Winter & Summer in Prizren

Prizren city Visit Prizren provide inspiring and comprehensive tourist information from short guides to practical information such as the finest hotels and restaurants, entertainment, shopping, events, local transport, local currency, telephones, post, and more. The city already existed in Roman times, and in the 2nd century A.D. it is mentioned with the name of Theranda in Ptolemy's Geography.[citation needed] In the 5th century A.D. it is mentioned with the name of Petrizên by Procopius of Caesarea in De aedificiis (Book IV, Chapter 4). Sometimes it is mentioned even in relation to the Justiniana Prima.[citation needed] Its name comes from old Serbian Призрѣнь, from при-зрѣти, indicating fortress which could be seen from afar[2] (compare with Czech Přízřenice). From 830s the city and the whole region were included in the Bulgarian Empire. In 1018, after the fall of the First Bulgarian Empire under Tsar Samuel, the Byzantines created a Theme of Bulgaria, raising a Bulgarian Episcopate in Prizren. A Bulgarian uprising arose in 1072 under Georgi Voiteh. Constantine Bodin of the House of Vojislavljević who was also son of Duklja's Serbian King Mihailo Vojislav was dispatched by his father and Duke Petrilo with 300 best Serb soldiers to merge with Voiteh's forces in Prizren. There, Bodin was crowned Petar III, Tsar of the Bulgarians of the House of Comitopuli. The rebellion was crushed in months in 1073 and Eastern Roman rule restored. The town of Prizren did not suffer much during the Kosovo War but its surrounding municipality was badly affected 1998-1999. Before the war, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe estimated that the municipality's population was about 78% Kosovo Albanian, 5% Serb and 17% from other national communities. During the war most of the Albanian population were either forced or intimidated into leaving the town. At the end of the war in June 1999, most of the Albanian population returned to Prizren. Serbian and Roma minorities fled, with the OSCE estimating that 97% of Serbs and 60% of Romas had left Prizren by October. The community is now predominantly ethnically Albanian, but other minorities such as Turkish, Ashkali (a minority declaring itself as Albanian Roma) and Bosniak (including Torbesh community) live there as well, be that in the city itself, or in villages around. Such locations include Screcka, Mamusa, the region of Gora, etc In a war with the Crusaders against the Byzantine Empire, Serbian Duke Stefan Nemanja conquered Prizren in 1189, but after the defeat of 1191, had to give the city back to the Byzantines. The City was taken by the Bulgarian Empire in 1204, although, it was finally seized by Grand Prince Stefan II Nemanjić of Serbia in 1208 during a period of internal instability in Bulgaria under Boril. Serbian King Stefan Milutin raised the Temple of Our Holy Lady of Ljeviš in Prizren which became the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Prizren Episcopate. During the reign of Emperor Stefan Dušan throughout the 14th century, Prizren had the Imperial Court and was the political center of the Serbian Empire. Serb Emperor Dušan raised the massive Monastery of Saint Archangel near the City in 1343-1352. In the vicinity of Prizren was Ribnik - a town where the two Serbian Emperors had their Courts. The city of Prizren became known as the Serbian Constantinople because of its trading and industrial importance. It was the centre of production of silk, fine trades and a colony of merchants from Kotor and Dubrovnik. In the 14th century Prizren was the seat of the Ragusan Consule for the entire Serb monarchy. The city became a part of the domain of the House of Mrnjavčević under Serbian King Vukašin in the 1360s. With the final disintegration of the Serbian Empire, Zeta's ruler Đurađ I of the House of Balšić dynasty took the City with the surroundings in 1372. The House of Branković under Vuk Branković then became the City's owners, under vassalage to the House of Lazarević that managed to reunite the former Serb Lands. Lazarevićs' founder, hero Prince Lazar was educated in Prizren. The dynasty would switch allegiances to the Ottoman Empire before returning under the Serbian Despot Stefan Lazarević, son of Lazar. 4 more info: web site | Prizren info here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prizren .