Dimitrijevic from the village of Dren: We will not allow them to demolish our church

Stefan Dimitrijevic from the village of Dren says that the locals will not allow the authorities in Pristina to demolish the Markovica church, which was first mentioned in the record of King Milutin in 1324, due to an illegal decision on land expropriation. Although, as Dimitrijevic says, it is assumed that the church had been built in the Roman period.

Dimitrijevic explains for Kosovo Online that the village of Dren was settled by Montenegrins more than a hundred years ago and that the first tombstones date from around 1898.

"This village was inhabited about a hundred years ago. When there was displacement from Montenegro during the uprising, the people moved here and found a good place. There was a church here. We have a monument from 1898. This is the monument of Petar Krsmanovic, whose descendants are today Aleksic, they immigrated from Belo Polje. My ancestors are also from Montenegro, now we are Dimitrijevic and we were Milic, our first monument is from 1904. When burying our deceased, we found bones that are who knows how many years old," Dimitrijevic explains.

Dimitrijevic adds that in the village of Dren, there is a Markovica church that is more than a thousand years old.

"We know that the Markovica church was first mentioned in the record of King Milutin in 1324 in the record of the Monastery of Banjska, but it is assumed that the church was from the Roman period and that it was more than a thousand years old, and we certainly will not allow it to be taken away from us." Dimitrijevic said.

He points out that the church is under the protection of the Institute for the Preservation of Monuments and that it must not be demolished.

"The church must not be demolished; we want to rebuild it for our generations. We are in discussions with the bishop and the competent authorities to start the works in a few days," Dimitrijevic said.

As he adds, there are many children in the village who attend one of the most beautiful primary schools in the municipality of Leposavic, and that school overlooks the hill where the snipers are.

"We will not allow those snipers to watch our children," Dimitrijevic said.

About 250 people live in the village of Dren.