Mitrovica District

Mitrovica District (, , Kosovskomitrovački okrug) is one of the unified seven districts of Kosovo. Its administrative center and the largest city is Mitrovica. The district borders on the District of Peja to the south-west, the District of Pristina to the south-east and east, and the Republic of Serbia to the north and northwest. History The first human habitations here can be traced back to the Prehistoric period. Some Neolithic sites have been discovered in the Mitrovica District, such as in Runik, Žitkovac-Karagaç, Vallaç and Fafos. This region was populated by Dardanians, an Illyrian tribe that lived in the territory of modern-day Kosovo. By the end of the 1st century BC, the Romans invaded the region. At the time, one of the most important centres in the region was Municipium Dardanorum, located in Sočanica, Leposavić. Archeological sites from the Roman period were also found in the territory of Vushtrri (Vicianum), for example the ruins in Pestova and the Rashan Fortress. Following Roman downfall, the Mitrovica was occupied by Byzantium. During the Justinian I period (527-565AD), the Old Fortress in Vučittn was built, which remains the city center today. By the end of the 9th century, the region of Mitrovica became part of the Bulgarian state of Samuel. The area was conquered by the Nemanjić dynasty in 1185. During Serbian rule, the region and Kosovo in general became a political and spiritual centre of the kingdom. The Ottomans later conquered the region in the 14th century and stayed until the 17th century. During this Ottoman period, Islam spread and many mosques, Turkish baths, madrasah, bridges and Ottoman houses were built. The cities of Vushtrri, Mitrovica and Zvečan became some of the largest cities in the region, and some of the most important in the Ottoman Empire. In 1912, after the Ottoman capitulation, Serbia acquired the territory of Kosovo. In the first World War, the region was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1915–18), then part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In World War II, Germany conquered most of the territory in the region, while other areas fell to the Italians. After World War II, the economy grew in the region under Yugoslavia.