Grand Bazaar of Gjakova

The urban ensemble of the Grand Bazaar in Gjakova dates from c. XVI of the Ottoman period and has 525 important buildings. It is known as the largest bazaar in the South Eastern Europe. The Bazaar has served for crafts, trade and central administration of that time. Today it is a cultural-historical, touristic, commercial and crafts complex. All events associated with the city of Gjakova are connected with the development of the Grand Bazaar. The architectural feature of the area is its construction. The construction style is traditional, with local materials: stone, wood, adobe, old traditional roof tiles, lead, etc.<br><br>In 1999, 431 of buildings in the Bazaar were burned, with all other historical cultural monuments. Much of it was revived after the war thanks to private investments and aid of international organizations. In addition to that, over 50 other buildings, not yet reconstructed, are pending for donations. For the moment, despite not small investments in the reconstruction of the complex, a large part of it is not operating adequately. Until now several initiatives has been taken to revive the whole area, which unfortunately ended without any result.