The Kosovan city of Gjakova has been populated since the prehistoric era. During the medieval period, in 1485, Gjakova is mentioned as a village, concretely as a market place.
Gjakova served as a trading center on the route between Shkodër and Istanbul. The old town of Gjakova was one of the most developed trade centers during the rule of the Ottoman Empire in Balkans. A testimony to this period is the Grand Shopping area (çarshia e madhe) located in the center of the old town, containing many preserved and restored shops and residential buildings. Shopping was developed around the Hadum Mosque, built in 1594-95 as a donation by Hadum Sylejman Efendia (known as Hadum Aga), who simultaneously donated funds for other public facilities in the town, including some of the first shops in the old marketplace.
Gjakova is mentioned as a city for the first time in 1662, by the Ottoman Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi, who described it as a flourishing and attractive town consisting of 2,000 houses, all built of stone with roofs and gardens. Public buildings were suited on a broad plain and included two richly adorned Congregational mosques, several prayer-houses, some khans with leaden roofs, a delightful bathhouse, and about 300 shops like nightingale-nests.
The forms of denominating the city had changed during the centuries. The oldest form "Jakova" originates from the base "Jak" anthroponym dispersed among vendor Albanians and the Ottoman suffix "ovasi" that means a field. Therefore, "Jak ovasi" means Jak’s field, because Jak Vula, according to the tradition, allowed Hadum Aga to build the mosque and the above-mentioned objects with the condition that the city to be built would carry his name.
Religion In the 16th century there were only 13 Islamic families, out of 68 families that lived in Gjakova. According to the demographic statistics of 2011, the prominent religion is Islam, including 81,75% of the population, while 17,23% is Christian, 0.02% Orthodox and 1% other.
This is a result of the process of Islamization that occurred during the Ottoman Rule. Most Catholics live in the "Rruga e Katolikëve" street, where the two main churches are, and others in villages. The Muslims, living in other parts of the city and in most villages, have been encouraging the building of mosques, which could have counted about 10-15 buildings during the centuries. The religious monuments enrich the cultural heritage of Gjakova.
Cultural Heritage Monuments
Gjakova is very rich regarding to the monuments of cultural heritage. Most of them are religious monuments, but Gjakova is also known for some other interesting monuments, such as: stone houses (kulla), strong stone bridges and Old Bazaar, as an urban, architectural and traditional handicrafts entirety.Mehmeti, Donat, Gjakova the city of ancient culture and heritage, Unicef: Innovations Lab Kosovo and Pen publishing
The historical monuments in Gjakova, western Kosovo, are divided into three main categories based on their cultural, religious, and social context. In 1574, the Hadum Mosque was built on Jak Vula's property, laying the foundation of the city. The core part of the town was created between the Krena River to the east and Cabrati hill to the west. Around the cornerstone of the town, the Old Bazaar, the center of trade and craftsmanship, was created. By 1900, the bazaar housed around 1,000 businesses. Numerous bridges were built to enable trade caravans to cross the neighboring rivers. With the fast development of trade in the city, several inns were built to host visitors. Because of its ancient origins, and rapid economic development, Gjakova is of historical importance.
Mosques Gjakova, as a town with Islamic main religious orientation, is characterized with a large number of mosques and Tekkes. One of the most important mosque is The Hadum Mosque while there are also some others, such as: The Kusar Mosque and The Mahmut Pasha Mosque. The Hadum Mosque was built by Sylejman Hadum Aga in 1594-95, thus becoming the first mosque in Gjakova. The complex of the Hadum Mosque represents a cultural, educational and religious center of this area. It used to be comprised from a madrasah, a library and shops that were destroyed during the 1999 Kosovo War. Comprising a main prayer hall, ornate vestibule and minaret, the mosque is famous for its colorful interior and exterior. Its decorations display examples of the Islamic Albanian baroque style, used in the 19th century.
Churches Gjakova is also characterized with two main catholic churches, which are part of the cultural heritage. These are: The Saint Ndou (Anton) Church Saint Paul and Saint Peter Church
Church of St. Anthony of Padua The Church of St. Anthony of Padua ("Ndou") was built in 1931, located in the Catholic neighborhood, next to the Saint Pal Church and Saint Pjeter Church in Gjakova. It was previously called the Patter Mila church (Emilio a Cless), built in 1882, but later this church was totally destroyed. In 1931, Pater Lorenc Mazreku built the new church in the same location as the old church. It was renovated several times with the addition of dormitories, offices, and toilets, but it carefully preserved the concept, and architectural importance, of catholic churches. The Saint Ndou Church, being one of the oldest sacred buildings in Gjakovë, is an important architectural site in the city. During the Kosovo War in 1999 the church was subject to major damage done by Yugoslav Serb soldiers. "Major damage to the Roman Catholic church of St Anthony in Gjakova, reportedly bombed by NATO, was actually committed by Serbian soldiers."
Tekkes Most of the Tekkes belong to the Islamic Sufi Tarikat/orders like Rifai, Saadi, etc. There are many tekkes, while some are very interesting and unique in architectural concepts and their roles during history. The Big Autochepalous Balcanic Tekke is the oldest tekke of Saadi Tarikat in the whole Rumelia, dating from the origin of Gjakova town. Other important tekkes are:
The Shejh Emin Tekke The Shejh Ban Tekke The Shejh Danjoll Tekke The Bektashi Tekke The Tekke of Baba Ali
Sheikh Emin's Tekke
Sheikh Emin's Tekke (Khanqah) was built in 1730 by Sheikh Emin, a famous architect who created many important architectural complexes in Gjakove. It belongs to the Sufi Muslim order (Sufism), specifically, Sad Tariqa. It is one of many religious monuments that represent the folk architecture in Gjakova. The whole complex with its "tyrbes" (small mausoleums), the ritual prayer halls called "samahanes", houses, and fountains make this Tekke a monumental religious building. It is characterized by a detailed sacral architecture, with its wood carved elements that show the centuries of cultural values hidden behind this Tekke. As such it has been protected by law since 1956. This monument is often referred to as a model when analyzing other architectural monuments with this form.
Bektashi Tekke
The Bektashi Tekke was built in 1790 at the heart of the Big Bazaar complex in Gjakove. Being the first of its kind, this Tekke represented the Tarikat Bektashi. According to legend, the Tarikat Bekatshi was created by Haxhi Bektash Veliu in Anadolu during the thirteenth century. As the Ottoman Empire started to expand, a mission of this Muslim sect arrived from Anadolu in Balkans, Crete, and Greece. In Gjakova, the Bektashi Tekke was destroyed by the Serbian military forces during the Kosovo War in 1999. Thousands of books, including fifty-eight manuscripts, were burned, as the whole structure was destroyed. The Bektashi Tekke was reconstructed between 2004 and 2006 so that believers would be able to perform their spiritual rituals. It is characterized by the ringing bell, by the courtyard door, which announces another crowd of visitors who share the same Muslim belief has arrived. The graves of seven out of nine Bektashi fathers who served here from the seventeenth century are located in the right temple of the Tekke, while two others were buried in Turkey. These seven graves are considered to be sacred, meaning that they give direction to people to find the path towards God and they help people challenge their difficulties in life. The Bektashi carry their own specific Islamic ideas, indicating the diversity of beliefs in Kosovo and the prevalence of the religious tolerance.
Grand Tekke
The Grand Tekke, is located close to the Big Bazaar, next to the Clock Tower (Albanian: Sahat Kulla). It was built in the seventeenth century and remains the oldest tekke of the Saad Tarikat (a local tribe of the Muslim sect) in the entire Rumelia (the old Ballkan). It was established by Sheikh Sulejman Axhiza Baba in 1582, with the origin from the Bushati family in Shkodër, Albania (Bushatlinjet). Sheikh Sulejman lived in Gjakova together with his three sons for a few years. One of his sons, Danjoll Efendiu, followed in his footsteps by becoming the first imam in the Hadumi Mosque in Gjakova. After a while, Sheikh Sulejman, along with his third son, moved to Prizren, the closest city to Gjakova and built the Saad Tekke in Marash, the center of the town. A focal point of the whole of the Grand Tekke is the shrine "tyrbe" where the saints are buried. There are also the so-called "samahanes" where people perform their religious practices, and the residential section where the family and its members, who take care of the Tekke, live.
Bridges
Gjakova has many bridges which were built to connect the city with other developed areas, such as Prizren, Vushtrri and Shkodra, and simultaneously facilitating the journey of the Caravans. The bridges were mostly built by the esnaf of Gjakova, who played the main role on the economic development of that time.
The most notable bridges are: Terzijski Bridge is a famous stone bridge built across the Erenik river 1730. It served as a means for Gjakova’s esnafs/terezis (artisans) to go between Gjakova and Prizren. It consists of eleven arches in half-arch shapes and ten discharging windows between them. It is 192.8 meters long and 5.1m wide. The bridge is under protection since 1962, for its historical, sociological, artistic, urban, and cultural value. Tabaket Bridge spans the river Erenik. Built by the Esnaf of Gjakova in 1771, it served as a link between Gjakova and Shkodra, two famous trading cities at the time. It is a 127m long construction consisting of 14 lintel windows with discharges and carved reliefs. A scissors-like figure (the working tool of the craftsman who built the bridge), a hand palm with fingers, and a rosette with a small sphere and radius within is carved in one of the archways of the bridge. It has also been under protection since 1962. Taliqi Bridge is built on the River Krena and connects the older part of the city on the west, with the newest, on the east. The bridge is over 21.50m long, 4.05m wide and has a height of 5.0m. Earlier there were three backed vaults in its structure with two discharging windows, and later it had two large arches and two columns. It consisted of 7m length of wooden construction. The decision in 1962 on its protection reports that it too has historical, sociological, artistic, urban, and cultural value. The Fshajt Bridge is a stone bridge with one arch over the Canyon of the river Drini I Bardhe on the way from Gjakova to Prizren. The bridge is 18.50m high, 7m wide, and 37m long. During the First World War it was destroyed completely, but in 1942 was rebuilt. In the war of 1999 it was damaged again, and was restored by the Italian Kosovo Force (KFOR). Both the bridge and the canyon have been legally protected since 1986. The Islam Begu Bridge
Many of these bridges dating back to the 18th century, are still used, and represent historical, sociological, urban, artistic and cultural values.
Clock Tower