Janjevci - Origin and History

Origin and History

The Janjevci as a specific group is one of two regional communities in Kosovo who nationally identify as Croats. They belong to the Slavic ethnicities and are believed to be mostly descended from traders who settled in Kosovo during the 14th century from the Dubrovnik, Croatia. They have maintained their Catholic faith throughout the centuries.

The first written mention is by pope Benedict XI in 1303, mentioning Janjevo as the center of the catholic parish of Sveti Nikola.

Because of rising anti-Croat rhetorics and warmongering in Serbian media (especially in Serb media on Kosovo) in late 1980s, and all the pressure and incidents arising from that, Croats from Janjevo and Letnica and other Croat-inhabited villages were more and more forced to leave Kosovo. They mostly migrated to Croatia.
The second wave of leaving Kosovo, came during Kosovo War.
In 1992, some inhabitants from Letnica, another Croatian village in Kosovo, emigrated to Croatia and broke in, and illegally settled in abandoned homes of Serbs in the villages of Voćin, Đulovac and Varešnica in western Slavonia.

Many of the Janjevci settled in Serb homes in inner Dalmatia in 1996. After the return of Serb refugees, the village became divided between two hostile communities. The Janjevci have since returned the Serb houses to their owners and instead built properties for themselves in a new part of Kistanje called Novo Naselje (lit. New Settlement).

Janjevci families started migrating to Croatia in the 1950s, with most settling in Zagreb. By the beginning of the 1970s, there was a large community of Janjevci along and within the vicinity of Konjšćinska Street in Dubrava, city district of Zagreb. They have since turned this area into a vibrant shopping district.