BVA

Kosovo

Kosovo, formerly an autonomous province in Serbia, within Yugoslavia, declared its intention to leave the Republic of Serbia after its autonomous status was revoked. A difficult relationship ensued and in 2008 Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia. Today over 75 countries recognize Kosovo as a sovereign state.
The two principal ethnic groups (Albanian and Serbian) have common and specific cultural roots. The cultures of Kosovo have connections to Slavonic, Albanian, and Ottoman cultures. The country has four pronounced landscapes (the mountains of the Dinaric Alps and the Šar Planina, the Metohija Basin and the Plain of Kosovo) that are important factors in the development of the different types of vernacular architecture still found.