Fortesë (Bellacërkë) (Albanian: Fortesë) (Serbian: Bela Crkva/Бела Црква) is a village in the municipality of Rahovec of the District of Gjakova. Before 1999 the village was called Bela Crkva.
Fortesë (Bellacërkë)
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Village | |
  Fortesë (Bellacërkë) | |
| Coordinates: 42°21′N 20°35′E / 42.350°N 20.583°E | |
| Location | Kosovo |
| District | Gjakovë |
| Municipality | Rahovec |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 2,270 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Demographics
editAs of 2011, the village had a total population of 2,270 people. Of this, approximately 98.28% were Albanians, while Ashkalis and Egyptians made up 1.63%.[2]
History
editThe village Fortesë (Bellacërrkë/Bela Crkva) was mentioned as 'Beloçerkova' in the Ottoman register of the 16th century. The inhabitants of Fortesë (Bellacërrkë/Bela Crkva) in the 16th century bore Albanian (Marku, Nika, Pepa, Vuja, Kragui, Bojçi) and Slavic surnames (Stojko, Radula, Janko, Pervane). The villagers predominantly had Islamic names. The mansions ('Bashtina') listed bore Islamic, Albanian and Slavic names.[3]
On 25 March 1999, one day after NATO began bombing the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the village of Bellacërrkë was the site of a mass killing, during which over 60 ethnic Albanian civilians were executed by Serbian forces.[4][5][6]
References
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