Saraj Municipality
Municipality of Saraj
Општина Сарај Komuna e Sarajit | |
|---|---|
Rural municipality | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
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| Country |  North Macedonia |
| Region |  Skopje |
| Municipal seat | Skopje |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Blerim Bexheti (DUI) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 229.06 km2 (88.44 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 35,408 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| Website | Official Website |
Saraj (Macedonian: 
Сарај (help·info), Albanian: Saraj) is one of the ten municipalities that make up the city of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of North Macedonia.
- Saraj, which means "palace" in Turkish, is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found.
- It is a rural municipality and it is not part of the urban core of Skopje proper.
Geography[]
Saraj borders
- Jegunovce Municipality to the northwest,
- Želino Municipality to the southwest,
- Sopište Municipality to the south,
- Karpoš Municipality and Gjorče Petrov Municipality to the east, and
- Kosovo to the north.
History[]
In the early 2000s municipal boundaries within Macedonia in some areas were redrawn.[1] During difficult negotiations the governing Macedonian Social Democrats (SDSM) gave in to the request of its Albanian coalition partner that wanted Albanians within Skopje to surpass the 20% population mark by attaching two rural Albanian inhabited municipalities, Saraj and Kondovo.[1] The municipalities attachment to the capital city raised the Albanian population from 15.30% to 20.49%.[1] The change was seen as an important win among Albanians, while Macedonians were concerned with a more visible Albanian presence in Skopje and the increasing fragmentation of the urban population based on ethnicity.[1]
Demographics[]
According to the last national census from 2002, Saraj has 35,408 inhabitants.[2]
Ethnic groups in the municipality include:
- Albanians = 32,408 (91.5%)
- Macedonians = 1,377 (3.9%)
- Bosniaks = 1,120 (3.2%)
- others.
Twin towns[]
Twin municipalities[]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Ragaru, Nadege (2008). "The Political Uses and Social Lives of "National Heroes": Controversies over Skanderbeg's Statue in Skopje". Südosteuropa. 56 (4): 535.
- ^ 2002 census results in English and Macedonian (PDF)
- ^ Komuna e Sarajit binjakëzim me komunën turke Uskudar Archived 2012-06-04 at the Wayback Machine, INA, 2012-06-01 (in Albanian)
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saraj Municipality. |
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Coordinates: 42°00′01″N 21°19′29″E / 42.0004°N 21.3248°E
Authority control  |
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- Saraj Municipality
- Municipalities of North Macedonia
- Municipalities of Skopje
- Albanian communities in North Macedonia