Cultural Corridors of South East Europe

South East Europe / Sofia-Ohrid Road

Prizren

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Prizren

About the site


Corridor: Diagonal Road, Sofia-Ohrid Road
Country: Serbia, Prizren
Type: Historic Town
Epoch: Middle Ages
Theme: Christian Monasteries, Islamic Culture
World Heritage:
Middle AgesChristian MonasteriesIslamic CultureHistoric Town

Prizren in Kosovo is a town with long history. Treasures from the Middle Ages tell us a lot  about it.
The city of Prizren becomes the seat of a bishopric under the Byzantine Empire in 1019. The Episcopal Residence in Prizren is one of the most important places of worship for the Orthodox population in the Metohija region. The Cathedral of St. George is the seat of the episcopate of the Diocese of Raska and Prizren. It was built and decorated in the period between 1856 and 1887, with a bell tower added in 1905. The cathedral has a fourteenth-century icon of the Virgin Hodegetria, which originally belonged to the iconostasis of the Church of the Holy Virgin of Ljeviska. It also has an extremely valuable collection of manuscripts. Old frescoes from 1330 can be seen in the small mediaeval church of  the Monastery of St. Saviour.
Kosovo was administrative center of a vilayet. The Hammam (Turkish public bath) of Gazi Mehmed is one of the most splendid Islamic public baths built in Southeastern Europe (together with the baths of Daut Pasha in Skopje and Nysret Bey in Sarajevo). Its architecture is characterised by the blending of local traditions and Oriental influence. In 1833 the brothers Mahmud and Emin Pasha (distinguished aristocrats from Prizren) restored the hammam. 
The Mosque of Sinan Pasha is located opposite the Lumbardhi River in the central part of Prizren where it dominates the main square of the city. Behind the mosque there is a historical residential quarter with the city fortress. The mosque, built by Sofi Sinan Pasha in 1615 (1024 in the Muslim calendar), is one of the most important heritage sites from the Late Middle Ages.
Council of Europe, RPSEE
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