks of the river Bistrica. The old centre has many beautiful houses with balconies facing gardens full of foliage. Numerous narrow, winding streets work their way up to the Kalaja - the old fortress dominating the town. The name of Prizren in Serbian means "a place with a good/clear view". Bistrica, the river that runns through the town means in Serbian "clear water" and Shara mountain is the "dappled mountain". The visitors will notice that there are all true today as they were when they were named 1500 years ago. All of this is a unmistakable evidence that the area was settled with Serbs in continuity from 6th c. AD onwards. The Albanian names are all derogations of these names since they started inhabiting the region in greater numbers only in 16th c. The main attractions include of course the Kalaja of Prizren dating from the 11th century and built to protect Prizren from attacks. The Bajrakli Gazi Mehmet Pasha's mosque is the oldest monument of Islamic art in Prizren. The inscription above the entrance states it was built in 1561. A hexagonal mausoleum (medresa) has been built in the courtyard of the mosque which Mehmet Pasha earmarked as his grave. Mehmet Pasha also built a Turkish bath in the town, which is built of cut stone and large bricks, in extremely harmonious proportions. The interior is divided into two parts: the baths for men and the baths for women. Sinan Pasha's mosque, according to inscriptions, was built in 1615. It is built mostly out of the material of the destroyed monastery of St Archangels (mid 15th c.), the burrial place of Serb emperor Stefan Dushan. The enormous dome is fitted harmoniously into the square mass of the building. The interior of the mosque is decorated with geometrical designs, still life, and draperies, while the other parts of the walls are painted in strong light colors. One of the oldest standing structures in Prizren is the Serb-orthodox Bogorodica Ljevishka Church. It's oldest part was built in 11th c. during the Byzantine rule over the town as a three-nave basilica. It was widened in 1307 by Serbian king Milutin in the same style adding two more aisles on its sides and a narthex with a high bell tower. On its facades stands the long strip with a Serbian inscription done in bricks commemorating the widening. Inside there are two layers of frescoes. Although quite damaged during the long centuries of Ottoman rule there are still around 650 square meters of paintings preserved. IAmongst them the most interesting ones are portrays of Nemanjich kings, a portray of the endower King Milutin and the representations of Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the dynasty and his sons Stefan the Firstcrowned and St Sava. In the pogrom against the remaining Serbs in March 2004 the Albanian mob desecrated the church, set it aflame and destroyed many of the frescoes. In Prizren there are many more medieval Serb orthodox churches such as St Savior (14th c.) underneath the Kaljaja fort, St George (15th c.) or St Nicholas (1331). All of these were heavily damaged in March of 2004. _________Practical Information Edit This Prizren Municipality is composed of 73 villages. It lies in south-west Kosova, bordering Albania to the west, FYROM to the south-east, Gjakova municipality to the north-west, Rahovec town to the north, with Suhareka town to the north-east, Shtërpce municipality to the east and Dragash to the south. Area - 640 km2 Altitude - ranges from 412 m to 2,000 m above sea level. Climate- mellow Mediterranean climate in the lower regions. Overview of infrastructure conditions: 188 km of asphalted road 5 km of concrete covered roads 132 km of gravel roads 211 km of country roads (dirt roads) The Prishtina-Prizren railway line that currently runs with very low capacity Poor electric power supply Public utilities This covers water supply, sewerage system, roads, bridges, waste management and disposal, electric power and environmental oversight. Prizren and the villages in its surroundings are supplied with drinking water by four natural springs as well as from the River Lumbardh. The accumulation and disposal of sanitation water is not treated properly, considering that these waters represent a major danger for the population since they go directly to river Lumbardh without being treated. The Education system in Prizren consists of: 40 primary schools 5 Secondary Schools 1 University 1,800 teachers and professors 37,664 - students From 1980-1999, socially owned enterprises (SOEs) employed 80% of Prizren’s workforce. Currently, SOEs are operating under very difficult conditions. The only source of income for these enterprises is through leasing parts of the premises to the private sector. Presently, the municipal bodies have no authority to administer the SOEs. (From 2001 all SOEs are under UNMIK, starting from 2002 are under KTA (Kosova Trust Agency). Agriculture More than 50% of the population of Prizren lives in the rural areas. Thus, the agriculture sector remains one of the most important sources of employment and income. Prizren was well known in the former Yugoslavia for its fruits, vegetables and wine. In Prizren there are four dairy plants working with limited production capacities. Dairy products, especially fresh cheese known as “Sharr mountain cheese” is well known internationally. Wheat Production in Prizren for the year 2001 was 12,565 tons and 15,040 tons of maize was produced. Capacities for accumulation, placement and storage of the cereals are good. Twenty-five percent of Prizren’s land is arable with an irrigation system that covers 3,300 hectares of land. The irrigation system is served by three hydro-systems: Dukagjin (providing irrigation for 2,500 ha of land), Radoniq (400 ha) and a local irrigation system (LIS – 400 ha). Agribusiness Production of fruits and vegetables is growing, and offers great potential for establishing profitable businesses. Revitalization of the agribusiness capacities will rapidly generate employment and income. ‘Abi & Elif19’ is active in the food processing industry. This company is under a 10 years lease agreement by a private investor and so far the production and the sales have been very satisfactory. Wine Production Prizren has a long tradition of producing delicious wines. The Wine Processing Plant ‘Kosova Vera’ has processing capacities of up to 2,240 thousand liters, this company was established in 1952. Before the 1999 conflict this plant had 130 employees of which now only 75 remain. The social sector currently uses about 1070 ha whereas the private sector owns about 550 ha. The current production of wine including public and private sector is 2,430 tons. Tourism Numerous historical monuments make Prizren a very attractive location for foreign visitors as well as for visitors from within Kosova. Prizren’s cultural heritage attracts not only visitors from all over Kosova but it offers possibilities for the development of tourism and for the preservation of ancient craftwork traditional skills. Taking this into account, various donor initiatives are focused on preserving the production of traditional crafts such as embroidery, carpets, jewelry etc. by assisting locals to establish private businesses in these areas. The Private Sector and Business Community The private sector is showing signs of growth. The office of business registration shows that as of March 2003, some 5,000 businesses are registered with this office. The table overleaf shows the number of business based on their type of activity. The overwhelming numbers are import-export enterprises. Of the roughly 5,000 registered businesses in Prizren there are 629 production centers (including artisan goods), 357 service providers, 464 businesses related to tourism and other services, 325 transportation-related businesses and 2,254 businesses related to merchant activities etc. The SME sector is facing many obstacles and difficulties and lack of support from the central and local government. The authorities should focus their efforts and programs towards: removing the current obstacles in SME development, establishing a favorable business environment, capacity building and trainings. These programs should support and cultivate the entrepreneurial spirit of the Prizreni population, which is a well-known region for centuries for its tradition in trade. The establishment of an industrial and trade zone where businesses can set up their processing and production operations as well as advertise their products in trade centers and fairs would help to create a more suitable environment for the local business community and attract foreign investments. Business Associations The business community in Prizren is active and has a long tradition of engaging in a meaningful manner in the matters pertaining to municipal economic development. The following organizations and associations are currently active in Prizren: Regional Agency for Small and Medium Enterprises (this is an association that is from the Eurekna-UNMIK program) ESNAF business Association Association of Artisans (Business Association) Prizren’s Businessmen Club established in 1991 (Business Association) Regional Chamber of Commerce 20 professional NGOs active in the area of local economic development. Official employment data in Prizren municipality are not available. The following figures are estimations based on the scarce data available at the municipality Employment Office. Employed: Approx. 21,499 Private sector12,271 SOE Sector: 4,341 Public Sector: 4,787 Man: 84.7% Full time: 10,350 Women: 15.3% Part time: 200 Agriculture : 12,000 Employed Abroad: 11,000 Unemployed Estimated Total: 32,700 Registered Unemployed: 18,994 |