Skadarska Krajina


Skadarska Krajina, generally known simply as Krajë is a geographical region in southeastern Montenegro stretching from the southern coast of Lake Skadar to the mountain of Rumija, comprising several villages. It is inhabited entirely by Albanians. The area is divided between the municipalities of Bar and Ulcinj.
Based on the last parts of the Priest of Duklja, Krajina was a political centre of Duklja. Jovan Vladimir, the ruler of Duklja, was interred in the Prečista Krajinska church by his widow Theodora Kosara, who was also buried in the church. The oldest published Albanian book, Meshari, was written by Albanian Catholic priest Gjon Buzuku who was born in this region's village of Livari.

Geography

The region within Montenegro is located from the eastern border with Albania near the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It is located between Crmnica and Ana Malit regions and stretches out from Skje village to Shestani, a sub-region often considered as forming part of wider region of Kraja. It is also between Skadar Lake and the Rumija mountain. Within Montenegro, it mainly consists of villages and small hamlets with Ostros being its most populated settlement. Within Albania, the region of Kraja is bordered on the southern flank by the Tarabosh mountains and only encompasses the coastal village of Zogaj on Lake Skadar.
Within Montenegro, Kraja encompasses some of the following villages and hamlets:

History

Ottoman period

In the Ottoman defter of 1485 for the Sanjak of Scutari, the nahiyah of Krajna is recorded with a single village of the same name. In the register, Krajna appears as a large settlement with 142 households, and around half of the household heads recorded bore typical Albanian personal names, the other half bearing Slavic anthroponymy possibly attributed to the influence of the Serbian Orthodox Church through the Patriarchate of Peć. In the later register of 1582, the nahiyah had expanded and came to encompass the settlements of Gjonçiq, Ftilan, Pençan, Brisk, Livar, Zogan, Arbanas, Bespod, Babsul, Roviq, Boboshta, Shkllav, Vrajsha, Nadvila, Podgozhan, Muriq, and Koshtanja. The first 11 villages attested predominantly bore Albanian anthroponyms, while the proceeding 4 primarily had Slavic or mixed Albanian-Slavic personal names. Muriq and Koshtanja, however, had a roughly equal number of Albanian and Slavic names.

Demographics

From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, thousands of locals emigrated to Western Europe and the United States. Between 2,000 and 3,000 people are estimated to live in the Krajina region, with a majority of ethnic Albanians. The religious make-up is Muslim and Christian.
Christians mostly reside in the Shestan region, with minorities in Livari, Briska and Tejani.