Metohija (Метохија, mɛtɔ̌xija) or Dukagjin (Rrafshi i Dukagjinit, ˈrafʃi i dukaˈɟinit) is a large basin and the name of the region covering the southwestern part of Kosovo. The region covers 35% (3,891 km2) of Kosovo's total area. According to the 2011 census, the population of the region is 700,577.
It encompasses three of the seven districts of Kosovo:
The name Metohija derives from the Greek word μετόχια (metóchia; singular μετόχιον, metóchion), meaning "monastic estates" – a reference to the large number of villages and estates in the region that were owned by the Serbian Orthodox monasteries and Mount Athos during the Middle Ages.
The oldest name for the region is Dukagjin or Dukagjini plain (Alb: 'Rrafshi i Dukagjinit') and the region was called Sanjak of Dukagjin in the 15th-16th century. According to historian Jahja Drançolli, the name 'Metohija' does not appear as a geographic term in the medieval period.
In Albanian the area is called Rrafshi i Dukagjinit and means "the plateau of Dukagjin", as the toponym (in Albanian) took the name of the Dukagjini family who ruled a large part of Metohija during the 14th-15th centuries.
The term "Kosovo and Metohija" (Косово и Метохија) was in official use for the Autonomous Region of Kosovo and Metohija (1945-1963), and also for the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija (1963-1968). The term "Metohija" was dropped from the official name of the province in 1968, and thus the term "Kosovo" became the official name of the province as a whole. The change was not welcomed by Serbs, who continued to use the old name (for example in the 1986 Draft Memorandum of SANU). In September 1990, the new Constitution of the Republic of Serbia was adopted, changing the official name of the province back to the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. This time, the change was not welcomed by ethnic Albanians, who protested against the official use of the term "Metohija".
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The Šar Mountains (Serbian and Macedonian: Шар Планина, Šar Planina; colloquially also Шара, Šara) or Sharr Mountains (Malet e Sharrit) is a mountain range extending from southern Kosovo to northwestern North Macedonia. The sections in Kosovo, and in Šar Mountains National Park (North Macedonia) are national parks. Rugged and barren, the mountains are among the highest on the Balkans, with 30 peaks higher than .
Peja (Indefinite Albanian form: Pejë pɛˈj) or Peć (Пећ petɕ) is the fourth largest city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipality and Peja District. It is situated in the region of Rugova on the eastern section of the Accursed Mountains along Peja's Lumbardh in the western part of Kosovo. In medieval times the city was the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1346. The Patriarchal monastery of Peć is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Medieval Monuments in Kosovo.
Šumadija (Шумадија, ʃumǎdija) is a geographical region in the central part of Serbia. The area used to be heavily covered with forests, hence the name (from šuma 'forest'). The city of Kragujevac is the administrative center of the Šumadija District in the Šumadija and Western Serbia statistical region. The region is very fertile, and it is known for its extensive fruit production (apples, grapes, plums, etc.). Šumadija received its name from the dense and impassable forests which covered the region, particularly in the 16th and 17th centuries.