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Gusinje Гусиње Gucia
Town and municipality
Towns of Gusinje (front) and Plav (background), seen from air.
Seal
Gusinje
Coordinates: 42°33′43″N 19°50′02″E / 42.56194°N 19.83389°E / 42.56194; 19.83389
Country	Montenegro
Municipality	Gusinje Municipality
Area
• Total	3.73 km (1.44 sq mi)
Elevation	1,014 m (3,327 ft)
Population
• Total	1,673
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Vehicle registration	GS
Climate	Cfb

Gusinje (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Гусиње pronounced [ɡǔsiɲe], Template:Lang-sq) is a small town in north-eastern Montenegro. According to the 2011 census, the town has a population of 1,673 and is the administrative center of Gusinje Municipality.

Name

Two alternative etymologies have been proposed for the toponym Gusinje. One links it to Slavic guska (goose), the other to an Illyrian word Geusiae from which the Albanian name of the town, Guci(a), would have evolved. In archival records, it has been recorded variably as Gousino (Гоусино), Gustigne (1614) in Venetian archives, Gusna (گوسن) and Gusinye in Ottoman Turkish.

Geography

The town is located in the Plav-Gusinje area, part of the upper Lim valley in the Prokletije range at an elevation of ca. 1,014 m. Zla Kolata, the highest mountain in Montenegro about 10km south of Gusinje in the National Park "Prokletije". Gusinje is traversed by the Vermosh River into which pours the Vruja Creek as it moves eastwards towards Plav. Vruja is formed at Ali Pasha's wellsprings (Alipašini izvori/Krojet e Ali Pashës) about 2km south of Gusinje's center. The part of Vermosh between the location where it meets Vruja and Plav is locally called Luca. Vermosh then pours into Lake Plav. It is the first tributary of Lim. Gusinje is the seat of the municipality of the same name. From 1953 to 2014, it was part of Plav Municipality. In 2014, it became again a distinct municipality. The town's boundaries form ~3.73 km² of the total 157 km² of the municipality. Much of the area of the municipality is mountainous land used in the past for livestock herding.

History

It is known that a medieval settlement was located in the territory of present-day Gusinje. Gusinje was mentioned as a caravan station on the Ragusa-Cattaro–Scutari–Peć route, in the 14th century. In historical record, Gusinje appears in 1485 in the defter of the sanjak of Scutari as a village in the vilayet of Plav, a hass-ı hümayun (imperial domain) that stood directly under the Ottoman Sultan. It had 96 households, 21 unmarried men and four widows. This is was a big settlement compared to other villages in Montenegro and northern Albania. Relatively to other neighbouring regions, the Plav-Gusinje area in general was densely populated at the end of the 15th century with 15 villages and over a thousand households in total.

Gusinje stood at the intersection of the Ottoman trade routes between northern Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo. Thus, the trade that passed through Gusinje generated much wealth for the Sultan, the beys and the local sipahis that were granted taxing rights. This made the trade route a constant target for the neighbouring Albanian tribe (fis) of Kelmendi, which was in rebellion against the Ottomans and was plundering their trade routes. Venetian diplomat Mariano Bolizza who travelled in the region reported that at the end of 1612 the building of the fortress of Gusinje - around which the modern town developed - was completed. The location was chosen because it stands at the convergence of all pathways from Kelmendi. Thus, modern Gusinje stands ~6km to the west and ~10km to the north of the routes from Kelmendi to modern Sandzak. The fortress was built at the reguest of Sem Zaus, the Ottoman bey of Podgorica who wanted to stop the attacks of Kelmendi and to be able to travel freely in his domain. In 1614, Mariano Bolizza reported that the village had 100 households and a garrisson of 237 men under Belo Juvanin. The fortress was also designed to stop the expansion of the Kuči tribe in the Upper Lim valley. In time despite initial Ottoman resistance, these two communities Kelmendi and Kuči came to form all the historical neighbourhoods (mahalla) of Gusinje of today. Their descendants although initially Christian, willingly or forcefully converted to Islam by the middle 18th century. The different mosques of Gusinje today represent the different brotherhoods from Kelmendi or Kuči that built them. For example, the Cekaj mosque (Čekića džamija/xhamia e Cekajve) was built by the Cekaj brotherhood of Kelmendi in 1687, while the New Mosque built in 1899 is known as Radončića after the Radončići brotherhood of Kuči. At the beginning of the 18th century, Gusinje was the seat of the local kadiluk. In terms of military administration, the captaincy of Gusinje was part of the Bosnia Eyalet in 1724. Central Ottoman administration collapsed in the decades to come and the Pashalik of Shkodra emerged as a regional power. The Vezir's mosque, built by Kara Mahmud Bushati in 1765 in the town center is a symbol of the Pashalik's lead in the upper Lim valley. Its downfall in 1831 brought back actual Ottoman rule. In 1852, in the register of the Kosovo Vilayet, Gusinje is recorded with 1,500 households. It was a developing town that had 350 shops, eight madrasas and five mosques. The captaincy of Gusinje in 1869 was part of the sanjak of Prizren.

As the Ottoman Empire disintegrated in the long 19th century already in the Treaty of San Stefano, Gusinje and Plav were awarded to the independent Principality of Montenegro. Gusinje was developing as a commercial town at the time, but still remained outside properly established rule of Ottoman law. Gun ownership was widespread and Ottoman rule was difficult to enforce. The Albanians of Gusinje opposed the decisions of the treaty and sent telegrams of protest to the embassies of the Great Powers. In the Congress of Berlin and its final treaty those decisions were finalized. The Albanians in the two regions reacted against the final decision in favor annexation and formed the League of Prizren.

A noted figure of the League of Prizren was Ali Pasha Shabanagaj, a landowner and military commander from Gusinje. In the ensuing Battle of Novšiće the League of Prizren led by Shabanagaj defeated the approaching Montenegrin forces led by Marko Miljanov. Reports after the battle claim that the victors carried into the town 60 heads from their defeated foes. The annexation was effectively stopped and the Great Powers began another round of negotiations which eventually led to Ulcinj's annexation by Montenegro as compensation. The battle became a point of reference in the Albanian National Awakening and set a precedent about the need of armed struggle to defend other areas. Although the battle took place near Novšiće which is ~4km to the north of Plav, in the Ottoman press of the time it became known as Gusinye hadisesi (Gusinye Incident) because of its crucial role in the struggle. In 1893, Gusinje had 1,600 households, 5 mosques and 240 shops.

The districts were part of the Sanjak of Novi Pazar of the Kosovo Vilayet until 1913. In the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, Gusinje became a subject of dispute between newly independent Albania and Montenegro. Nicholas I of Montenegro in the London Peace Conference asked for the region of Kelmendi as otherwise communication between the capital of Podgorica and the new eastern provinces of Montenegro would be blocked. As Kelmendi finally became part of Albania, Gusinje was given to Montenegro with the provision that the people of Kelmendi would have free passage to the town. About 2000 Albanian refugees from Gusinje and Plav were reported in Shkodra in 1913 by the director of the Red Cross which was stationed in the city. The beginning of WWI in practice stopped the implementation of any agreement. In 1919, the decision was reaffirmed but the border was closed. In Albania, the closing of the border between Malësia and Gusinje has been seen as a main cause for the interwar impoverishment of areas like Kelmendi and Shala, which were deprived from access to their traditional market town.

The entry of the Montenegrin army in 1913 and the Yugoslav army after 1919 in Gusinje was accompanied by repressive policies against the local population. In 1919, Rožaje was one of the centres of the Plav rebellion (Plavska pobuna) that fought against the inclusion of Sandzak in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. About 450 Muslim locals were killed in Gusinje and nearby Plav after the uprising was quelled. These events remain a matter of dispute in modern Montenegrin politics. In 2013, the President of Montenegro Filip Vujanović made the first direct acknowledgment of the events in a ceremony in Berane where he declared that the crimes performed in Plav and Gusinje are the dark side of the Montenegrin history.

Gusinje became part of Albania in WWII by Fascist Italy and then Nazi Germany to win the support of the local population. After the war, the 1913 borders were reaffirmed. Gusinje's status as a distinct municipality was revoked in 1953. Along with other reasons it fueled immigration and impoverishment in the town and the municipality. In 2014, Gusinje regained its municipal status.

Monuments

In Gusinje there are a number of historical mosques in Montenegro. The oldest preserved mosque in the town is Čekića džamija or xhamia e Cekajve built by the Cekaj brotherhood of Kelmendi. The second oldest is the Vezir's mosque (vezirova džamija/xhamiat e vezirit) built by Kara Mahmud Bushati in 1765 on the existing site of another mosque originally built in 1626. The New Mosque (nova džamija/xhamia e re) also known as Radončića was built by the Radončići brotherhood of Kući in 1899. There are also a number of mosques whose ruins only remain today. The mosque of Sultan Ahmed I was built during his reign between 1603 and 1617. It was burnt in 1746-47. Another ruined mosque is that of the Gjylbegaj family (a branch of the Begolli family). It was built in 1833.

Demographics

Since 1913, Gusinje has experienced many waves of immigration in the 20th century. These have depopulated it as a result in the 21st century. The municipality of Gusinje reports that 18,400 people trace theirs origins to the town of Gusinje out of a total diaspora of ~30,000 from the Gusinje area. They mostly live in the US. Gusinje is almost entirely Muslim and either Albanian-speaking or Slavic-speaking. The Slavic dialect of Gusinje and Plav shows very high structural influence from Albanian. Its uniqueness in terms of language contact between Albanian and Slavic is explained by the fact that most Slavic-speakers in today's Gusinje are of Albanian origin.

Notable people

• Ali Pasha of Gusinje, Ottoman governor
• Dženan Radončić, Montenegrin footballer
• Fahrudin Radončić, Montenegrin businessman, founder of Dnevni Avaz in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Ramo Kolenović, kayaker
• Dino Radončić, basketball player

References

1. ^ Opstina Gusinje 2012, p. 16 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFOpstina_Gusinje2012 (help)
2. ^ Loma 2013, p. 70 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFLoma2013 (help)
3. ^ Elsie 2003, p. 151
4. "NACIONALNI PARK PROKLETIJE". www.nparkovi.me. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
5. Opstina Gusinje 2012, p. 5. sfn error: no target: CITEREFOpstina_Gusinje2012 (help)
6. Zajednica osnovnog obrazovanja i vaspitanja 1986, p. 137.
7. Pulaha 1974, p. 99.
8. Pulaha 1974, p. 112.
9. Gawrych 2006, p. 61.
10. Gawrych 2006, p. 44.
11. Gawrych 2006, p. 62.
12. Gawrych 2006, p. 74.
13. Cornwall 1987, pp. 6–12.
14. Galaty 2013, p. 56. sfn error: no target: CITEREFGalaty2013 (help)
15. Morrison 2018, p. 56.
16. Morrison 2018, p. 21.
17. Pacariz 2013, p. 437. sfn error: no target: CITEREFPacariz2013 (help)
18. Opstina Gusinje 2012, p. 17. sfn error: no target: CITEREFOpstina_Gusinje2012 (help)
19. Hadžić 2018, p. 11.
20. Opstina Gusinje 2012, p. 18. sfn error: no target: CITEREFOpstina_Gusinje2012 (help)
21. Curtis 2012, p. 40.

Sources

• Cornwall, Mark (1987). "Between two wars. King Nikola of Montenegro and the Great Powers, 1913-1914". The South Slav Journal. IX (1–2). {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Curtis, Matthew (2012). Slavic-Albanian Language Contact, Convergence, and Coexistence. Ohio State Unviersity. ISBN 978-1-2675-8033-7. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Elsie, Robert (2003). Early Albania: A reader of Historical texts, 11th–17th centuries. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. ISBN 9783447047838. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Galaty, Michael; Lafe, Ols; Lee, Wayne; Tafilica, Zamir (2013). Light and Shadow: Isolation and Interaction in the Shala Valley of Northern Albania. The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press. ISBN 1931745714. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Gawrych, George (2006). The Crescent and the Eagle: Ottoman rule, Islam and the Albanians, 1874–1913. London: IB Tauris. ISBN 9781845112875. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Gornje Polimlje: priroda, stanovništvo i naselja. Geografski institut Filozofskog fakulteta. 2005. ISBN 978-86-7794-000-3.
• Hadžić, Fatih (2018). "DŽAMIJE U JUŽNOM SANDŽAKU". Sto godina od Sjenicke konferencije. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Loma, Aleksandar (2013). La toponymie de la charte de fondation de Banjska: Vers la conception d’un dictionnaire des noms de lieux de la Serbie medievale et une meilleure connaissance des structures onomastiques du slave commun. Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti. ISBN 978-86-7025-621-7.
• Morrison, Kenneth (2018). Nationalism, Identity and Statehood in Post-Yugoslav Montenegro. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 1474235190. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Pacariz, Sabina (2014). Yearbook of Muslims in Europe. BRILL. p. 437. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Pulaha, Selami (1974). Defter i Sanxhakut të Shkodrës 1485 [Defter of the Sanjak of Shkodra in 1485. Academy of Sciences of Albania. p. 99. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• "STUDIJA O OPRAVDANOSTI OSNIVANJA OPŠTINE GUSINJE" (PDF). Opstina Gusinje. Gusinje Municipality. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Zajednica osnovnog obrazovanja i vaspitanja (1986). Simpozijum seoski dani Sretena Vukosavljevića. Vol. 11. Prijepolje: Opštinska zajednica obrazovanja. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

v t e Seats of Montenegrin Municipalities
Andrijevica Bar Berane Bijelo Polje Budva Cetinje Danilovgrad Golubovci Gusinje Herceg Novi Kolašin Kotor Mojkovac Nikšić Petnjica Plav Pljevlja Plužine Podgorica Rožaje Šavnik Tivat Tuzi Ulcinj Žabljak

• Populated places in Montenegro
• Sandžak
• Plav, Montenegro