Kaçanik

• Name — Kaçanik • Native Name — * Kaçanik or Kaçaniku Kačanik or • Type — Town and Municipality • Blank Emblem Type — Emblem • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — Kosovo • Subdivision Type1 — District • Subdivision Name1 — District of Ferizaj • Leader Title — Mayor • Leader Party — PDK • Leader Name — Sabedin Vishi • Unit Pref — Metric • Population As Of — 2024 • Time Zone — CET • Utc Offset — +1 • Time Zone Dst — CEST • Utc Offset Dst — +2 • Elevation M — 478 • Postal Code Type — Postal code • Postal Code — 71000 • Area Code — +383 (0) 290 • Area Code Type — Country code • Website — https: kacanik.rks-gov.net • Custom Label1 Sec1 — Regional road • Custom Data1 Sec1 — R115 • Custom Label2 Sec1 — Regional road • Custom Data2 Sec1 — R116 • Custom Label3 Sec1 — Regional road • Custom Data3 Sec1 — R122 • Custom Label4 Sec1 — Regional road • Custom Data4 Sec1 — R303 • Population Urban — 9653 • Population Density Urban Sq Mi — auto • Population Total — 27716 • Population Density Km2 — auto • Area Total Km2 — 220 • Registration Plate Type — Vehicle registration • Registration Plate — 05 • Population Blank1 Title — Ethnicity • Population Blank1 — * 99.85% Albanians • 0.15% Other • Population Demonym — Kaçanikas (m), Kaçanikase (f) • Custom Data5 Sec1 — N2 • Custom Label5 Sec1 — National road • Custom Data6 Sec1 — R6 • Custom Label6 Sec1 — Motorway • Custom Data7 Sec1 — E65 • Custom Label7 Sec1 — International E-road

The founder of the town Koxha Sinan Pasha called the town Kaçaniku. In 1660, Ottoman writer and traveller Evliya Çelebi visited Kosovo and wrote that the town's name derived from the Ottoman Turkish word kaçanlar in reference to a group of Albanian bandits that operated in Üsküb and used the region of Kaçanik as a hideout.

The region of Kaçanik was one of the pathways, which were employed during Central European (akin to the Lusatian culture) migrations in the southern Balkans between 1200 and 1150 BCE. Roman era monuments include an altar that dates to 158–9 CE and is dedicated to a deity named Andinus (Deo Andino). The name Andinus appears among the central Illyrian and Dalmatian names, but the worship of Andinus seems to have been a local cult of southwestern Dardania as it doesn't appear in other parts of Illyria or the Roman Empire.

After 9th century part of kingdom Raška and empire Serbia. Kaçanik was captured by the Ottomans in the 1420s. At that time Kaçanik was only a village registered by the Ottomans in 1455 defter as nahiyah. Kaçanik was founded by Koca Sinan Pasha, who erected a tower, the town mosque which exists even today, a public kitchen for the poor (imaret), a school near the mosque, two hane (inns similar to caravanserais), one hammam (Turkish bathhouse), the town fortress called Llanishta Fortress and a few mills on the Lepenci river. Kaçanik became known administratively as a town by the end of the 16th century, and up to year 1891 it was a part of the Ottoman Sanjak of Üsküb, which again belonged to the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire.

On January 2, 1690 Albanian insurgents participated in a battle on the side of the Austrian forces fought against the Ottomans at the Valley of Kaçanik. • Illustration — View of Kaçanik In 1878, Kaçanik was intended to become a part of the Principality of Bulgaria according to the Treaty of San Stefano, but per the Treaty of Berlin it was returned to the Ottomans. During the Albanian Revolt of 1910, the area of Kacanik was the battlefield between Ottoman and Albanian forces. • Illustration — Kaçanik 2018 After 1912 the town became part of the Kingdom of Serbia, and after 1918 part of Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (the first incarnation of Yugoslavia). From 1929 to 1941 Kaçanik was part of the Vardar Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During World War II, from 1941 to 1945, the town became part of the Kingdom of Bulgaria. Albanians looted and demolished the Serbian church in the village. In 1990, after the suspension of Kosovo's autonomy, the members of the Kosovan assembly gathered in the town and adopted the Kaçanik Constitution, based on which the Republic of Kosova was proclaimed in 1991. During the Kosovo War, Yugoslav forces including the army, police and paramilitary groups carried out operations in the town that led to high numbers of civilian casualties and mass flights of civilians from Kaçanik.

Kaçanik is located in southeastern part of Kosovo, by the border with North Macedonia. It is situated in a gorge that holds the same name, Kaçanik Gorge, between the Sharr Mountains to the west and the Karadak Mountains to the east. Kaçanik lies along the Nerodime and Lepenc rivers, which they joined in the south of the town to continue to North Macedonia. The municipality borders the municipalities of Ferizaj to the north, Viti to the east, Hani i Elezit to the south, and Shtërpcë to the west. • Illustration — Map of Municipality of Kaçanik

According to the last official census done in 2024, the urban population of Kaçanik has 9,653 inhabitants, while the municipality has 27,716 inhabitants. The municipality is ethnically homogeneous Albanian.

The municipality is known for the production of construction materials at several area companies. There are also many cultivated farmlands and areas suited for the development of farms, apiculture, arboriculture as well as various craftsman and artisans. The downtown area is home to a bus station, a small radio station, the remains of a Turkish fort, several streets lined with shops, banks, several restaurants, and a weekly farmers market for produce, livestock and housewares. Kaçanik has an old tradition in private manufactures, especially when it comes to the production of calcareous stone, wood for construction purposes and other services and art

• B — Bob / Bobi — Bajnicë — Biqec/Biçecë — Begracë/ Begracë • D — Doganaj — Drenogllavë — Dubravë — Duraj • E — Elezaj • G — Gabrricë — Gajre — Gërlicë e Epërme — Glloboçicë/Qafëshqipja • Gj — Gjurgjedell • I — Ivajë/Ivaja • K — Kaçanik i Vjetër — Korbliq/Kurbali — Kotlië — Kovaçec — Koxhaj • LL — Llanishte (neighbourhood) • N — Nikaj — Nikoc • R — Rekë/Reka — Runjevë • S — Semajë — Sllatinë — Soponicë — Stagovë — Stazhë • V — Vataj-Dubravë • 1 Urban settlement (the town of Kaçanik) • 30 Rural settlements (villages)

• Illustration — Kalaja e Kaçanikut • Illustration — Kisha e Nikës (Orthodox Church) • Illustration — Nerodime river • Illustration — Koxha Sinan Pasha (Mosque) • Illustration — Uptown city center (Kaçanik) • Illustration — "Sharr Mountains" National Park

KF Lepenci is the men's football club in the town and they play their home matches at Besnik Begunca Stadium. KFF Bazeli 2015 is the women's football club in the town and they play in the top level of the women's football league in Kosovo. • Club — Sport — Founded — League — Venue • KF Lepenci — Football — 1945/1957 — Second League Group B — Besnik Begunca Stadium • KFF Bazeli 2015 — Football(Women) — 2015 — Kosovo Women's Football League — Besnik Begunca Stadium

• Ag Apolloni, writer • Adem Salihaj, politician • Arben Zharku, film producer • Driton Selmani, visual artist • Etnik Brruti, footballer • Jetmir Topalli, footballer • Jeton Neziraj, playwright • Medon Berisha (born 21 October 2003) is a footballer who plays as a midfielder for the Albania national team. His parents are from Kaçanik • Ramize Gjebrea (1923–1944), World War II partisan, mother from Kaçanik • Sara Maliqi, footballer • Triumf Riza, police officer • Veton Tusha, footballer • Ylber Hysa, historian • Idriz Seferi, fighter • Albin Krasniqi, footballer