By Doris Pack*
It is a great pleasure for me to contribute to this issue of the historical publication “Art & Trashà«gimi” devoted to the old city of Prizren, which I have visited several times and admire its richness on cultural heritage.
Prizren , in Kosovo, is a charming city of monasteries and churches dating back to the 12th century, with beautiful mosques inherited from ottoman time, spared from the communist regime during the early years of their rule in Yugoslavia, as well as the ethnic and religious atrocities that plagued the region in the last decade of the 20th century. Prizren has the best-preserved old town conjure up the Ottoman past like no other city on the Balkans, and is often referred to as the cultural capital of Kosovo.
A city of a rich diversified heritage, a commercial crossroad of the time of the Ottomans, the population maintains its tradition of tolerance and have always mixed, whether they are Turkish, Serbian, Albanian or Roma, despite the events that have rocked Kosovo in recent years.
The rich cultural heritage of the city must be considered as a potent symbol of the identity of peoples and as a factor of reconciliation. The large Serbian-Orthodox cathedral of Prizren was built and decorated between 1856 and 1887. Its construction alongside major the richly painted Sinan Pasha Mosque and a Catholic Cathedral , all within a few blocks of each other, testifies an ethnic and religious mix that characterized Prizren on a continuous basis since the Middle Ages.
On the streets along the Lumbardhi River the ottoman culture have left their footprints, to start with, the 15th century stone bridge, and then the Medieval /Ottoman Kalaja Fortress. The newly restored 14th-century Saint Savior Church a testimony to the architecture of the Byzantine period, the Orthodox Cathedral Church of the Holy Virgin of Leviska, a world heritage site built in the 12th to 14th centuries, it brims with fresco masterpieces.
The primary actors in the safeguarding of this legacy are the inhabitants of Prizren, but United Mission in Kosovo have played a crucial role as well in the safeguarding of cultural heritage in Kosovo after the Kosovo crisis of 1999.
Prizren was a cultural, economic and diplomatic center since Roman times, and has experienced changes of domination and wars. Prizren is faced with the challenge of developing, while remaining true to its roots and preserving its heritage. DokuFest , the International Documentary and Short Film Festival is the best example to this regard, by putting the old city on the world cultural map. DokuFest is one of the top film and music event in South East Europe. The festival l fills the cinemas and improvised screening venues around historic city center of Prizren, with a selection of more than 200 handpicked films from around the world, while at the same time bringing top international and local music acts to perform at DokuNights music festival.
Recalling the spirit of the Ohrid Declaration in August 2003, in which all Heads of State of the South East Europe stressed the role that cultural heritage could play as a potent symbol of the identity of peoples and as a factor of reconciliation, Kosovo must keep the culture and its heritage as a passport for the European Union integration.
I wish very much,that the spirit of Prizren could influence political actors in Kosovo and its neighbouring country that respect for each other rises and leads to reconciliation.
Such wonderful examples of living together should be strong part of education curricula and with this having an impact on the young generation.
I hope that “Art & Heritage” publication “ Prizren, the jewel of Balkans” will be a valuable input for the protection and promotion of the Kosovar historical heritage and values.
Doris Pack*
Member German Bundestag 1974-1989
Member European Parliament 1989-2014
Chair of EP South East Delegation
Chair of EP Cult Committee
