Gnjilane

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Gjilan)

Country	Serbia
Гњилане Gnjilane Gjilani Gjilan

Province	Kosovo (under UN Administration)
Population (2006)
- Total	over 130,000 [1]
- Density	253/km² (655.3/sq mi)
Area code(s)	+381 280
Website: Municipality of Gnjilane

Gnjilane (Serbian: Гњилане or Gnjilane; Albanian: Gjilani or Gjilan) is a city and municipality in eastern Kosovo, a Serbian province under United Nations administration since the 1999 Kosovo War. Located at 42.47° North, 21.48° East, it is the administrative center of the Gnjilane District.

1 Name and history
2 Municipality population
3 Features
4 Sports
5 References
6 External links

The origin of the town name is disputed. Albanian sources claim that the town was originally established in 1772 by the Gjinaj family, who arrived from Novo Brdo, one of the most important late-medieval cities in the central Balkans. However, there is no definite evidence to support that claim, and in fact no one can confirm as to who the first true inhabitants were, or when they first settled there.

In 1915, in and around the city, the Serbian army made a futile stand against the 1st Army of Bulgaria, during the World War I Battle of Kosovo. That battle resulted in the ultimate defeat of the Serbian military, and the occupation by the forces allied with the then German Empire. In World War II there was a significant amount of activity in and around Gnjilane by the Partisans fighting against Nazi Germany and her allies. Monuments to these actions can still be found today, one of which is located in the middle of the village of Koretiste.

In 1999, Camp Monteith was established outside the city as a base of operations for KFOR during Operation Joint Guardian, on the site of a destroyed Serbian military base. Gnjilane has also served as the regional headquarters of the UNMIK International Police task force from 1999.

Year/Population	Kosovo Albanians	%	Kosovo Serbs	%	Roma	%	Others	%	Total
Ethnic composition, including IDPs
1981^[1]	59,764	71.1	19,212	22.8	3,347	4	1,762	2.1	84,085
1991*^[2]	79,357	76.5	19,370	18.7	3,477	3.4	1,471	1.4	103,675
1998^[3]	94,218	79.4	19,481	16.4	3,568	3	1,387	1.2	118,654
2003 (August)^[4]	116,000	89.4	12,300	9.5	350	0.2	1,005	0.8	129,690
*It is noted that the 1991 census was highly politicised and is thus unreliable.^[5]

In 2003, the Gnjilane municipality was estimated to have 133,724 citizens, out of which 79,898 live in the urban area.^{[citation needed]}

Gnjilane is now the administrative center of the Gnjilane District of Kosovo. Since February 15, 2003, it is the headquarters of the Local Democracy Agency in Kosovo of the Council of Europe.

Gnjilane is home to the basketball club Drita Gjilan and the football clubs KF Gjilani and KF Drita.

^ 1981 census: Federal Office of Statistics in Belgrade, 1995, page 192.
Mentioned in: OSCE Mission in Kosovo: Municipal profile of GnjilanePDF (357 KiB) , May 1, 2006. Table 1.1: Ethnic Composition.
^ 1991 census: Federal Office of Statistics in Belgrade, 1995, page 192.
Mentioned in: OSCE Mission in Kosovo: Municipal profile of GnjilanePDF (357 KiB) , May 1, 2006. Table 1.1: Ethnic Composition.
^ LDK Statistics. Mentioned in: OSCE Mission in Kosovo: Municipal profile of GnjilanePDF (357 KiB) , May 1, 2006. Table 1.1: Ethnic Composition.
^ UNMIK Gnjilane (un-official). Mentioned in: OSCE Mission in Kosovo: Municipal profile of GnjilanePDF (357 KiB) , May 1, 2006. Table 1.1: Ethnic Composition.
^ OSCE Mission in Kosovo: Municipal profile of GnjilanePDF (357 KiB) , May 1, 2006. Table 1.1: Ethnic Composition.