Kosovo's history, from Ulpiana to independence, in dates

In the UK, “Kosovo war” is searched more than anything else about the place, and I understand why. It’s within living memory, and many people’s first image of Kosovo is from the news in 1999. I’ve written this page by one rule. Every event has a date and the institution that records it, and nothing gets an adjective. You won’t find causes, blame or casualty figures, because none of my official sources gives them in a form I can cite, and on this subject I’d rather say less. What you will find is the thread that explains most of what you’ll see.

Before the medieval Balkans

Pristina municipality’s tourist brochure says the area was inhabited in the Neolithic, and that since 1999 the city’s symbol has been the Goddess on the Throne, a terracotta figure about 6,000 years old found nearby. The Roman city of Ulpiana, on the edge of Gračanica, dates from the 2nd century, was renamed Justiniana Secunda under Justinian and was abandoned after an earthquake in 518. Few visitors make it there, and I think it’s the visit that puts everything else in context; see Ulpiana. The Ministry of Culture’s DTK register traces Prizren’s fortress back to the 4th century, in Roman times.

The monastery centuries

The 14th century is the century of the great Orthodox monasteries. The brochure gives 1321 for Gračanica church, built on a 6th-century one. UNESCO dates Dečani to the mid-14th century, as the mausoleum of the Serbian king Stefan Dečanski, and the frescoes of Our Lady of Ljeviš in Prizren to the early 14th. The four form a single World Heritage site, inscribed in 2004 and extended in 2006, on the List in Danger since 2006; details in UNESCO sites in Kosovo.

In 1342, according to the same brochure, the Byzantine emperor John VI Kantakouzenos first mentioned Pristina by name. The Battle of Kosovo was fought in 1389, which the brochure treats as the start of the Ottoman period in the city. Its memorial, Gazimestan, in Obiliq municipality, is one of the places given a Special Protective Zone by Law 03/L-039.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Pristina for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

The Ottoman centuries, in stone

The Ottoman layer is what you’ll walk on most. In Pristina, work on the Stone Mosque began in 1392, and the Sultan’s or Imperial Mosque dates from 1461. Ottoman registers of 1477 describe Pristina as 9 neighbourhoods and 351 houses. In Prizren, the DTK dates the Sinan Pasha Mosque to the 17th century and the Gazi Mehmed Pasha hammam to the 16th. By the 19th century Pristina had its first railway station (1874), was capital of the Kosovo Vilayet from 1883 to 1897, and gained the building that now houses the Kosovo Museum, put up in 1885-1886 for the Ottoman garrison.

What happened in 1998 and 1999?

The Spanish foreign ministry’s Serbia profile states that a conflict over Kosovo broke out in 1998 between Serbs and Kosovo Albanians, and that NATO bombing followed in March 1999. The Kumanovo Agreement was signed on 9 June 1999, according to the municipal brochure, and the next day the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1244, by 14 votes with China abstaining, putting international civil and security presences in Kosovo.

For a visitor today, the most practical trace is the one gov.uk flags. Landmines and unexploded weapons from that conflict remain along the Albanian border, around the Dulje Pass and in the mountains between Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro, so keep to cleared roads and paths there. More in is Kosovo safe.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Pristina on GetYourGuide.

From 2008 to now

Kosovo declared independence on 17 February 2008 and its Constitution took effect on 15 June. On 22 July 2010 the International Court of Justice found the declaration did not violate international law. The European Commission dates the end of supervised independence to 10 September 2012 and the entry into force of the EU-Kosovo Stabilisation and Association Agreement to 1 April 2016. Who recognises Kosovo, and why it matters at the Serbian border, is in is Kosovo a country.

Where to see it for yourself

To take these dates in order, start in the museum. The Kosovo Museum in central Pristina occupies the Ottoman building of 1885 and has been a museum since 1980. From there, Ulpiana, Gračanica and Gazimestan are on the outskirts, and Prizren and Dečani are a day’s drive.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Pristina for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.