Novo Brdo

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Novobërdë / Novobërda Artana / Artanë Ново Брдо / Novo Brdo
Novobërdë / Novobërda Artana / Artanë Ново Брдо / Novo Brdo
Coordinates: 42°36′58″N 21°26′06″E / 42.61611, 21.435
District	District of Priština
Population (2007)
- Total	3,900
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)

Novo Brdo or Novobërda (Albanian: Novobërda, Novobërdë or Artana, Artanë; Serbian: Ново Брдо or Novo Brdo) is a town and municipality in the Priština district of eastern Kosovo. The population of the municipality is estimated at 3,900 people (2007).^[1]

The name of the town means "New Hill" in Slavic languages, of whom Serbian is most notable in this case.

[edit] History

Novo Brdo (in Latin documents written as Novaberd, Novus Mons or Novamonte; and in Saxon miners' documents as Nyeuberghe) was mentioned in the historical documents as early as 1326. Previously it was included, together with the other parts of Kosovo, within the First Bulgarian Empire [1]. The famous Bulgarian Mediaeval writer Vladislav the Grammarian was born there between 1410 and 1415 [www.belschool.net/files/zapoznaisesbalgarskitepisateli/17.ppt].

It was once Serbia's capital city, and one of the larger cities in Europe.^{[citation needed]}

Novo Brdo was a metropolis at the time, with a huge medievial fortress built on the top of an extinct volcano cone, the remains of which can be visited today, and residential sections sprawling all around. In the outer wall of the fortress a large cross is visible, built into the stones. The castle, or fortress, was thought at one point to have dated back to the Byzantine Empire, however more recently it is indicated that it in fact was Serbian.^{[citation needed]}

The population at its height was estimated to exceed 10,000 people. There were mines and smelting furnaces for iron, lead, gold and silver ores. Novo Brdo silver is known by its argentum glame (an alloy of silver with 1/6-1/3 gold). In 1450 the mines of Novo Brdo were producing about 6,000 kg of silver per year. The fortress came under siege for forty days by the Ottomans, capitulating and becoming occupied by the Ottomans on June 1, 1455. This event is described by Konstantin Mihailović from Ostrovica, near Novo Brdo. All of the higher ranking Serbian officials were executed after the castle fell, with the younger men and boys being taken captive to serve in the Ottoman Army, and some 700 young Serbian women and girls being taken to be wives to Ottoman commanders. [2] [3]

Novo Brdo and the surrounding area was put under the spiritual guidance of the Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid [4].

In 1572 a surge of Bulgarian outlaws made the area so dangerous for the Ottomans that Mehmed Bey of Kyustendil ordered a dozen of local Spahis to be deployed between Vranja and Novo Brdo against the rebels [[5]].

By the early 20th century, Novo Brdo's population had dwindled, with most inhabitants moving to the more easily accessible area of Gnjilane. In 1999, with the entry into Kosovo of KFOR and UNMIK, the area had a small military outpost occupied by US soldiers, as well as a station of International Police and Kosovo Police. That presence was necessary due to regular ethnic related crimes being committed there. The military has since removed its presence, but the police presence can still be seen today.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Demographics

There is no data for 1971 and 1981, as it was part of the Pristina Municipality in those censuses. In 1961 its area was a somewhat bigger than it is today.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• OSCE municipal profile of Novo BrdoPDF, October 2007.
• Novo Brdo Castle
• Castle in Novo Brdo