Municipality of Bujanovac in District Pcinja en

Bujanovac ( sr-cyr, Бујановац, ; ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

located in the

Pčinja District The Pčinja District (, ) is one of administrative districts of Serbia. It occupies the southernmost part of Serbia, bordering Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Sou ...

of southern

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. As of the 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 41,068. Situated in the

South Morava The South Morava (; Macedonian and Serbian: Јужна Морава, ''Južna Morava'', ) is a river in eastern Kosovo and in southern Serbia, which represents the shorter headwater of Great Morava. Today, it is long, including its source ri ...

basin, it is located in the geographical area known as

Preševo Valley The Preševo Valley (; ) is a geopolitical region in southern Serbia, along the border with Kosovo. The valley geographically includes municipalities of Bujanovac and Preševo, and politically also Medveđa. It is home to most of the Albanian ...

. It is also known for its source of mineral water and spa town ''Bujanovačka banja''. Ethnically,

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

are the largest ethnic group in the town, while the largest ethnic group in the municipality are

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

History

Ancient history

Kale-Krševica Kale-Krševica is an archaeological site in Serbia, dating back mainly to the late classical and early Hellenistic periods. It holds the remains of the northernmost Ancient Macedonian city so far discovered. Location and size The site is locate ...

, located south of

Ristovac Ristovac (Serbian Cyrillic: Ристовац) is a small town in the Municipality of Vranje located in the Pčinja District of south-east Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat ...

, is an archaeological site of a 5th-century BC Ancient city of

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

, thought to be Damastion. The Thracians, Thracian Triballi and Paeonian Agrianes dwelled in the region, with the Scordisci settling here after the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC. The region was conquered by the Ancient Rome, Romans after 75 BC. It became part of the Roman propraetorial province Moesia in 29 BC (imperial from 27 BC). In 87 AD the region was re-organized into the Moesia, Moesia Superior, which was a province of the Roman Empire.

Medieval Serbian era

Serbia in the Middle Ages, Medieval Serbian state like the Kingdom of Serbia (medieval), Kingdom of Serbia or the Serbian Empire included part of this region in the 12th century and most of it until the 14th century. Since the 15th century, the region was under Ottoman administration.

Ottoman era

It became part of Rumelia, as a historical term describing the area now referred to as the Balkans or the Balkan Peninsula when it was administered by the Ottoman Empire. After the Congress of Berlin, Berlin agreement, signed in 1878, there were some administrative changes in the Ottoman Empire. Bujanovac – then ''Buyanofça'' – and its surroundings became part of the "Preševo area" of the Priština District and in 1905–1912 Bujanovac belonged to the 2nd category of borough covering 28 villages. After the Balkan Wars, the area belonged to Kumanovo District of the Kingdom of Serbia.

Yugoslavia (1918–92)

After the establishment of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians, in 1918, Bujanovac became part of Vranje Oblast, which was formed in 1921 after the Vidovdan Constitution. With administrative changes in 1929, it became part of Vardar Banovina, with the town of Skopje as capital. With the forming of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, it was part of Socialist Republic of Serbia from 1943 to 1992. After World War II, in 1947, Bujanovac was established as one of 117 municipalities of Central Serbia, under its own name. From 1945 until 1992 Bujanovac was part of Socialist Republic of Serbia, within SFR Yugoslavia.

Breakup of Yugoslavia (1991–99)

In 1992, the

in the area organized a referendum in which they voted that Bujanovac, Preševo and Medveđa should join the self-declared assembly of the Republic of Kosova. However, no major events happened until the end of the 1990s. Following the breakup of Yugoslavia, and nearby Kosovo War which lasted until 1999, between 1999 and 2001, an ethnic Albanian paramilitary separatist organization, the Liberation Army of Preševo, Medveđa and Bujanovac, UÇPMB, raised an armed insurgency in the Preševo Valley, in the region mostly inhabited by Albanians, with a goal to occupy these three municipalities from Serbia and join them to the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosova. Unlike in the case of Kosovo, western countries condemned the attacks and described it as the "extremism" and use of "illegal terrorist actions" by the group. Following the overthrow of Slobodan Milošević, the new Yugoslav government suppressed the violence by 2001 and defeated the separatists. NATO troops also helped the Yugoslav government by ensuring that the rebels do not import the conflicts back into Kosovo. Thereafter, the situation has stabilized even though large number of forces exist in this small municipality. In 2009, Serbia opened a military base Cepotina five kilometers south of Bujanovac, to further stabilize the area.

Modern

Today, Bujanovac is located in the

of southern Serbia. On 7 March 2017, the President of Albania Bujar Nishani made a historical visit to the municipalities of Bujanovac and Preševo, in which

form the ethnic majority.

Settlements

Aside from the town of Bujanovac, the municipality includes the following settlements: * Baraljevac * Biljača, Bujanovac, Biljača * Bogdanovac * Božinjevac * Borovac (Bujanovac), Borovac * Bratoselce * Breznica (Bujanovac), Breznica * Brnjare * Buštranje (Bujanovac), Buštranje * Čar * Dobrosin * Donje Novo Selo (Bujanovac), Donje Novo Selo * Drežnica (Bujanovac), Drežnica * Đorđevac * Gramada (Bujanovac), Gramada * Gornje Novo Selo * Jablanica, Bujanovac, Jablanica * Jastrebac (Bujanovac), Jastrebac * Karadnik * Klenike * Klinovac * Končulj * Košarno * Krševica * Kuštica * Letovica * Levosoje * Lopardince * Lučane, Serbia, Lučane * Lukarce * Ljiljance * Mali Trnovac * Muhovac * Negovac * Nesalce * Oslare * Pretina * Pribovce * Rakovac (Bujanovac), Rakovac * Ravno Bučje (Bujanovac), Ravno Bučje * Rusce (Bujanovac), Rusce * Samoljica * Sebrat * Sejace * Spančevac * Srpska Kuća * Sveta Petka (Bujanovac), Sveta Petka * Starac * Suharno * Trejak * Turija (Bujanovac), Turija * Uzovo (Bujanovac), Uzovo * Veliki Trnovac * Vogance * Vrban (Central Serbia), Vrban * Zarbince * Žbevac * Žuželjica

Demographics

According to the 2002 census, the municipality of Bujanovac had a population of 43,302 people. Most of the municipality population live in rural areas, with only 27.74% living in the urban parts. The municipality of Bujanovac has 59 inhabited places. As of 2022 census, the municipality has 41,068 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

The majority of the municipality population according to the 2022 census are

, encompassing 62% of the total population. During the 2011 census, undercounting of the census units, owing to the boycott by most of the members of the Albanian ethnic community in the municipality of Bujanovac, was reported. The ethnic composition of the municipality is as follows:

Religion

Based on the census results from 2022, the Bujanovac Municipality has 68.8% of Muslims majority and substantial 24.8% Christian Orthodox minority.

Culture and society

Sports

Bujanovac has a number of association football, football teams, the most notable being BSK Bujanovac, KF Tërnoci and KF Besa.

Economy

The following table gives a preview of total number of registered people employed in legal entities per their core activity (as of 2022):

Gallery

File:Gimnazi Sezai Suroi Bujanovc - panoramio.jpg, ''Bujanovac Grammar's School'' File:Bujanovc Qendra - panoramio.jpg, ''Town Center Building'' File:Bujanovac.JPG, ''Bujanovac Bus Station'' File:Ljiljance-mahala Rešinci.jpg, ''Ljiljance village panorama''

International cooperation

* Lillehammer, Norway * Valbonë, Albania * Gjirokastër, Albania

Notable people

* Nexhat Daci, Kosovo Albanian politician * Gjelbrim Taipi, Albanian footballer * Berat Djimsiti, Albanian footballer * Shaip Kamberi, Albanian Politician * Lumir Abdixhiku, Kosovo Albanian politician * Arbnor Fejzullahu, Albanian footballer *Ajet Sopi Bllata, Albanian rebel * Nagip Arifi , Albanian Politician

References

Notes

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Bujanovac, Populated places in Pčinja District Municipalities and cities of Southern and Eastern Serbia Cities and towns in Southern Serbia Albanian communities in Serbia