Gazimestan

42°41′26″N 21°7′25″E / 42.69056°N 21.12361°E / 42.69056; 21.12361Location5 km (3.1 mi) from Pristina, KosovoDesignerAleksandar DerokoTypememorial, towerMaterialstoneHeight25 m (82 ft)Completion date1953Dedicated tofallen Serbian soldiers at the Battle of Kosovo (1389)

Gazimestan (Serbian Cyrillic: Газиместан, Serbian pronunciation: [ɡaziměstaːn], Albanian: Gazimestani) is the name of a memorial site and monument commemorating the Battle of Kosovo (1389), situated about 6-7 kilometres southeast of the actual battlefield, known as the Kosovo field. The name is a portmanteau derived from Arabic word “ghazi”, meaning “muslim warrior” and Persian word “stan” meaning "place of". Gazimestan is reached from the Pristina–Mitrovica highway, on a 50-metre hill above the plain, ca. 5 km north-west from Pristina. Every year, on Vidovdan (St. Vitus Day), 28 June, a commemoration is held by the monument, which in later years is also covered by an image of Prince Lazar, who led an army comprised by Serbian people.

History

In 1989, on the 600th anniversary, Serbian president Slobodan Milošević held the famous controversial speech Gazimestan speech that can be considered as the starting point for disintegration of Yugoslavia.

In 1997 the site was declared a cultural heritage of Serbia.^[1]

Monument

The Gazimestan monument was designed by Aleksandar Deroko, in the shape of a medieval tower, and built in 1953 under the authority of FPR Yugoslavia, 556 years after the Battle of Kosovo.^{[fact or opinion?]}

• 
  Vidovdan 2009
• 
  Vidovdan 2013
• 
  Kosovo curse

See also

Archaeological SitesCultural MonumentsHistoric LandmarksSpatial Cultural-Historical Units