page_title: Destruction of Serbian heritage in Kosovo
section_title: 2004 unrest
hierarchical_section_title: Destruction of Serbian heritage in Kosovo / 2004 unrest
caption_attribution_description: English: The Church of Saint Elijah (Serbian: Црква светог Илије, Crkva svetog Ilije), also known as Saint Andrew's Church, is а Serbian Orthodox church located on a small hill near the city of Podujevo, It was destroyed by Albanians during the expulsion of Serbs from Kosovo in march 2004. Српски / srpski: Црква Светог Илије у Подујеву, Косово, Србија. Уништена од стране косовских Албанаца за време мартовског погрома 2004.
context_page_description: Serbian cultural and religious sites in Kosovo were systematically vandalized and destroyed over several historical periods, during the Ottoman rule, World War I, World War II, Yugoslav communist rule, Kosovo War and 2004 unrest.
  According to the International Center for Transitional Justice, 155 Serbian Orthodox churches and monasteries were destroyed by Kosovo Albanians between June 1999 and March 2004. The Medieval Monuments in Kosovo, founded by the Nemanjić dynasty, is a combined World Heritage Site consisting of four Serbian Orthodox Christian churches and monasteries. In 2006, the property was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
context_section_description: Postwar, Albanian Kosovan media, supportive of and controlled by Albanian resistance groups, induced a climate of fear among local journalists toward preventing balanced coverage of violence perpetrated by both sides. It generated a nationalist media campaign that drove and coordinated successive attacks against locations that contained Serbian heritage.
  In an urgent appeal, issued on 18 March by the extraordinary session of the Expanded Convocation of the Holy Synod of Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC), it was reported that a number of Serbian churches and shrines in Kosovo had been damaged or destroyed by rioters. At least 30 sites were completely destroyed, more or less destroyed, or further destroyed (sites that had been previously destroyed). Apart from the churches and monasteries, tens of support buildings (such as parish buildings, economical buildings and residences), bringing the number close to 100 buildings of the SPC destroyed. All churches and objects of the SPC in Prizren were destroyed. The list includes several UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
  The violence quickly spread to other parts of Kosovo, with Kosovo Serb communities and religious and cultural symbols attacked by crowds of Albanians. Some of these locations were ostensibly under the protection of KFOR at the time. During the riots and violence, eight Kosovo Serbians were killed. Among damaged property was the targeted cultural and architectural heritage of the Serb people, and as a result 35 churches, including 18 monuments of culture, were demolished, burnt or severely damaged.
caption: Church of St. Elijah near Podujevo
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "St. Andrew Church, destroyed during expulsion of Serbs from Kosovo in march 2004.", "Image Make": "FUJIFILM", "Image Model": "FinePix4900ZOOM", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "ACD Systems Digital Imaging", "Image DateTime": "2004:04:05 18:41:20", "Image Artist": "JovanStojan", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image Rating": "4", "Image Tag 0x4749": "75", "Image Copyright": "", "Image ExifOffset": "2344", "Image XPTitle": "[83, 0, 116, 0, 46, 0, 32, 0, 65, 0, 110, 0, 100, 0, 114, 0, 101, 0, 119, 0, ... ]", "Image XPAuthor": "JovanStojan", "Image XPKeywords": "[83, 0, 116, 0, 46, 0, 32, 0, 65, 0, 110, 0, 100, 0, 114, 0, 101, 0, 119, 0, ... ]", "Image Padding": "[]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "5230", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "6407", "EXIF FNumber": "8", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "200", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0210", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2004:03:23 13:19:17", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2004:03:23 13:19:17", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "3/2", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "99/10", "EXIF ApertureValue": "6", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "252/25", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "39/5", "EXIF SubSecTime": "937", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1200", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "900", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "5100", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "302387/50", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "302387/50", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "4182"}