Štrpce (Serbian Cyrillic: Штрпце) or Shtërpcë () is a town and municipality located in the Ferizaj District in Kosovo. As of 2024, it has a population of 10,771 inhabitants.
History
Middle Ages
In Medieval Serbia, the župa (county, district) of Sirinić (Sirinićka župa), first mentioned in a 13th-century charter, covered the whole of modern Štrpce municipality, having the towns of Gradište (site in Brezovica) and Zidinac (site in Gotovuša). Several remains of Byzantine forts exist in the region. At the top of the Čajlije hill, above the mouth of the Piljevac creek of the Lepenac river, there exists the remains of the Gradište fort, which has two layers, the first from the 6th century, and the second from the 13th century. The fort is in ruins, of which a donjon tower, and outlines of other buildings, can be identified. The entrance to the city, at the north, was protected by a tower. From that tower, a rampart continued, with another tower, from where a defensive wall stretched to the foot of the hill, towards the Lepenac.
World War II
On 28 June 1944, during World War II, Bulgarian soldiers executed 46 locals (of whom 12 were children) on the Rakanovac site in Brezovica, after the death of one of their soldiers.
Modern
After the Brussels Agreement of 2013, representatives of Serbia and Kosovo agreed that the municipality was expected to become part of the proposed Community of Serb Municipalities.
Demographics
thumb|Girls in [[Serbian traditional clothing|Serbian traditional costumes]]