Kosovo is a newly created country, which gained its independence from Serbia in February 2008. The country is strategically positioned in the center of the Balkan Peninsula bordered by Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the north and east, North Macedonia to the southeast, and Albania to the southwest. It is landlocked but it is quite rich in water resources, due to rivers and lakes. Its total surface is 10 887 square kilometers.
Population of Kosovo is estimated to be around 1.9 million people (est. 2019). It has one of the youngest and most active populations in Europe. The majority belongs to Islam but approximately 10% are Christians.
The origin of the people from Kosovo is very old and it is connected to the Illyrian tribe of Dardan that lived in the Balkan Peninsula at least since the Bronze Age. They share the same origin as the Albanians; this is why they have always been connected by blood. Even today
Kosovo’s population is more than 90% ethnic Albanians.
In the 6 th century Slavs started to settle in the area, thus reducing the influence of the Byzantine Empire and exercising their control. During the medieval period, Kosovo became the center of the Serbian Empire and saw the construction of many important Serb religious sites, including many architecturally significant Serbian Orthodox monasteries. The defeat of Serbian forces at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 led to five centuries of Ottoman rule. Serbia reacquired control over the region from the Ottoman Empire during the First Balkan War of 1912.
After World War II, Kosovo's present-day boundaries were established when
Kosovo became an autonomous province of Serbia in the Socialist Federal Republic
of Yugoslavia (S.F.R.Y.). Albanian nationalism increased in the 1980s, which led to riots and calls for Kosovo's independence. The Serbs - many of whom viewed
Kosovo as their cultural heartland - instituted a new constitution in 1989 revoking Kosovo's autonomous status. Kosovo's Albanian leaders responded in 1991 by organizing a referendum declaring Kosovo independent. Serbia undertook
repressive measures against the Kosovar Albanians in the 1990s, provoking a
Kosovar Albanian insurgency. Beginning in 1998, Serbia conducted a brutal
campaign that resulted in massacres and massive expulsions of ethnic Albanians
(some 800,000 ethnic Albanians were forced from their homes in Kosovo). After
international attempts to mediate the conflict and Nato intervention, the Kosovo
Assembly declared Kosovo independent in 2008. Since then, over 100 countries
have recognized Kosovo, and it has joined numerous international organizations.
Even though Kosovo has had a difficult past, it is doing great steps to move ahead. Kosovo tourism is still unspoiled but it is like a small paradise for curious travelers who want to explore and learn more not only of the country but of the whole region. Visit mosques and churches, well-preserved Ottoman districts, beautiful landscapes and end up enjoying a drink in one of the numerous cafés in the capital city, Prishtina. You will not be disappointed!