Vucitrn

in Vucitrn

Vučitrn - located in the northern region of Kosovo and Metohija, this city is also the center of the municipality of the same name. Vučitrn is located at the confluence of the rivers Sitnica and Trstena at 512m above sea level. The city is located on the road that connects Pristina and Kosovska Mitrovica, and was once a caravan road that connected Skopje and the Republic of Dubrovnik. According to one interpretation, the city was named after the plant of the same name "Wolf Thorn", although there are many unknowns about its origin. There are archaeological data that lead to the conclusion that in the same place where Vučitrn is located today, there once stood Vicianum (Vitianum lat.), a Roman city whose name is similar enough that it can be taken as an early form of the present-day name that changed over time to its current form. Whichever of these two interpretations is correct, it is known that medieval Vučitrn was an important trade center with which Dubrovnik often did business. Between 14-15. century, the court of Vuk Branković was also located here, but today only the Vojinović Tower remains of that structure. A peace treaty was also signed in Vučitrn between the Venetian government and Đurđ Branković in 1426. The earliest censuses carried out by the Turkish registers during the time of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent record that there were 42 monasteries and 11 churches in the city, while the next census notes that there were "a total of 52 monasteries and churches". Therefore, it is no wonder that the seat of the Serbian Metropolitanate was located in this city for a time. In addition to the church buildings and institutions, Vuk Branković lived in Vučitrn, and in his court he received foreign and domestic representatives and issued charters. Due to the fact that the city has always been located in a fertile plain, it is possible to conclude that a square was first created in this place and a palace was built later. At the beginning of the 15th century, this city had a significant influence and position in Kosovo, as a colony of Dubrovnik businessmen and merchants. Unfortunately, of all those fortifications when the city was at its peak, today only the Donjon tower, popularly known as Vojinovića tower, survives, as well as the square part of the ramparts. There is also a bridge known as Vojinovića Bridge that leads over Sitnica and is considered the oldest preserved stone bridge dating back to the 14th century.