Rahovec

The name of the town and municipality is of Serbian origin and is derived from the Proto-Slavic word orěhъ, meaning nux (English: nut).{{Citation| last=Skok| first=Petar| author-link=Petar Skok| year=1988| orig-year=1971| title=Etimologijski rječnik hrvatskoga ili srpskoga jezika| volume=2| publisher=Jugoslavenska akademija znanosti i umjetnosti| place=Zagreb| language=sh| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VRALAQAAMAAJ&q=oraovac| quote=orah, pl. orasi ... praslav. orěhъ "nux". Pridjev na -ov orahov, poimeničen u topnimiji u sr. r. Orahovo, ... Orahov Do (Hercegovina), ... Oriovac, gen. -vca (toponim u Slavoniji) = Oravac, gen. -avca = Oraovac (1770, Kosmet) = Raovec u arbanaskom izgovoru.
[Translation: orah, plural orasi ... from the Proto-Slavic orěhъ "nux". The adjective on -ov, orahov, is nominalised in toponymy into Orahovo, ... Orahov Do (Herzegovina), ... Oriovac (Slavonia) = Oravac = Oraovac (1770, Kosovo and Metohija) = Raovec in Albanian pronunciation. (N.B. Orahovac and Rahovec are shown here in h-less variants Oraovac and Raovec)]| isbn=86-407-0064-8| page=562| mode=cs1}} The name Rahovec comes from an Albanised pronunciation of Orahovac.

The municipality covers an area of approximately {{convert|276|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}} and contains 35 villages.

Rahovec is especially known for its vineyards and wines.{{Cite web |title=Wineries of Rahovec - KOHA |url=https://www.koha.net/en/life-ktv/251746/the-wineries-of-Rahovec-life/ }}

{{Historical populations

|title=Municipal historical population

| percentages = pagr

|1948|27335 |1953|30095 |1961|35461 |1971|46788 |1981|61178 |1991|85698 |2011|56208 |2016
{{small|est.}}|58908

|source = [http://pop-stat.mashke.org/kosovo-division.htm Division of Kosovo]

}}

According to the last official census done in 2011, the municipality of Rahovec has 56,208 inhabitants.

In the municipality's total population, 98.14% are Albanians, amounting to 55,166 individuals, while the rest represent diverse minority groups in Kosovo, including Ashkali, Egyptians, Serbs, Bosniaks and various others.{{Cite web |title=Popullsia sipas gjinisë etnicitetit dhe vendbanimit 2011 (AKS) |url=https://ask.rks-gov.net/media/1613/popullsia-sipas-gjinis%C3%AB-etnicitetit-dhe-vendbanimit.pdf |access-date=2023-11-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303192426/https://ask.rks-gov.net/media/1613/popullsia-sipas-gjinis%C3%AB-etnicitetit-dhe-vendbanimit.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2022 }}

The town was known for a language known locally as "Rahovecionshe" or "Raveqki", which is a mixture of Albanian, Serbian and Bulgarian. Its use has declined rapidly after the Kosovo War and nowadays it is nearly extinct. It is thought that this pidgin language developed as a way for Albanian grape farmers to sell their products to wine producers, who were predominately Slavic-speaking.{{Cite web|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/kosovo-s-mysterious-dialect-fades-away|title=Kosovo's Mysterious Dialect Fades Away :: Balkan Insight|website=www.balkaninsight.com|date=27 November 2010 |access-date=2016-04-14}}

• Shkëlzen Maliqi (born 1947), Kosovo Albanian former politician, born in Rahovec.{{cite book |last1=Asanaj |first1=Dino |title=Shekulli 21 |date=1996 |publisher=Gjonlekaj Publishing Company |isbn=9780962214127 |page=283 |language=Albanian |quote=Shkelzen Maliqi - Lindur më 1947, Rahovec, Kosovë.}}
• Ajet Shehu (born 1990), English footballer, born in Rahovec .
• Ukshin Hoti (1943–1999), Kosovo Albanian activist, politician, and philosopher, born in Krusha e Madhe.{{cite book|last=Elsie|first=Robert|title=Historical dictionary of Kosovo|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=2010|page=130|isbn=9780810874831|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pg-aeA-nUeAC&pg=PA130}}{{cite news |last1=Çollaku |first1=Petrit |title=Kosovo Urged to Intensify Hunt for Missing Activist |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2015/03/25/petition-for-kosovo-s-missing-professor/ |work=Balkan Insight |date=25 March 2015}}
• Ali Sokoli (1921–1974), Yugoslav physician, born in Rahovec.
• Jovan Grković-Gapon (1879–1912), Serbian Chetnik, born in Rahovec.
• Lazar Kujundžić (1880–1905), Serbian Chetnik commander, born in Rahovec.{{cite book |last1=Stanojević |first1=Stanoje |title=Narodna enciklopedija srpsko-hrvatsko-slovenac̆ka, Knjiga 2 |date=1925 |publisher=zdavac̆: Bibliografski zavod d.d. |page=562 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BaoEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA562 |language=Serbian |quote=O. H. - KUJUNDŽIĆ LAZAR, učitelj i čet- nički vojvoda ( uoči Lazareve subote 1880, selo Orahovac, srez podrimski, okrug prizrenski 25/5 1905, selo Ve- lika Hoča, srez podrimski, okrug pri- zrenski).}}
• Kida (born 1997), Kosovo Albanian female singer
• Xhevdet Bajraj (1960–2022), poet and screenwriter who resided in Mexico.{{cite web |last1=Avdyli |first1=Ngadhnjim |title=Xhevdet Bajraj: I dreamt of freedom in a different way to the politicians |url=https://kosovotwopointzero.com/en/xhevdet-bajraj-i-dreamt-of-freedom-in-a-different-way-to-the-politicians/ |website=kosovotwopointzero.com |date=1 November 2018}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Wikivoyage|Rahovec}}

{{Commons category|Rahovec}}

• [http://www.rahoveci24.com Rahoveci24.com] {{in lang|sq}}
• [http://www.rahoveci.net Rahoveci.NET] {{in lang|sq}}
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3550789.stm BBC article concerning March 2004 riots]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050427210542/http://www.sok-kosovo.org/index.htm Statistical Office of Kosovo (SOK)] {{in lang|sq}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060502111932/http://www.iom.ipko.org/Projects/kdserhs/index.htm International Organization for Mifration (IOM)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/19991119010159/http://www01.uk.aol.com/channels/news/outthere/98august/0811/evidence.htm Survivors describe massacre in Orahovac]
• [https://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/kosovo/undword-09.htm Human Rights Publication-Massacre in Pastasel, Orahovac]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20121104163621/http://ess.uwe.ac.uk/Kosovo/Kosovo-Photographs.htm Photographic Evidence of Kosovo Genocide and Conflict]

{{Kosovo municipalities}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Cities in Kosovo

Category:Rahovec