Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a country in Southeast Europe with partial diplomatic recognition. Kosovo lies landlocked in the centre of the Balkans, bordered by Serbia to the north and east, North Macedonia to the southeast, Albania to the southwest, and Montenegro to the west. Most of central Kosovo sits on the plains of Metohija and the Kosovo field. The Accursed Mountains and Šar Mountains rise in the southwest and southeast, respectively. Kosovo's capital and largest city is Pristina.
Ibrahim Rugova was a Kosovo-Albanian politician, scholar, and writer, who served as the President of the partially recognised Republic of Kosova, serving from 1992 to 2000 and as President of Kosovo from 2002 until his death in 2006. He oversaw a popular struggle for independence, advocating a peaceful resistance to Yugoslav rule and lobbying for U.S. and European support, especially during the Kosovo War.
Podujevo or Besianë is a city and municipality in the Pristina District in Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the city of Podujevo has 23,453 inhabitants, while the municipality has 71,018 inhabitants in 2024 census. Podujevo is the largest municipality of Kosovo since it covers 632.59 km2 (244 sq mi) and is located along a regional motorway and also has railroad passing through it, which links the area to surrounding regions. Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, is located some 23 km (14 mi) to the south.
Serbianisation or Serbianization, also known as Serbification, and Serbisation or Serbization is the spread of Serbian culture, people, and language, either by social integration or by cultural or forced assimilation.
The Albanians of Kosovo, also commonly called Kosovo Albanians, Kosovan Albanians or Kosovars, constitute the largest ethnic group in Kosovo.
Kosovo during the 20th century in history has largely been characterised by wars and major population displacements. The region formed a part of numerous entities, some internationally recognised, others not.
The University of Pristina is a public university located in Pristina, Kosovo. It is the institution that emerged after the disestablishment of the University of Pristina (1969–1999) as a result of the Kosovo War. The inauguration of the university was a historical occurrence not only for the people of Kosovo, but for the whole Albanian nation. On 15 February, the solemn Parliament session took place, which is also proclaimed as The University of Pristina's Day. In the composition of the newly established University of Pristina were faculties with their headquarters in Pristina: the Faculty of Philosophy, Faculty of Law and Economics, Faculty of Engineering and Faculty of Medicine. Now the University of Pristina has 17 faculties, of which 14 are academic faculties and 3 are faculties of applied sciences. Contained within the emblem is a translation of the name into Latin, Universitas Studiorum Prishtiniensis.
Fadil Hoxha was a Yugoslavian ethnic-Albanian communist revolutionary and politician from Kosovo. He was a member of the Communist Party and fought in the Yugoslav Partisans during World War II. After the war, he was the first President of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Region of Kosovo and Metohija (1945–1963) and later member of the Presidency of Yugoslavia (1974–1984).
The flag of the Republic of Kosovo was adopted by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo immediately following the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo on 17 February 2008. The flag design emerged from an international competition, organized by an informal group from the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government known as the Kosovo Unity Team, which attracted almost one thousand entries. The winning design was proposed by Muhamer Ibrahimi. It shows six white stars in an arc above a golden map of Kosovo, all on a blue field. The stars symbolize Kosovo's six major ethnic groups: Albanians, Serbs, Bosniaks, Turks, Romani, and Gorani.
The Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, commonly known as Kosovo and abbreviated to Kosmet or KiM, is an autonomous province defined by the Constitution of Serbia that occupies the southernmost part of Serbia. The territory is the subject of an ongoing political and territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the partially recognised Republic of Kosovo. Its claimed administrative capital and largest city is Pristina.
The University of Pristina was founded in the Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, Socialist Republic of Serbia, Yugoslavia, in the city of Pristina, for the academic year 1969–1970 and functioned until 1999. However, owing to political upheaval, war, successive mutual expulsions of faculty of one ethnicity or the other, and resultant pervasive ethnic-based polarisation, there came to be two disjoint institutions using the same name, albeit idiosyncratically to reflect ethnic identity. Albanian-language activity continues at the original location, whilst the Serbian-language University of Priština has relocated to North Mitrovica, where it maintains its place within the Serbian education system.
Classical music in Kosovo refers to the art music cultivated in Kosovo. The roots of classical music in Kosovo are found in the 1940s and include the time period from the times when Kosovo was part of Yugoslavia to this day. It can be said that there is a tradition of classical music in Kosovo, however, compared to other Balkan countries and especially European countries this tradition is younger. Classical music in Kosovo reaches back about 70 years. Even though in a short period of time, this music has evolved, passing through generations of composers and artists. In his book Albanian: Zhvillimi i stileve në veprat e kompozitorëve shqiptarë të Kosovës, Engjëll Berisha comments:
The diversity of styles in Albanian music [of Kosovo], its national patterns with sound idea-aesthetic foundations are a characteristic of the European musical reality, so many many works are of interest abroad, too, because during this relatively short period Albanian classical music in Kosovo has compensated for the delay in its development.
The Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, referred to simply as Kosovo, was one of the two autonomous provinces of the Socialist Republic of Serbia within Yugoslavia, between 1945 and 1990, when it was renamed Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.
In March and April 1981, a student protest in Pristina, the capital of the then Socialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo, led to widespread protests by Kosovo Albanians demanding more autonomy within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The Presidency of Yugoslavia declared a state of emergency in Pristina and Kosovska Mitrovica, which led to rioting. The unrest was suppressed by a large police intervention that caused numerous casualties, and a period of political repression followed.
The first Albanian-language school in Kosovo was opened in 1889. That was the birth of public education in the well-known cultural and historical city, Prizren. "The history of our education is a story of war of efforts. A story of a small number of people, with a great spiritual world, and with a strong will to be independent."
Education in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, consists of primary, secondary and higher education. Pristina houses a number of public and private institutions, such as the University "Hasan Prishtina", the National Library of Kosovo, and the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo. Throughout the last century Pristina has attracted a considerable number of students from Kosovo. Today, the city of Pristina hosts a large number of intellectuals, professors, academics, students, and professionals in various spheres.
Kosovo during the Second World War was in a very dramatic period, because different currents clashed, bringing constant tensions within it. During World War II, the region of Kosovo was split into three occupational zones: Italian, German, and Bulgarian. Partisans from Albania and Yugoslavia led the fight for Kosovo's independence from the invader and his allies. During occupation by Axis powers, Bulgarian and Albanian collaborators killed thousands of Kosovo Serbs and Montenegrins. Tens of thousands were also expelled or were placed into concentration camps.
Pajazit Nushi was a university professor, psychologist and scientific and social-political worker from Gjakova, Kosova. Member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Kosovo.
The Faculty of Philology is an academic unit within the University of Pristina. Established in 1988 after gaining independence from the Faculty of Philosophy, its roots can be traced back to the Higher Pedagogical School of Prishtina (1958) and the Faculty of Philosophy (1960).
The Higher Pedagogical School of Prishtina established in 1958, has been the first institution of modern higher education in Kosovo and a precursor to the University of Prishtina.
