Velika Hoča, a whole village under protection

It is unusual for a law to protect an entire village, its streets, houses and churches, rather than a single monument. Velika Hoča is one such case, which is why I think it is the most distinctive visit in the whole Gjakova region.

A village with its own article of law

Velika Hoča (Hoçë e Madhe in Albanian) belongs to Rahovec municipality and lies, according to the Culture Ministry’s heritage database (DTK), about 5 km east of the town. ASK, the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, counted 508 residents in 2024, against 124 in 2011.

The 2008 Special Protective Zones law includes the whole village on its list and devotes Article 9 to it. There it says the village may exercise, in consultation with Rahovec municipality, limited authority over the protection and promotion of its cultural and religious heritage and over rural planning, respecting its Special Protective Zone and the principles of UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. No other village gets that treatment in the law, which is why it is on my list of prettiest villages in Kosovo.

Churches and traditional houses

What strikes you is the number of churches for such a small village. OpenStreetMap marks around ten Orthodox churches, including St Stephen the Archdeacon, St Nicholas, St Anne, the Most Pure Virgin, St Tryphon and the Prophet Elijah, plus a monastery. I have no official source for their dates or opening times, so I will not tell you which century each belongs to. What I can say is that you see them by walking round, from the outside.

The DTK lists, under provisional protection, the Spasić family house in the centre. Sima and Spasa Nedeljković built it in 1830-1835 and then went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and it has stayed in the same family ever since. It has stone walls below and timber-framed adobe above, a gallery at the corner and an interior with carved woodwork and an iconostasis holding an icon brought from Jerusalem. The courtyard, paved with river cobbles, has two farm outbuildings and a large gate with separate leaves for people and carts. Since 2010, its record says, it has been a bed-and-breakfast guesthouse.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Rahovec on Expedia and filter by area before price.

Wine

Several wineries appear inside the village on OpenStreetMap. That is all I can state with a source; what I know about the area’s wine, with its limits, is on the Rahovec wine page.

How to visit

This is living, legally protected Orthodox heritage, so I would visit discreetly and not walk into courtyards or churches without asking. There are no official opening times. By car it is a few minutes from Rahovec, and I would pair it with Zočište Monastery, which also has a Special Protective Zone. Bring euros in cash in case your guesthouse or a winery does not take cards.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Rahovec and pick one that fits your day.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Rahovec on Booking.com and filter by area before price.