Kosovo Geography

Kosovo – key data

Area: 10,887 km²

Population: 1.8 million (2011 estimate, CIA). Composition: Albanians 88%, Serbs 7%, others 5% (Bosniaks, Gorans, Roma, Turks, Ashkali, Balkan-Egyptians)

Population density: 168 people per km²

Capital: Pristina (550,000 residents, 2006)

Highest point: Gjeravica / Deravica, 2,656 m

Lowest point: Drini i Bardhe / Beli Drim (on the border with Albania), 297 m

Form of government: After the Kosovo war, the Kosovo region was placed under the administration of the United Nations with UN resolution 1244. The former Serbian Autonomous Kosovo Region declared independence of the Republic of Kosovo from Serbia on February 17, 2008. Political developments in Kosovo have been monitored since December 9, 2008 by the rule of law mission of the EU in Kosovo (“EULEX Kosovo”).

Administrative division: 30 large municipalities: Deçan / De? Ani, Leposaviq / Leposavi ?, Prizren, Dragash / Dragaš, Lipjan / Lipljan, Skënderaj / Srbica, Gjakova /? Akovica, Malishevë / Mališevo, Shtërpca / Štrprovica / Glog / Gllogovc Kosovska Mitrovica, Shtime / Štimlje, Gjilan / Gnjilane, Novobërda / Novo Brdo, Suhareka / Suva Reka, Istog / Istok, Kastriot / Obili ?, Ferizaj / Uroševac, Kaçanik / Ka? Anik, Rahovec / Orahovac, Vitia / Vitina, Dardana Kosovska Kamenica, Peja / Pe ?, Vushtrri / Vu? Itrn, Klinë / Klina, Podujevë / Podujevo, Zubin Potok, Fushë Kosova / Kosovo Polje, Prishtina / Priština, Zveçan / Zve? An

Head of State: President Atifete Jahjaga, since April 7, 2011

Head of Government: Prime Minister Hashim Thaçi, since January 9, 2008

Language: Albanian and Serbian are official languages in Kosovo, Bosnian, Turkish and Roma are also spoken.

R eligion: There is a Muslim majority in Kosovo, as well as Serbian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians.

Local time: CET. Between the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October there is summer time in Kosovo (CET + 1 hour).
The time difference to Central Europe in both winter and summer 0 h.

International phone code: +381 (analogous to the area code for Serbia)

Internet identifier: not yet assigned

Mains voltage: 220 V, 50 Hz.

The Republic Kosovo, which is also called Kosovo or Kosovo, is located in the center of the Balkan Peninsula and borders Serbia in the north and east, Macedonia in the south, Albania in the west and Albania in the north-west Montenegro. The territory of Kosovo covers about 10,870 square kilometers, which corresponds to about two thirds of Schleswig-Holstein.

About 53 percent of the country’s area is taken up by mountains. The mountain ranges of the Pashtrik Mountains and the Albanian Alps in the west form the natural border with neighboring Albania, while the Kopaonik massif extends from north to south in eastern Kosovo. The Black Mountains delimit Kosovo in the south-east of Macedonia and the ridge of the Sar-Planina Mountains dominates the south-west of the country with its up to 2,750 meters high mountains. The highest mountains in Kosovo are Deravica with 2,656 meters, Bistra with 2,640 meters, Marjas with 2,530 meters, Luboteni with 2,496 meters and finally Koprivnik with 2,460 meters. In the water-rich mountains, livestock farming predominates, while the limestone karst mountains are rather arid and therefore hardly used for agriculture.

Two large plains define the interior of Kosovo: the blackbird field and the plain of Dukagjin. Since the latter is characterized by many monasteries and their former possessions, this region is also called “Metohija” by the Serbs, meaning monastery property. As a result, the entire territory of Kosovo is also referred to as “Kosovo and Metohija”. The Drenica Mountains lie between the two levels, the highest peaks of which rise up to 1,000 meters.

At 122 kilometers, the White Drin is the longest and most important river in Kosovo. It has its source near Pec and crosses the west of the country. In the interior of the country as well as on the borders with Albania and Serbia there are various lakes and reservoirs, the largest of which is the Gaziva lake with an area of around 12 square kilometers, followed by the Radonjic lake and the Batlava lake. In the Sar Planina massif one encounters a large number of glacial lakes, while three small lakes around the Deravica in Prokletije bear witness to the glaciation of the mountains from the ice age.

The landscape of Kosovo is also impressive: Mineral collectors get their money’s worth in numerous quarries and rivers, while the Mirusha waterfalls, the Rugova gorge, the marble cave in Gadime or the valley of the Bistrica offer unique natural spectacles. In addition to the mainly agriculturally used and densely populated plains of Blackbird Field and Dukagjin, Kosovo can also boast a considerable amount of forest. Oaks, beeches, chestnuts and various conifers characterize the native forests, which are home to animals that are rare for Central Europe, such as bears, lynxes, capercaillie and even turtles.

Kosovo climate

The climate in Kosovo is warm summers and cold, snowy winters, humid continental.

Kosovo is located on the Balkan Peninsula between the Mediterranean Sea and the mountain regions in Southeast Europe. This geographical location causes large temperature differences between winter and summer in Kosovo. In summer, maximum temperatures can reach 30 ° C and in winter they can drop as low as -10 ° C.