Polac (defined Albanian form: Polaci; Serbian: Пољанце / Poljance) is a village in Kosovo, located in the municipality of Skenderaj. The village is exclusively inhabited by ethnic Albanians; in the 2024 census, it had 2,115 inhabitants.[1]
Polac
| |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Polac Location in Kosovo | |
| Coordinates: 42°44′16″N 20°49′24″E / 42.73778°N 20.82333°E | |
| Location |  Kosovo |
| District | Mitrovicë |
| Municipality | Skënderaj |
| First mention | 1330 |
| Area | |
• Total | 84.7 sq mi (219.5 km2) |
| Elevation | 2,100 ft (640 m) |
| Population (2024)[1] | |
• Total | 2,115 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Area code | +381 290 |
Geography
editIt lies in the Drenica region, at the source of the Vërbicë river, a left confluence of the Drenica river. [2] It is situated on both sides of the regional Skenderaj-Drenas road, approximately 4–7 km southeast of Skenderaj. The village lies at an elevation of 640–680 m above sea level and covers a total cadastral area of 2,195 hectares.[2] Polac is traditionally divided into historical neighborhoods or mahalas, which are named after the local Albanian clan families and landmarks: Xhamia, Gruda, Kerolli, Koci, Veliu, Hoti, Kabashi and Zani. The Veliu neighborhood is historically significant as the ancestral home of the Veliu branch of the Berisha tribe, from which the Albanian national figure Hasan Prishtina descended. [3]
History
editMiddle Ages
editThe 1330 Dečani chrysobulls of Serbian King Stephen Uroš III (r. 1322–1331) mention the great village of "Strelac", and several surrounding villages: Čigotovo (Čikatovo), Vrbovec, Poljance, Glabotino and Kudrino (Kudrin).[4][5] Toponomastic study shows that Poljance bordered Strelac on the northeast.[5]
World War II
edit6 soldiers, hailing from Poljance, of the "Boro Bukmirović" and "Razim Sadiku" battalions of the First Macedonian-Kosovan National liberation Brigade (Yugoslav Partisans) fell in January and February 1945 during an uprising in Drenica.[6]
Kosovo War
editAccording to the Serbian newspaper Pravda in January in February 1997, Jonuz Veliqi, an Albanian official working for the state structures of the Republic of Serbia, was nearly killed by during attacks of the Albanian paramilitaries.[7] On August 3, 1998, a civilian worker for the Serbian Interior Ministry was wounded by an automatic weapon.[8] Poljance was in the hands of the Kosovo Liberation Army until March 22, 1999, when Serbian police forces launched an offensive into Drenica.[9][10] After March 23, 1999, several abducted ethnic Serbs were held prisoners in an old mine near a brick factory in Poljance by Albanians.[11][12] The KLA regained control of Polac in 31 March 1999 when the Yugoslavs began their withdrawal from the positions in Drenica after fighting in the area.[13]
Demographics
editNotes
edit- 1 2 "Popullsia sipas gjinisë, etnicitetit dhe vendbanimit" [Population by gender, ethnicity, and place of residence] (PDF) (in Albanian). Prishtinë: Kosovo Agency of Statistics. July 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - 1 2 Stamenković 2002, p. 81
- ↑ Editori (2012-12-08). "PROF.DR.MUHAMET PIRRAKU: GJENEALOGJIA E HASAN PRISHTINËS". Pashtriku (in Albanian). Retrieved 2026-06-07.
- ↑ П. Ивић – М. Грковић, ДХ I (140), ДХ II (7–8), ДХ III (210–270); Задужбине Косова, 329.
- 1 2 Božanić 2009, pp. 14, 16
- ↑ Списак бораца косовско метохијских батаљона
- ↑ Pravda, 19. децембар 2010. Милошевић благо прекорио Србе Deprecated link archived 2012-09-13 at archive.today
- ↑ Members of the Ministry of the Interior – Victims of Albanian Terrorism in 1998
- ↑ NY Times, Fears Deepens as Monitors Quit Kosovo
- ↑ NY Times, Serbs Burn the Birthplace Of the Albanians' Revolt
- ↑ Danas, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia, November 3, 1999, Ethnic Albanian from Kosmet Idriz Medit Offered to Exchange 10 Serbs for his Son, by Z. Radovanovic
- ↑ IWPR'S Balkan Crisis Report, No. 92, November 12, 1999, Serbian Justice on Trial, By Laura Rozen
- ↑ "Kosovo: Civilians rounded up and murdered by Serbian forces, witnesses tell Amnesty International delegates" (PDF). amnesty.org.
After Serb forces withdrew from the area on or around 31 March, ethnic Albanians were again able to emerge from hiding.
- ↑ 1981 Census, Kosovo Archived 2012-03-17 at the Wayback Machine (Preliminary)
- ↑ Kosovo censuses 1948–1991
Notable people
editReferences
edit- Božanić, S. 2009, "O zemljišnim međama srpskog srednjovekovnog sela", Istraživanja, no. 20, pp. 47–64[permanent dead link].
- Srboljub Đ Stamenković, Географска енциклопедија населjа Србије: С-Ш, Volume 4, Географски факултет, 2002, p. 81: "Пољанце"
- ↑ Xheladin Shala (2014). Hasan Prishtina: veshtrim i shkurtër atdhetarie. Instituti Albanologjik. pp. 65–70. ISBN 9789951596923.