Polac (defined Albanian form: Polaci; Serbian: Пољанце / Poljance) is a village in Kosovo, located in the municipality of Skenderaj. The village is exclusively inhabited by ethnic Albanians; in the 2024 census, it had 2,115 inhabitants.
Geography It lies in the Drenica region, at the source of the Vërbicë river, a left confluence of the Drenica river.Stamenković 2002, p. 81 It is situated on both sides of the regional Skenderaj-Drenas road, approximately 4–7 km southeast of Skenderaj. The village lies at an elevation of 640–680 m above sea level and covers a total cadastral area of 2,195 hectares. Polac is traditionally divided into historical neighborhoods or mahalas, which are named after the local Albanian clan families and landmarks: Xhamia, Gruda, Kerolli, Koci, Veliu, Hoti, Kabashi and Zani. The Veliu neighborhood is historically significant as the ancestral home of the Veliu branch of the Berisha tribe, from which the Albanian national figure Hasan Prishtina descended.
History Middle Ages
The 1330 Dečani chrysobulls of Serbian King Stephen Uroš III (r. 1322–1331) mention the great village of "Strelac", and several surrounding villages: Čigotovo (Čikatovo), Vrbovec, Poljance, Glabotino and Kudrino (Kudrin).П. Ивић – М. Грковић, ДХ I (140), ДХ II (7–8), ДХ III (210–270); Задужбине Косова, 329.Božanić 2009, pp. 14, 16 Toponomastic study shows that Poljance bordered Strelac on the northeast.
World War II
6 soldiers, hailing from Poljance, of the "Boro Bukmirović" and "Razim Sadiku" battalions of the First Macedonian-Kosovan National liberation Brigade (Yugoslav Partisans) fell in January and February 1945 during an uprising in Drenica.Списак бораца косовско метохијских батаљона
Kosovo War
According to the Serbian newspaper Pravda in January in February 1997, Jonuz Veliqi, an Albanian official working for the state structures of the Republic of Serbia, was nearly killed by during attacks of the Albanian paramilitaries.Pravda, 19. децембар 2010. Милошевић благо прекорио Србе On August 3, 1998, a civilian worker for the Serbian Interior Ministry was wounded by an automatic weapon.Members of the Ministry of the Interior – Victims of Albanian Terrorism in 1998 Poljance was in the hands of the Kosovo Liberation Army until March 22, 1999, when Serbian police forces launched an offensive into Drenica.NY Times, Fears Deepens as Monitors Quit KosovoNY Times, Serbs Burn the Birthplace Of the Albanians' Revolt After March 23, 1999, several abducted ethnic Serbs were held prisoners in an old mine near a brick factory in Poljance by Albanians.Danas, Belgrade, FR Yugoslavia, November 3, 1999, Ethnic Albanian from Kosmet Idriz Medit Offered to Exchange 10 Serbs for his Son, by Z. RadovanovicIWPR'S Balkan Crisis Report, No. 92, November 12, 1999, Serbian Justice on Trial, By Laura Rozen The KLA regained control of Polac in 31 March 1999 when the Yugoslavs began their withdrawal from the positions in Drenica after fighting in the area.
Demographics + Demographic history Ethnic group 1948 1953 1961 1971 19811981 Census, Kosovo (Preliminary) 1991 2011 Albanians 2358 2695 TotalKosovo censuses 1948–1991 1077 1304 1408 1675 2358 2827 2701
Notable people Hasan Prishtina
Notes
References Božanić, S. 2009, "O zemljišnim međama srpskog srednjovekovnog sela", Istraživanja, no. 20, pp. 47–64. Srboljub Đ Stamenković, Географска енциклопедија населjа Србије: С-Ш, Volume 4, Географски факултет, 2002, p. 81: "Пољанце"