Skanderbeg Square, Pristina
Skanderbeg Square (Albanian: Sheshi "Skënderbeu") is a square in Pristina, Kosovo.
Location and history
Following the end of the Kosovo conflict in 1999 and no longer under Serbian rule, Kosovo Albanians in 2001 erected a monument within the centre of Pristina to Skanderbeg, a medieval Albanian who fought against Ottoman forces.[1][2] Over a journey of four days the statue was brought from Krujë in Albania to the middle of Pristina.[3] The Skanderbeg statue of Pristina shares a similar socialist aesthetic and equestrian posture with minor differences in detail to existing Skanderbeg monuments in Tiranë, Skopje and other places in Europe.[3] Skanderbeg is depicted on a horse with its right leg up in a menacing pose and his sword is outside of its sheath and pointed toward the ground.[3][4][2] A war memorial dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo war is present in Skanderbeg square along with a series of photographs depicting the missing from the conflict.[5] Skanderbeg Square is bordered on one side by Rugova Square, a space named after the first Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova and on the other side by Mother Teresa Boulevard, named after Saint Teresa of Calcutta.[2] Along with Tiranë and Skopje, Pristina is one of three Balkan capitals to install a Skanderbeg statue.[6]
Gallery
- Bilingual sign designating Skanderbeg Square
- Skanderbeg statue
- Skanderbeg Square
- Parade by Kosovo Security Force in square
- War memorial dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo war
- Banner with photographs depicting the missing from the conflict
- Banner and flags honouring the Kosovo Liberation Army
- Banner with photographs depicting the missing from the conflict
- Poster of Skanderbeg in square
- Pedestal plaque of the Skanderbeg statue
- Skanderbeg statue on old pedestal (2000s)
- Skanderbeg statue on new pedestal (2010s)
See also
- Skanderbeg Square in Tiranë, Albania
- Skanderbeg Square in Skopje, North Macedonia
References
- ^ Ragaru 2008, pp. 531, 549-550.
- ^ a b c Björkdahl & Kappler 2017, pp. 57-58.
- ^ a b c Ragaru 2008, pp. 550.
- ^ Di Lellio, Anna; Schwanders-Sievers, Stephanie (2006). "The Legendary Commander: The construction of an Albanian master‐narrative in post‐war Kosovo" (PDF). Nations and Nationalism. 12 (3): 17.
- ^ Björkdahl, Annika; Kappler, Stefanie (2017). Peacebuilding and spatial transformation: Peace, space and place. Routledge. p. 57. ISBN 9781317409427.
- ^ Ragaru, Nadege (2008). "The Political Uses and Social Lives of "National Heroes": Controversies over Skanderbeg's Statue in Skopje". Südosteuropa. 56 (4): 549–550.
External links
Media related to Skanderbeg Square (Pristina) at Wikimedia Commons
- v
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- e
- Albanological Institute of Pristina
- Pristina Book Fair
- Chopin Piano Fest Pristina
- DAM Festival Pristina
- Ethnological Museum
- Miss Kosovo
- Miss Universe Kosovo
- National Art Gallery
- National Assembly
- National Museum
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- Pedagogical Institute of Kosovo
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Prishtina-seal.svg/50px-Prishtina-seal.svg.png)
landmarks
- Bill Clinton Boulevard
- Bregu i Diellit
- Skanderbeg Square
- Pristina International Airport Adem Jashari
- R6 Motorway
- R7 Motorway
- Pristina railway station