Filigree Artisans, the legacy we present

The well known encyclopedist Evliya Çelebi, a poet from the 16th century in his poetry writings describes that in Prizren if male child is born then he will find his street before he is even baptized. Arts, such as those created by Evliya Çelebi are continuing as a source of the tradition of the city. The poet narrates and says come see this city because here is developed not only the literature but also the art of music. This is evidenced by the strings of çiftelia, mandoline, etc. during the broadcast of songs. Prizren in his building has a wonderful art. This art is decorated by buildings with high domes and the strings of different instruments during the singing of songs. Various paintings, weaving cans or any movement of the brush is a special kind of art. Prizren is the city of crafts. Today although the crafts such as farrier, saddler, tinker and water vesselers exist and are perfect, other crafts remain in line with the traditional ones e.g.: silver wires still are worked with a discipline and fervent love as well as handmade works with different samples of silver lace. If you are close to a blacksmith, then you can hear a sound that makes you think that this is a sound of a musical instrument that comes from the masters hammers while he hits this metal to give a proper form to a tool. Within Prizren can be observed crafts as: shoemaker, tailor and barber which means you can meet traditional crafts that continue to quietly live a life among the citizens. Rich cultural life of Prizren is another reason to describe it as a city of culture. Prizren is the city of Dokufest, one of the world’s most popular short film and documentaries festivals. Also, in Prizren traditionally is organized a song festival “Zambaku i Prizrenit” (Lily of Prizren), which is the only one that cultivates old citizen songs. During one year, about 50 cultural activities are organized in Prizren.

The secrets of Filigree's work have been preserved generation after generation in the city of Prizren. Filigran is an ancient craft that uses mainly silver and gold to produce very fine artwork. Filigran origin is believed to come since the Egyptians, however, it is supposed that in Kosovo is present since the 15th century. Filigran is produced in the region where even today there are about 10 family businesses that are active in processing and producing interesting works which can be found in Prizren souvenirs. In the 1980s, the filigree trade flourished. At that time in Prizren there were 150 to 200 artisans. This craft has given Prizren a lot of fame over the centuries. There is no exact date when Albanians in Kosovo started working with silver, but historians say this probably happened sometime in the 18th century. Many artisans from Prizren left the city and moved to Dubrovnik, Croatia, where they found better business.