Gumbo was visiting the City Library in Pristina. Congratulations to JonathanL, GeorgeG, PortMoresby and GarryRF who solved this week’s travel puzzle!
Pristina, Kosovo, is the capital of the 2nd youngest country in the world, thus, serving as the administrative center of one of the former parts of Yugoslavia. I will not go into the war, and who owns what, and how Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Albania, Bulgaria and Macedonia (Former Yugoslavian Republic of Macedonia) are all involved with each other in a never ending Balkan dispute!
The National Library of Kosovo actually started in 1944, but its most recent construction was in 1982, designed by a Croatian architect, Andrija Mutnjaković. It is a blending of Byzantine and Islamic architecture, covering 16,500 square meters, filled with zenith windows, housing 99 domes of different sizes, the latter giving a huge amount of natural light. These pods are covered with several domes that provide light and space.
The floor of the lobby is a unique work of diverse mosaic marble stone, while the walls are covered with circular rosettes by Simon Shiroka.
The controversial aspect is that it is covered in a metal fishing net or mesh-work of interlocked “barbed” wire fencing-type material. This supposedly is symbolic of domination by others, or subservience, or maybe just a reconciliation between the Serbs and Albanians.
No matter, the rooms were filled with kids, all studying quietly. So the 2 million volumes are being put to good use.
