Skanderbeg Square, Pristina

Skanderbeg Square (Albanian: Sheshi "Skënderbeu") is a square in Pristina, Kosovo.

Skanderbeg Square
Sheshi Skënderbeu
Public square
Skanderbeg's statue in the square
OwnerPristina Municipality
Coordinates: 42°39′49″N 21°09′50″E

Location and history

Following the end of the Kosovo conflict in 1999 and 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]

  • 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

References
  1. Ragaru 2008, pp. 531, 549-550.
  2. Björkdahl & Kappler 2017, pp. 57-58.
  3. Ragaru 2008, pp. 550.
  4. 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.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  5. Björkdahl, Annika; Kappler, Stefanie (2017). Peacebuilding and spatial transformation: Peace, space and place. Routledge. p. 57. ISBN 9781317409427.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  6. Ragaru, Nadege (2008). "The Political Uses and Social Lives of "National Heroes": Controversies over Skanderbeg's Statue in Skopje". Südosteuropa. 56 (4): 549–550.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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