Hani i Elezit or Elez Han ( sq-definite, Hani i Elezit; , ''Đeneral Janković''; officially Елез Хан, ''Elez Han'') 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 Ferizaj District of

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

History

The town has been inhabited since the 1500s. Its name in Ottoman times was ''İlyas-Han'', which it got because of the Han of Elez Dimca. The town was renamed after Serbian general Božidar Janković in 1914 by a decision of the Serbian Council of Ministers. It is one of the new formed municipalities formed in September 2005. It was previously part of the

Kaçanik Kaçanik ( sq-definite, Kaçaniku) or Kačanik ( sr-Cyrl, Качаник, ), is a List of cities in Kosovo, town and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality located in the District of Ferizaj, Ferizaj District of southern Kosovo. According to the 2 ...

municipality. In 2012, the Kosovo Assembly approved the renaming of the town to Elez Han for its publications in Serbian and English; the name remains ''Hani i Elezit'' in Albanian.Vesti-Online, "KiM: Đeneral Janković postao Elez Han," 29 Sept. 2012
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Geography

The town is located in the south-eastern part of Kosovo, near the border with

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

. The municipality covers an area of . It borders Kaçanik municipality to the north and with

, the municipalities of Jegunovce (west), Čučer-Sandevo (east), Saraj and Gjorče Petrov (south).

Population

According to the 2024 census conducted by the

Kosovo Agency of Statistics The Kosovo Agency of Statistics ('', ACK;'' ) is the national statistics bureau of Kosovo. It was officially established in 1948, but restarted working as an independent agency in 1999. After Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008, the '' ...

, the municipality of Hani i Elezit is home to 8,533 residents. The population is overwhelmingly homogeneous in terms of ethnicity, with 99.81% identifying as ethnic

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, ...

Economy

The municipality has a total of 250 family shops and small businesses registered. The economy of Hani i Elezit is mainly based on three companies/enterprises: Sharr-Çimentorja (

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

factory), Kosovaplast (

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

factory), and Salonit (roof covers factory). All the aforementioned were part of the Šar Combinate before 1989. Sharr-Çimentorja employs 770 people, Salonit employs 280 employees, and Kosovaplast has 100 employees. Cafes, restaurants and retail trade are also vibrant. Private shops and other commercial businesses operating in the Pilot Municipal Unit are mostly family-operated enterprises, with approximately 200 employees. Nevertheless, a considerable part of population works in the agriculture sector or remains unemployed.

Public Services

Health

There is one

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

providing primary health care. There are two doctors, one dentist, one lab technician and nine nurses. The hospital provides services until late afternoon, while emergency cases are treated by the hospital in Kaçanik due to the lack of staff in Hani i Elezit. The Municipal Unit is making efforts to hire two additional doctors to increase efficiency, but this process is very slow due to the lack of vacant positions in the staffing table.

Education

There are three primary schools (1,673 pupils) located in Hani i Elezit and the villages of Paljivodenica and Gorance. There is a

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

located in Hani i Elezit with a total of 416 pupils.

References

External links

Municipality website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elez Han Populated places in Kosovo Kosovo–North Macedonia border crossings Municipalities of Kosovo