Saraj Municipality

Saraj (Macedonian: Сарај , 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.
Municipality of Saraj
Општина Сарај
Komuna e Sarajit
Rural municipality
Flag
Coat of arms
Country North Macedonia
Region Skopje
Municipal seatSkopje
Government
 • MayorBlerim Bexheti (DUI)
Area
 • Total229.06 km2 (88.44 sq mi)
Population
 • Total35,408
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
WebsiteOfficial Website

Geography

Saraj borders

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
  1. Ragaru, Nadege (2008). "The Political Uses and Social Lives of "National Heroes": Controversies over Skanderbeg's Statue in Skopje". Südosteuropa. 56 (4): 535.
  2. 2002 census results in English and Macedonian (PDF)
  3. Komuna e Sarajit binjakëzim me komunën turke Uskudar Archived 2012-06-04 at the Wayback Machine, INA, 2012-06-01 (in Albanian)

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