Gračanica feels like a Serbian holdout in Kosovo, one that proudly flies its many Serbian flags, and one that has an exceptional Serbian Orthodox Monastery to visit. It is very easy to get to from Pristina, as all you have to do is to take a bus going towards Gjilan and hop off when you see the Serbian flags swarming you on all sides. Let us see what this unique town offers to its few lucky visitors.
Make no mistake about it, while being surrounded by Kosovo on all sides, Gračanica is as Serbian as any place can get. It felt more Serbian than Belgrade at times. A monument honouring the legendary Serbian knight, Miloš Obilić, can be found greeting the town’s visitors on their way through this small community. He was, likely, the man who assassinated the Ottoman Sultan Murad I during the Battle of Kosovo.
While that touristic “I Love Gračanica” sign looks so out of place under the aforementioned statue, what does look just at home is the Serbian Orthodox Monastery of Gračanica. This is as peaceful as it gets, which is certainly a feat on its own given the unfortunate circumstances the denizens of this little town found themselves in after the conflict in the region. The people working here are some of the nicest I have seen so far, and thus it was more heartbreaking to hear that when asked about whether they felt safe living in Gračanica, all that one fine young man could say was that he felt uncomfortable answering such questions. While the Spanish tourist who asked the question seemed a bit frustrated, such a “non-answer” was as much of an answer as any. The interior of the monastery, which is a camera-free zone, is exceptional to say the least. While it has been damaged by recent or previous provocations and conflicts, it is nevertheless a testament to the timelessness of old Serbian Orthodox imagery.
If, for some bizarre reason, a beautiful monastery that has been built all the way back in 1321 is not of any interest to you, then, I have to admit that Gračanica offers very little else for the ordinary traveller. There is the Ordo Draconis, or the Order of the Dragon, which is a decent little social club dedicated to medieval Serbian martial arts and tavern life. They also make their own beer apparently, but I did not have the time to try it at the time.
There are also these Serbian flags to gaze at all around this small town. There seemed to be more flags than people at the time of my visit there, which just might be the case. Due to the tension that comes with living in this unordinary city, I am not entirely sure how many locals are keen on staying around, if they have an option to live elsewhere. That explains the ghost town like feeling you get as you wonder around Gračanica.
Yet another reason why Gračanica feels like a ghost town is, well, how to put this delicately… During the height of the conflict in the region, that is, in the 1990s, there were plenty of cases where people were abducted by certain groups. These were often sold into human trafficking rings, who may use them for their labour, or for their bodies. There are reports about some being victims of organ trafficking rings as well. In short, there were many people who were missing, and many are still missing. There is a monument dedicated to them near the town hall of Gračanica. It is in stark contrast to the more famous Newborn monument in Pristina’s center. While all of this is depressing on its own, I must say that, surprisingly, one of those missing people were in fact found just a week before I visited Gračanica. They made an interview with him by this sign, and I sure hope that more of these unfortunate souls can be found in due time.
Gračanica is not for the faint-hearted. While there are some parallels with Mitrovica, the situation in Gračanica for the Serbs living there is certainly far more difficult than their counterparts in that most divided of cities. While Serbs of Mitrovica have access to Serbia proper, Gračanica is all but an appendage of Pristina today. It is a very unique town to say the least, one that is well worth your time. One can only hope that in due time, it will be a very safe and decent place to live for all of its inhabitants as well.