Gjakova

Gjakova (In Albanian) or Đakovica (In Serbian, Ђаковица), is a city and municipality in western Kosovo. It is also the administrative centre of the homonymous district. The municipality's population in 2011 stood at 94,556.

Name

The Albanian name for the town is Gjakova, while the Serbian name is Đakovica with the common -ica diminutive placename suffix. There are several theories on the origin of the village name, such as from the personal name Jakov; the Serbian word đak (pupil); or from the Albanian word for "blood" (gjak).

The "Jakov theory" derives its name from Jakov, a little known nobility in the service of lord Vuk Branković who founded and ruled the town, and whose coins have been found, signed "Jakov". According to local Albanians, the name was derived from the name Jak (Jakov), with the village name meaning "Jakov's field". According to Vujinović, it was also wrongfully claimed by the Albanians that the name was derived from a Jak Vula, a local landlord who allegedly gave property where the Hadum Mosque was built in the 1590s. In Albanian, the name was pronounced Jakova, and not Đakova or Đakovica (1928). The "pupil theory" has it that the Serbian kings had schools there, the word đak is from earlier d(i)jak; The "blood theory" is supported by Noel Malcolm, president of the Anglo-Albanian Association.