Rožaje Municipality ( Montenegrin and Bosnian: Opština Rožaje / Општина Рожаје;

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

: Komuna e Rozhajës) is one of the

municipalities of Montenegro The ''municipalities'' ( cnr-Latn-Cyrl, opštine, општине, separator=" / ", singular: cnr-Latn-Cyrl, opština, општина, separator=" / ", label=none) are the first level administrative subdivisions of Montenegro. The country is div ...

. The main centre and capital of the Rožaje municipality is

Rožaje Rožaje ( Bosnian: ''Rožaje''; , ; , ) is a town located in the Northern Region of Montenegro, situated along the Ibar river. The town is the cultural center of the Bosniaks in Montenegro. As of 2023, the town has a population of 13,608 inhabi ...

. It covers an area of 432 km², and has a population of 22,964 inhabitants in the 2011 Census. It is located in

northern Montenegro Northern Montenegro ( cnr-Latn-Cyrl, Śever Crne Gore, Ćевер Црне Горе, separator=" / ", ), is one of three statistical regions in Montenegro. It encompasses the sparsely populated mountainous part of Montenegro. It is bordered by B ...

Geography and location

The Rožaje municipality is located in the mountainous, northeastern region of Montenegro, as it's spread on the banks of the

Ibar river The Ibar ( sr-cyrl, Ибар, ), also known as the Ibër and Ibri (), is a river that flows through eastern Montenegro, northern Kosovo and central Serbia, with a total length of . The river begins in the Hajla mountain, in Rožaje, eastern Mo ...

, and contains its source. The municipality is located at an altitude of 1000 meters. There are several mountains surrounding the municipality, which are named Beleg, Sijenova, Ahmica, Turjak, Vlahovi, Krsača,

Žljeb Žljeb (; ) is a mountain located between western Kosovo and the Rožaje Municipality of eastern Montenegro. It is a part of the Accursed Mountains, located between the mountains of Hajla and Mokna. The majority of the land within the mountain be ...

, and above all of them rises the 2,403 m high

Hajla Hajla ( or ''Hajla''; sr-Cyrl, Хајла) is a mountain located between the borders of Kosovo and Montenegro. It has several peaks that reach over , the tallest with a hight of . The northern slopes contains the spring formation of the Ibar ri ...

. Rožaje is situated on the main road connecting Montenegro with

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 ...

. It also has a link with

Novi Pazar Novi Pazar ( sr-cyr, Нови Пазар) is a List of cities in Serbia, city located in the Raška District of southwestern Serbia. As of the 2022 census, the urban area has 71,462 inhabitants, while the city administrative area has 106,720 inha ...

Central Serbia Central Serbia (), also referred to as Serbia proper (), is the region of Serbia lying outside the autonomous province of Vojvodina to the north and the disputed Kosovo region to the south. Central Serbia is a term of convenience, not an administ ...

. The IB-22 Highway (otherwise known as the Ibarska magistrala) is the main regional road that connects

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

with

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 ...

Municipal parliament

The municipal parliament consists of 34 deputies elected directly for a four-year term.

Demographics

The town of

is the administrative centre of the Rožaje municipality, which has a total of 22,964 residents, and the town itself has a population of 9,567 in 2011. Rožaje is also considered to be the centre of the Bosniak community of Montenegro. Bosniaks form the majority in both the town and the municipality. The population of

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, ...

in Rožaje is 1,158, forming 5% of the total population in 2011. Albeit small, there is a minority of

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 ...

, mostly located in the village of

Bijela Crkva Bijela Crkva ( sr-cyr, Бијела Црква; lit. White Church) is a village in the municipality of Rožaje, Montenegro. Demographics According to the 2003 census, it had 195 inhabitants, who identified as a majority of Serbs (88%) and minori ...

, as well as in the town. Ethnic groups (2011): *

Bosniaks The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

: 19,269 (83.91%) *

: 1,158 (5.04%) *

ethnic Muslims Muslims (Serbo-Croatian Latin and , Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic and ) are an ethnoreligious group of Serbo-Croatian-speaking Muslims, inhabiting mostly the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The term Muslims became wi ...

: 1,044 (4.55%) *

: 822 (3.58%) *

Montenegrins Montenegrins (, or ) are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common ancestry, culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro. Montenegrins are mostly Orthodox Christians; however, the population also includes ...

: 401 (1.75%) * Other or undecided: 270 (1.18%) Languages (2011): * Bosnian: 16,631 (72.42%) * Montenegrin: 3,967 (17.27%) *

: 1,055 (4.59%) *

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

: 1,026 (4.47%) * Other or undecided: 285 (1.24%) Religions (2011): *

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

: 21,805 (94.95%) *

Orthodoxy Orthodoxy () is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically-accepted creed, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical co ...

: 1,055 (4.60%) * Other or undecided: 104 (0.45%)

Gallery

File:Rozaje in early spring.jpg, Town of

File:Lake Rujiste.jpg,

Lake Rujište Lake Rujište () is a lake located in Biševo, a local center in Rožaje, Montenegro. The potentials of this lake are still not fully realized. This lake is one of the most visited natural locations in Rožaje. Next to the lake is an alp called Go ...

File:White Hajla 2403 m.jpg,

Mountain File:Kucanska dzamija.jpg, Kučanska Mosque

References

Municipalities of Montenegro {{montenegro-geo-stub