Tzintzars in Uro evac and other Kosovo's rail centers: A contribution to the history of Tzintzars in Serbia

A relatively large number of Tzintzars used to live in Uro evac for more than 120 years, until they got totally displaced in 1999. The Tzintzars also lived in other Kosovo towns: Lipljan, Obili , Pri tina and Kosovska Mitrovica, until hazardous living conditions compelled them to relocate to Vu itrn and Ka anik. Vu itrn and Ka anik were trade centers located near the railroad (that stared to operate in 1873) and, as such, represented attractive locations with numerous possibilities for profit and earnings (that is why J. Cviji called these settlements, railroad towns"). Hence in a few waves, the Tzintzars that inhabited the mountain zone of Bitolj-Kru evo (Gope , Magarevo, Ni opolje, Malovi te), and even Bitolj Kru evo and nearby Prizren, started to settle in this region. The relationship with the parent country was maintained by marriage and permanent contact. For a long time, the Tzintzar language was in use, and ethnic identity preserved. The Tzintzars left a considerable mark on the Kosovo economy and culture. Their occupations, like trade (especially grain purchase and its delivery, via railroad to Skoplje, Thessalonica, and other places along the way), handicrafts, hostelry and tavern-owning, enabled them to participate in the founding of new towns: Ferizovi (Uro evac) Lipljan, Globoderice (Obili ); and, at the same time, to reinforce economies in Pri tina and Kosovska Mitrovica. In the interwar period, already ramified Tzintzar lineages extended their economic activities (in the milling industry, banking, agriculture, the commencement of industry), started to send their children to academies and better schools and supported social institutions in their settings. After World War II, following the nationalization of their property, the Tzintzars were forced to hastily change their traditional occupations - thus they started to relocate, mostly to Skoplje. This was a typical outcome for many of the Tzintzar lineages. To illustrate this occurrence, we choose to present in detail the genealogy and history of the lineage Nikoli , from Uro evac. The given data about Tzintzars in Kosovo ravine should add to our knowledge of the general history of Tzintzars from Serbia.