Štrpce

Štrpce
—  Municipality and city  —
Штрпце / Štrpce / Shtërpcë / Shtërpca
Ski resort Brezovica and city of Štrpce
Flag Coat of arms
Štrpce Location in Kosovo
Coordinates: 42°14′N 21°01′E
Country	Kosovo
District	District of Uroševac
Area
• Total	247.36 km2 (95.51 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	6,913 (municipality)
• Density	27.9/km2 (72/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Area code(s)	+381 290
Car plates	05

Štrpce (Serbian: Штрпце/Štrpce, Albanian: Shtërpcë or Shtërpca) is a town and municipality in the District of Uroševac, Kosovo and Metohija.

According to the 1991 census, the municipality of Štrpce had a population of around 12,800 people. As of 2006, Štrpce had an ethnic two third Serbian majority, making it a Serb enclave in Kosovo.

Geography

The municipality is situated near the Šar Mountains. It encompasses an area of 247.36 square kilometers (95.51 sq mi) on the northeast part of the Šar Mountains, and the upper part of the Lepenac river valley, which is well known as Sirinić Valley. Its municipal borders almost overlap with the borders of Sirinić Valley. Border lines are made of the mountain massive of the north-east part of the Šar Mountains and its branches: Ošljak, Kodža Balkan, Žar and Jezerska Mountain. The municipality of Štrpce is a mainly mountainous area, comprising regions from 900 meters (3,000 ft) above sea level in the Lepenac river valley up to 2,500 meters (8,200 ft) above sea level at its highest peak, Ljuboten. Dominant mountain massifs create a natural isolation for this municipality towards north and south, meanwhile by Brod canyon the municipality is open towards Kosovo Valley, and through Prevalac toward Prizren Valley. In the immediate neighborhood are the municipalities of Uroševac, Kačanik, Suva Reka and Prizren, and on one side the municipality is bordered by the Republic of Macedonia.

Ski resort Brezovica and the town of Štrpce

The area of the municipality and its center Štrpce have a relatively favorable location in comparison to other cities and administrative, economic centers of Kosovo, as well as the north and northwest part of Macedonia. The distance from this municipality from the municipality of Uroševac is 30 kilometers (19 mi), from the municipality of Pristina 61 kilometers (38 mi), from the municipality of Prizren 34 kilometers (21 mi), and the distance from cities in Macedonia is: Skopje 61 kilometers (38 mi), Tetovo 70 kilometers (43 mi). Štrpce municipality is situated at the center of the aforementioned cities, which is very important for further municipal economic development. It is also worth mentioning that within a radius of 100 kilometers (62 mi) from Štrpce there are a number of industrial and mining centers like Trepča - Kosovo mining-energetic basin, then Skopje, Uroševac, Prizren and Peć industrial basins. In the past few years a number of asphalt roads were constructed within the municipal territory, so that almost all settlements are connected with the center of the municipality. Relief features and potential for using agricultural land are prerequisites for the bloodstream of the settlements' network which are the valley's predominant type. Most of the settlements are not urbanized and mainly not functionally integrated, with the exception of Brezovica settlement where tourism assets are located and Štrpce as the center of the municipality.

The diversity and attractive natural resources represent good potential for a faster economic development of the municipality. The most valuable natural potentials of the municipality are its environment values, climate features and untouched nature. Mountains with so called Alpine mountain relief, in the upper part of mountain where there is snow up to 280 days during the year are just some of the advantages for the development of winter tourism. The Šar Mountains offer the possibility of preparing ski slopes for all types of winter sports fans, from novices to top professional skiers. The lower parts with characteristics of the valley climate are rich with a variety of flora, lakes, caves etc., and offer possibilities for development of summer tourism as well. Besides tourism, there are opportunities and natural resources for the development of agriculture and cattle-breading. Agricultural land takes 55% of the municipal territory —13,651 hectares (33,732 acres). Pastures cover 38.8%, and meadows 25% of the total agricultural land. Cultivable soil covers 18%, and a small area is orchard. Forests take 42% of the territory of the municipality —11,372 hectares (28,101 acres). Beech is the most widely spread tree, but one can come across Turkey oak, white ash, birch and some other types of trees as well. Above 1,600 meters (5,200 ft) there are mixed and coniferous forests: pine, fir, spruce, juniper, as well as endemic trees like Pinus peuce, Pinus heldreichii, Pinus mugo, Taxus baccata and some others. The whole territory of the municipality is rich with rivers; about 250 springs manifest a presence of underground waters. The largest river is Lepenac which is made of two rivers - Tisova and Cerenacke river. There are number of mountain lakes; the three most popular are: Livadičko, Štrbačko and Big Jažinačko Lake.

Demographics

Štrpce was a part of the Uroševac municipality for the 1971 and 1981 census. Therefore there is no separate population data for the municipality for those two years.

Ethnic Composition
Year/Population	Albanians	%	Serbs	%	Turk	%	Others	%	Total
1961 census	3,637	32.36	7,545	67.13	-	-	51	0.45	11,239
1991 census	4,300	32.83	8,138	64.02	74	0.58	200	1.57	12,712
September 1999	1,830	16.4	9,182	82.4	73	0.7	60	0.5	11,145
February 2001	4,500	33	9,099	66.7	34	0.2	N/A	0.1	13,633
Ref: Yugoslav Population Censuses for data through 1991, OSCE estimates for 1999 and 2001

See also

• District of Uroševac

Notes and references

Notes:

a.	^ Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared independence on 17 February 2008, while Serbia claims it as part of its own sovereign territory. Its independence is recognised by 88 UN member states.

References:

External links

• OSCE Profile of Štrpce / Shtërpcë
• www.strpce.net
• Web site of ski resort Brezovica and Štrpce
• About coat of arms and banner of Štrpce