Gudzic: In Prizren, there is Serbian, Ottoman, and Byzantine cultural heritage

According to Prime Minister Albin Kurti, the Government of Kosovo is preparing the historical center of Prizren for nomination to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, and in response, historian Aleksandar Gudzic tells Kosovo Online that there is Serbian, Ottoman, and Byzantine or Greek cultural heritage in Prizren and that there is no basis for speaking of a Kosovar, that is, Albanian cultural heritage.

"Unless, of course, we declare the modern buildings currently being constructed in Prizren as masterpieces of world heritage and include them in UNESCO," Gudzic adds.

He interprets Kurti’s announcement as part of Pristina's desire to become a UNESCO member, hence the insistence on including part of "Kosovar heritage" in UNESCO.

"The Bajrakli Mosque and the Sinan Pasha Mosque in Prizren are part of the Ottoman cultural heritage, while the churches and monasteries – the Prizren Seminary, the Holy Archangels, and Our Lady of Ljevis – are part of Serbian cultural heritage. In the Bajrakli Mosque in Prizren, a meeting of prominent Albanian leaders took place, where the League of Prizren, which holds national significance for Kosovar Albanians, was declared. However, it is part of Ottoman, not Albanian, cultural heritage," Gudzic emphasizes.

Gudzic perceives Kurti’s statement more as a provocation than a realistic plan that will materialize.

"But we don’t know what might happen at any given moment because we are living in a crazy time where anything is possible, even for Kosovo to join UNESCO and for Serbian cultural heritage to overnight become Albanian. Who could have imagined in 1945, after the victory over fascism and Nazism, that those same forces would resurrect and revive in Ukraine? We are, therefore, living in a mad time where anything is possible," Gudzic concludes.