Novo Brdo

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Coordinates: 42°36′58″N 21°26′06″E / 42.61611, 21.435
Ново Брдо Novo Brdo Novobërdë Novobërda
Image:Novobërdë 2006.PNG
Country	Image:Flag of Serbia.svg Serbia
Province	Image:Flag of the United Nations.svg Kosovo (under UN Administration)
Population (August 2003)
- Total	3,751
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)

Novo Brdo (Serbian: Ново Брдо, Novo Brdo; Albanian: Novobërda or Novobërdë ) is a town and municipality in eastern Kosovo, a Serbian province under UN administration.

According to 1991 census, the municipality of Novo Brdo had a population of 4,611 people. The name of the town means "New Hill" in the Serbian language.

1 History
2 Demographics
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Novo Brdo was a famous mining city in medieval times. The site was predominantly used for mining silver.

Novo Brdo (in Latin documents written as Novaberd, Novus Mons or Novamonte; and in the Sasi's own documents as Nyeuberghe) was mentioned in the historical documents as early as 1326. It was once Serbia's capital city, and one of the bigger cities in Europe.

Novo Brdo was a metropolis at the time, with a huge Serbian medievial fortress built on the top of an extinct volcano cone, the remains of which can be visited today, and residential sections sprawling all around. In the outer wall of the fortress a large cross is visable, built into the stones. The castle, or fortress, was thought at one point to have dated back to the Byzantine Empire, however more recently it is indicated that it in fact was Serbian. There is no evidence that the fortress ever came under attack or siege.

The population at its height was estimated to exceed 10,000 people. There were mines and smelting furnaces for iron, lead, gold and silver ores. Novo Brdo silver is known by its argentum glame (an alloy of silver with 1/6-1/3 gold). In 1450 the mines of Novo Brdo were producing about 6,000 kg of silver per year. The Ottomans occupied the town on June 1, 1455. This event is described by Konstantin Mihailović from Ostrovica, near Novo Brdo.

By the early 20th century, Novo Brdo's population had dwindled, with most inhabitants moving to the more easily accessible area of Gnjilane. In 1999, with the entry into Kosovo of KFOR and UNMIK, the area had a small military outpost occupied by US soldiers, as well as a station of International Police and Kosovo Police. That presence was necessary due to regular ethnic related crimes being committed there. The military has since removed its presence, but the police presence can still be seen today.

[edit] Demographics

In 1991, the population of the municipality was composed of:

Serbs and Montenegrins (58.12%)
Albanians (40.01%)

Year/Population	Albanians	%	Serbs	%	Other	%	Total
Ethnic Composition, Including IDPs
1991	5,802	67.8	2,676	31.3	75	0.9	8,553
1998	2,158	43.9	2,680	54.4	86	1.7	4,924
Aug 2003	2,300	61.3	1,400	37.3	51	0.1	3,751
Source: 1991 census figure from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Institute of Statistics; 1998 and current figures from the Kosovo Village List, GIS Unit, UNHCR Field Office Priština, UNMIK Gnjilane, August 2003 (uu-official) It is noted that the 1991 census was highly politicised and is thus unreliable. Ref.:OSCE [1]