Saraj Municipality
Saraj (Macedonian:
- Saraj, which means "palace" in Turkish, is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found.
- It is a rural municipality and it is not part of the urban core of Skopje proper.
Municipality of Saraj Општина Сарај Komuna e Sarajit | |
---|---|
Rural municipality | |
Flag Coat of arms | |
Country | |
Region | |
Municipal seat | Skopje |
Government | |
• Mayor | Bekim Murati (DUI) |
Area | |
• Total | 229.06 km2 (88.44 sq mi) |
Population | |
• Total | 35,408 |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
Website | Official Website |
Geography
Saraj borders
- Jegunovce Municipality to the northwest,
- Želino Municipality to the southwest,
- Sopište Municipality to the south,
- Karpoš Municipality and Gjorče Petrov Municipality to the east, and
- Kosovo to the north.
History
In the early 2000s municipal boundaries within Macedonia in some areas were redrawn.[1] During difficult negotiations the governing Macedonian Social Democrats (SDSM) gave in to the request of its Albanian coalition partner that wanted Albanians within Skopje to surpass the 20% population mark by attaching two rural Albanian inhabited municipalities, Saraj and Kondovo.[1] The municipalities attachment to the capital city raised the Albanian population from 15.30% to 20.49%.[1] The change was seen as an important win among Albanians, while Macedonians were concerned with a more visible Albanian presence in Skopje and the increasing fragmentation of the urban population based on ethnicity.[1]
Demographics
According to the last national census from 2002, Saraj has 35,408 inhabitants.[2]
Ethnic groups in the municipality include:
- Albanians = 32,408 (91.5%)
- Macedonians = 1,377 (3.9%)
- Bosniaks = 1,120 (3.2%)
- others.
Twin towns
References
- Ragaru, Nadege (2008). "The Political Uses and Social Lives of "National Heroes": Controversies over Skanderbeg's Statue in Skopje". Südosteuropa. 56 (4): 535.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- 2002 census results in English and Macedonian (PDF)
- Komuna e Sarajit binjakëzim me komunën turke Uskudar Archived 2012-06-04 at the Wayback Machine, INA, 2012-06-01 (in Albanian)