Gusinje

Gusinje Гусиње
Gusinje Location of Gusinje in Montenegro
Coordinates: 42°33′43″N 19°50′02″E
Country	Montenegro
Municipality	Plav
Elevation	1,014 m (3,327 ft)
Population (2003)
• Total	1,704
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	84326
Area code	+382 51
Car plates	PL

Gusinje (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Гусиње, Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [ɡǔsiɲɛ]) is a small town in Montenegro. According to the 2003 census, the town has a population of 1,704.

Name

In Montenegrin the town is known as Gusinje (Гусиње); in Bosnian as Gusinje; and in Albanian as Guci or Gucia.

History

The history and origins of Gusinje are unknown prior to the Ottoman conquests. Before the Ottoman Turks took control of the region, Plav-Gusinje (as it is collectively known) was under the control of various Albanian Catholic tribes. Ottoman Turks conquered the area sometime in the 14th century.

The founder of modern-day Gusinje was Dedë Shala, an Albanian Catholic. In 1455, Shala converted to Islam and became known as Omer-aga Shala. Shala was then awarded lands throughout the region from Ottoman authorities. His son, Hasan-aga Omeragaj built the first house in Gusinje upon the Grnčar river, creating the Omeragaj branch in Gusinje. His other son, Tahir-aga Omeragaj created the Omeragaj branch in Plav. The Omeragaj (later Slavicised to Omeragići) family lead Gusinje from 1461 to 1590.

Throughout Turkish rule, the Turks were able to convert numerous citizens from Roman Catholicism to Islam. The majority of the citizens of Plav-Gusinje were of Albanian origin, hence the majority of the population was Catholic at the time, with the exception a few Eastern Orthodox families. By 1700 over 75% of the inhabitants of Plav-Gusinje embraced Islam.

Turkish rule was passed onto Montenegro by decision of the Congress of Berlin in 1878. However, this decision was unpopular among the local population and between 1878 and 1912, Plav and Gusinje existed as a de facto independent state.

Demographics

Population of Gusinje:

• 1948 - 9,439
• 1953 - 9,546
• 1961 - 9,797
• 1971 - 9,571
• 1981 - 5,903
• 1991 - 2,472
• 2003 - 1,704

Ethnicity in 2003

Ethnicity	Number	Percentage
Bosniaks	1,175	68.95%
Muslims	262	15.37%
Albanians	173	10.15%
Montenegrins	48	2.81%
Serbs	37	2.17%
Croats	1	0.05%
Macedonians	1	0.05%
Others	7	0.45%
Total	1,704	100%

Culture

Attractions

• Springs of Ali Pasha, named after Ali Pasha of Gusinje, are the premium attraction of the town.

Notable people

• Ali Pasha of Gucia, Albanian politician
• Dženan Radončić, Montenegrin footballer
• Fahrudin Radončić, Montenegrin businessman, founder of Dnevni Avaz
• Ekrem Jevrić, Montenegrin singer

See also

• Plav

External links

• Gusinje
• Plav-Gusinje