Prizren pearl of the Balkans Ottoman Byzantine styles Kosovo

Prizren city

Vacation in Prizren - city of lilies, the "Jerusalem of Kosovo" was called Prizren earlier. Prizren plays an important role in the history of Kosovo...

Prizren pearl of the Balkans

Prizren "City of Lilies" is located in the south of Kosovo. The picturesque buildings of the old town were built in the Ottoman and Byzantine styles. Prizren borders on the large municipalities of Gjakova, Rahovec, Mamusha, Suhareka and Shtrpce. As the cultural capital of Kosovo with many summer festivals and the most beautiful city center in the country, Prizren has what it takes to become an interesting travel destination for foreign tourists. Prizren is also called the "city of lilies": they grow unchecked in the alleys, on the bridges and in the bazaars, wherever there is a piece of ground. The "Jerusalem of Kosovo" was called Prizren earlier, when people of all religions lived here peacefully for centuries. Mosques, synagogues, Orthodox churches and the Catholic cathedral bear witness to this past.

As a trading center, it flourished under Ottoman rule and even attracted Central European merchants who opened branches. With the arrival of Islam in the 15th century, Prizren became the regional center of another religion. In the immediate vicinity of the city was the Roman settlement Theranda in the Moesia region of the Roman Empire. The old Ottoman stone bridge (Ura e gurit) is one of the city's landmarks. It connects the old districts of Prizren and passes over the Bistrica (Lumëbardh). There are almost no historical sources about the construction period. Judging by the material, it was completed at the end of the 15th century.

The fortress hill of the fortress of Prizren, east of the old town, has long been a strategically important base and offers visitors a panoramic view of the city, plains and mountain ranges. The fortress walls enclose an area of around 1.5 hectares and give the fortress an egg-shaped appearance in north-south expansion. The fortress is 525 meters above sea level. Archaeologists found out during excavation work in 2004 and 2009-2011 that the place had been inhabited by humans since the Bronze Age. Iron Age, Roman and Late Antique finds were also made. The late antique historian Prokopios of Caesarea (500-562) mentions in his work De Aedificiis (Eng. Buildings) within Dardania a fortress called Petrizen. The researchers assume that it is this fortress.
The archaeological excavation work began as early as 1969 and over time traces of medieval (11th to 15th centuries) and Ottoman residential buildings were found inside the fortress. The Ottomans also built a hammam, a mosque and military facilities. The latter were used until 1912 and since then the fortress has been in a continuous process of decline.