Duhël (, ) is a settlement in the Suva Reka municipality in Kosovo. The village is exclusively ethnic Albanian; in the 2024 census, it had 1,020 inhabitants.
Geography
The village lies in Prizrenski Podgor, about 25 km east of Prizren, on the west side of the Carralevë and offset of the Šar Mountains.Glasnik, p. 392 It lies in the region of Podrimlje.Nusic 1966, pp. 197-198 From its heights, one can view almost the whole of Metohija.Nusic 2005, p. 37 Duhël extends over a lake terrace, nearly 1 km wide, around 750 m high, which in this part represents the border of the Metohija-Prizren region. The rural settlement lies on a cadastral area of 1413 hectares.Stamenković, p. 115 Duhël includes two major physiognomic parts: Duhël, the main part with three mahala (hamlets); Rrafsh, Srpska (Mahalla e serbëve) and Sopska; the second part is Dragaçin, an isolated hamlet on the right valley side of the Dragaçinn river. The Suhareka-Duhël-Malishevë road goes through the village.Stamenkovic, p. 118
Duhla was formerly a seat of a municipality with the same name, though it still represents an administrative and cultural center for the neighbouring villages.Glasnik, p. 394
History The village is mentioned for the first time in the Saint Archangels charter (Svetoarhanđelska povelja) of Emperor Stephen Uroš IV Dušan, dating to 1348, as Duhlje.Južnoslovenski Filolog, p. 373 A medieval road crossed Duhël, from Prizren to Shtime, further to the interior of Serbia.Skrivanic, p. vi There are ruins of the medieval Serbian Orthodox Churches of Parascheva (Sv. Petka), on a graveyard, and the Holy Salvation (Sv. Spasa), by the spring of the Lukara stream, in the village.Rastko, The Shortened List of the Shrines of Kosovo and Metohija from 13th to 20th centuries
In 1881, when Dervish-Pasha crushed the rebel Albanians in Ferizovik, he hung Albanian Sefë Koshari to a pear tree between Ferizovići and Shtime.Stankovic, Prvi Odeljak, J Some of the Albanians sought rest in Duhla Hana, after their defeat. When the innkeeper burnt trees in the furnace, the Albanians woke up in fear; they thought Dervish-Pasha had come after them shooting guns, after which they fled.
During the Serbian Campaign (World War I), in 1915, after the Bulgarian breakthrough of Serbian positions, the last Serbian contingents in Kosovo had divisions in Carralevë; the Cavalry Division had retreated to the Duhla Hana.Bojovic, p. 94
During the Kosovo War, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) operated in the region and the area experienced bombings by NATO forces. KLA forces were reported to have killed and wounded several Serbian policemen and civilians.Steven Erlanger, CRISIS IN THE BALKANS: IN KOSOVO; In Kosovo, Empty Towns, Burned Homes and Shops, New York Times, April 17, 1999, page 3.Unmik Online, DC No 86-09Members of the Ministry of the Interior - Victims of Albanian Terrorism in 1998, March 10, 1999
Demographic history The village was historically inhabited by Serbs, and the Albanian families came from Malësia in northern Albania, most likely in the 18th century. According to data which is older than the 18th century from the Devič monastery, all villages of Drenica were inhabited by Serbs.Nusic 1966, p. 223 In 1875, there were 26 Albanian and 4 Serb families in the village. In 1879, there were 16 Albanian and 4 Serb families in the village. In 1910, there were 6 Serb families (no data on Albanians). In 1921, there were 52 houses and 299 inhabitants.
Population counts in censuses conducted between 1948 and 1991 are provided in the table below. Information on population by ethnic group is not available for most years in this period. In 1981, 1229 people were listed as Albanian and 1 person was listed as Muslim; no residents were identified as Serbs, Montenegrins, Turks, or other groups.1981 Census, Kosovo (Preliminary)
+ Population history 1948 1953 1961 1971 1981 1991 Population count 564 649 722 881 1230 1399
Notes
References
Onomatološki prilozi, Volume 13, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti. Odbor za onomastiku. Akademija, 1997. p. 540: "Дуље" Branislav Đ Nušić, Sabrana dela, Volume 23, NIP "Jež", 1966 (Original: 1931) Branislav Đ Nušić, S Kosova na sinje more: beleške s puta kroz Arbanase 1894. godine, Čigoja štampa, 2005 (Original: "Kosovo, Opis zemlje i naroda", 1902) Srboljub Đ Stamenković, Географска енциклопедија населjа Србије: С-Ш, Volume 4, Географски факултет, 2002, pp. 115–118: "Дуље" Dimitrije M. Kalezić, Enciklopedija pravoslavlja, I, Savremena administracija, 2002, p. X: "Дуље" Milovan Radovanović 2008, Kosovo i Metohija: antropogeografske, istorijskogeografske, demografske i geopolitičke osnove, Službeni Glasnik Glasnik, Volume 4, 1952, Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, pp. 392–394: "Дуље" Petar Bojovīć, Odbrana Kosovoga polja 1915. g. i zaštita odstupanja srpske vojske preko Albanije i Crne gore, Izdavačka knjižarnica G. Kona, 1922 Južnoslovenski Filolog, Volume 23, Srpska akademija nauka. Institut za srpski jezik, 1958 Тодор П. Станковић, Путне белешке по Старој Србији 1871—1898 Gavro A. Škrivanić, Путеви у средњовековној Србији, Туристичка штампа, 1974