Things to see and do Pristina (Prishtina - Priština)

Installed in 2008 in front of the Palace of Youth and Sports, this work of contemporary art (Monumenti i Newborn, Spomenik Newborn) is one of the symbols of modern Kosovo. It is composed of seven steel pieces (9 tons in total) spread over 24 m in length and forming the capital letters N, E, W, B, O, R and N, and the English word newborn. Each of the letters is 3 m high and 90 cm thick. The word newborn was chosen because it has two meanings: it means both "newborn" and "reborn" (past participle of the verb "to be reborn"). Thus, the monument evokes both the official "birth" of the young state and the "rebirth" of a territory with an older history. The monument was created on the initiative of Fisnik Ismaili (b. 1973), an advertising executive, satirical cartoonist, politician and former member of the KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army). The idea appealed to the authorities and the work was unveiled on 17 February 2008, the day the country declared its independence. The next day, the photograph of the Newborn monument was featured on the front page of many newspapers around the world to illustrate the declaration of independence. The work thus quickly gained international notoriety, contributing to Kosovo's efforts to gain recognition.

Decoration and controversy. In the days following the inauguration, some 150,000 people engraved or inscribed their names on the letters of the monument. Then, it was redecorated several times, as in 2013, with the flags of nations recognizing Kosovo's independence. More disturbingly, in 2021 it sported a camouflage motif in support of former KLA members being prosecuted by international justice for crimes against humanity. In addition to the fact that some minorities in the country do not recognize themselves in this monument, it is also at the center of a dispute over copyright. The FF DIN font used to design the seven letters has been a registered trademark recognized by the Typographical Association since 1994. Since then, it has been the best-selling typeface in the world. However, its creator, the Dutchman Albert-Jan Pool (born 1960), is opposed to its use by Kosovo, at least in the context of commercial reproductions, for which he receives no royalties. The Newborn monument has become an icon of the small Kosovar tourism industry, and has been used as a key ring, decorative object, T-shirt, etc.

Established in 2002, this annex of the Museum of Kosovo (Muzeu etnologjik, Etnološki muzej) is housed in the beautiful konak Emin-Gjik. The museum houses six collections depicting the daily life of Kosovo Albanian families during the Ottoman period: pottery, wooden objects, weapons, costumes, musical instruments and jewelry. Note in particular the xhubletas, traditional Albanian bell-shaped skirts, the fustanelles, pleated skirts of men present until Greece, or the necklaces and brooches in filigree with fine gold or silver threads.

With its futuristic cathedral-like main building, the Palace of Youth and Sports (Pallati i Rinisë dhe Sporteve, Palata omladine i sporta) is the most imposing complex inherited from the socialist period in Kosovo. Opened in 1977 as the Boro-and-Ramiz Center, it was conceived as a sports arena, a shopping center, a cultural center and a convention hall. After a fire in 2000, it was partially closed, but it remains one of the symbols of the modern city. It is located in the center, right next to another iconic monument of Pristina, the Newborn monument.

History

This is the largest public development project ever undertaken in Pristina. The Boro-and-Ramiz complex was built between 1975 and 1977 at the request of the residents, following a referendum held in the city in 1974. Among the seven projects proposed, the DOM agency from Sarajevo, led by the Yugoslav architect Živorad Janković, was chosen.

Boro and Ramiz. The complex was named after Boro Vukmirović (1912-1943) and Ramiz Sadiku (1915-1943). One Montenegrin, the other Albanian, these two partisans were shot together in Pristina by the Albanian fascists of Balli Kombëtar on April 10, 1943 in the city park (see description). After the war, their two first names became the symbols of the union between the Slavs (Serbs, Montenegrins...) and the Albanians of Kosovo. But since the conflict of 1998-1999, all monuments dedicated to the two resistance fighters were renamed or destroyed, Boro Vukmirović being considered an "enemy" who moreover "Serb" by the KLA. The complex was then renamed the Palace of Youth and Sports. Nowadays, however, a large part of Pristinians still call it Boro-Ramizi.

Živorad Janković. Architect of Yugoslav nationality (1924-1990) from Višegrad (Bosnia-Herzegovina), he is one of the great names of the modernist movement in Europe. Trained in Sarajevo and Belgrade, but also in the United States and Scandinavia, he was responsible for the planning of the modern part of Sarajevo and the commercial and sports centers Skenderija in Sarajevo, Vojvodina in Novi Sad (Serbia) and Gripe in Split (Croatia). His main collaborator, Halid Muhasilović (born in Zagreb in 1934), also participated in the development of the Boro-and-Ramiz Center.

Project. The complex today covers 34,000^m2. Conceived as a sports, public, commercial and event center, it includes two buildings (see below), underground parking, and also integrates the Grand Hotel located at the bottom of the current Mother Teresa Boulevard. Two swimming pools and various other facilities planned to be added in the 1980s were not completed.

Fire. While it was spared by the war in Kosovo, the Boro-and-Ramiz Center suffered a fire on February 25, 2000. The fire, caused by a faulty electrical system, destroyed most of the southern wing of the main building. The roof of this wing was redone, but the interior remained abandoned due to a conflict between the former owner, the Pristina City Council, and the private organization that acquired the complex.

Visit

The complex is designed in the manner of the French "grands ensembles" of the 1970s, on a slab, a vast elevated space which is accessed from Luan Haradinaj Street by climbing the stairs located to the left of the Newborn monument. At the top of the stairs, you arrive on a large esplanade dominated by the main building, while on your right is the secondary building.

Main building. Reminiscent of a huge cathedral, it was named the Adem-Jashari Memorial in 2008, in honor of Adem Jashari (1955-1998), one of the founders of the KLA, officially recognized by the young state as a "hero of Kosovo. The building is 80 m deep (east-west axis) and 110 m in front, with the main entrance located to the east, behind the Newborn monument. It is distinguished above all by its huge black roof with two broken and asymmetrical slopes that are supported, in the central part, by two rows of eight rough concrete columns rising to 40 m (southern row) and 33 m (northern row) in height. Between the two columns of the main façade a large portrait of Adem Jashari has been installed. Inside, the different levels total a surface of 18,000^m2 with a wide central corridor serving two wings. The southern wing, the largest, had a sports arena with a capacity of 8,000 seats. However, it has been abandoned since the fire of February 2000 and is used as an improvised parking lot. The left wing houses a shopping mall (with a cinema), an auditorium and conference hall called the "Red Hall"(Salla e kuqe) and a sports hall with a capacity of 3,000 spectators. The latter is used by KB Pristina, the main basketball club of the capital.

Secondary building. Of a more modest architecture, it served as a youth center. Composed of three distinct volumes in raw concrete, it cannot be visited. It is now occupied by a nightclub, the Duplex, and by a private school, the American School of Kosova (kindergarten to high school).

Founded in 1949, the museum (Muzeu i Kosovës, Muzej Kosova) is located in the former headquarters of the Austro-Hungarian forces (1889). Benefiting from a modern presentation since 2018, it brings together mainly a collection of archaeology and another dedicated to the Kosovo War (1998-1999). Alas, two things spoil the visit: the lack of information, especially in English, and, above all, it is never specified when the objects on display are originals or copies (which is clearly the case for some artifacts of the archaeological collection).

Archaeology - Ground floor. Already the name of the room makes one wonder: "the Dardanians". Here is a people of the end of the Neolithic period about whom we know almost nothing and who are attributed all the objects presented here, including Roman steles or a treasure of 670 Byzantine coins. But let us pass. There are still some very beautiful things. Notably rare Neolithic figurines "with alien heads": these are terracotta statuettes from the Vinča culture (7000-3000 BC) that represent female or zoomorphic deities. Also on the first floor, a display case houses personal effects of Ibrahim Rugova (1992-2006). Here we find the famous scarf of the writer-president, his typewriter, and his title of Doctor Honoris Causa awarded by the Academy of Créteil in 1996.

Recent period - 1^er floor. In the staircase, a portrait of Mother Teresa made with 1.5 million staples is accompanied by a quote from the Indo-Albanian saint: "Peace begins with a smile ". This is followed by a showcase of stamps issued by Kosovo since the year 2000. This is exciting only for philatelists. But note that these stamps are in fact issued by the UN post office: it is the only way to send mail in countries that do not recognize Kosovo. Another window quickly returns to the Albanian revolts against the Ottomans in the 19th and early 20th centuries. But most of the floor is devoted to the war of 1998-1999. At the key, a vast arsenal of guns and missile launchers of all kinds. And also some uniforms like the one offered by the American general Wesley Clark who directed the operation Allied Force (March-June 1999), or again, the suit of Faruza Kallaba, an American of the US Air Force of Albanian origin who took part in the bombardments as a refueling boom operator.