Junik ( sq, Junik, sq-definite, Juniku; sr, Јуник, Junik) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

located in

Junik Municipality Junik ( sq, Junik, Juniku; sr, Јуник, Junik) is a municipality located in the District of Gjakova in western Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of Junik had 6,053 inhabitants, while the municipality had 6,084 inhabitants. It i ...

in the Gjakova District in western

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

. According to the 2011 census, the town of Junik has 6,053 inhabitants, while the municipality has 6,084 inhabitants. Based on the population estimates from the Kosovo Agency of Statistics in 2016, the municipality has 6,425 inhabitants. It is located between

Deçan Deçan, or Dečani sr-cyr, Дечани ; also in use Dečane sr-cyr, Дечане is a town and municipality in Kosovo. According to the 2011 census, the town of has 3,803 inhabitants, while the municipality has 40,019 inhabitants. Geog ...

and

Gjakova Gjakova, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the seventh largest city of Kosovo and seat of Gjakova Municipality and Gjakova District. The city has 40,827 inhabitants, while the municipality has 94,556 inhabitants. Geographicall ...

along Kosovo's mountainous border with

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. It is populated with ethnic Albanians. Junik is the hometown of several prominent people including former heavyweight European boxing champion

Luan Krasniqi Luan Krasniqi (born 10 May 1971) is a German actor and former professional boxer. He held the European heavyweight title and also challenged for the WBO world heavyweight title. Background Krasniqi is the youngest of eight children to Kosovar ...

Robin Krasniqi Haxhi Krasniqi (born 1 April 1987), known as Robin Krasniqi, is a German professional boxer who held the IBO light-heavyweight title from 2020 to October 2021. He previously held the WBA interim light-heavyweight title from 2020 to August 2021 ...

and poet

Din Mehmeti Din Mehmeti (1932 – 12 November 2010) was an Albanian poet from Kosovo. He was among the best-known classical representatives of contemporary verse in Kosovo. Career He was born in 1932 in the village of Gjocaj, Junik, near Gjakova, Kosovo. H ...

History

During the Ottoman occupation of the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

, Junik and the Municipality of Junik were part of the Nahiya of Altun-ili during the 15th century. In a 1485 defter of the region, Junik was mentioned with the name ''Lunik''. In the 15th century, around half of Junik's population had typical Albanian anthroponomy. During the early period of Ottoman occupation, Gjakova and the Gjakova Municipality were part of the Nahiya of Altun-ili. Most of the villages in the Nahiya of Altun-ili were dominated by inhabitants with Albanian anthroponomy, which indicates that during the 15th century (as supported by Ottoman defters), the lands between Junik and Gjakova were inhabited by a dominant ethnic Albanian majority.

Notable people

Ali Jasiqi Ali D. Jasiqi (born 1937 in Junik, Kingdom of Yugoslavia) is a Kosovan- Albanian writer. Education He attended schools in Junik and Deçan, Gjakovë, finishing in Pristina. He graduated from the Philological Faculty in Albanian Language and Li ...

History

Notable people

See also

Notes

References

External links