Roà ¾aje (, ; , ) is a town located in the Northern Region of Montenegro, situated along the Ibar river. The town is the cultural center of the Bosniaks in Montenegro.
As of 2023, the town has a population of 13,608 inhabitants.
Surrounded by hills to its west and mountains to its east (notably Mount Hajla), the town is divided in half by, and contains the source of the river Ibar, which gives its name to the local sports clubs FK Ahmad, KK Ibar and OK Ibar. Roà ¾aje is the centre of the Roà ¾aje Municipality within the 25 municipalities of Montenegro.
Roà ¾aje celebrates its foundation day on 30 September each year.
Roà ¾aje was first settled in antiquity by the Illyrians. Evidence of this Illyrian settlement is located on Brezojevica Hill. Later, during the migration of the Slavs, Slavs settled in the area. Roà ¾aje was first mentioned in 1571 and 1585. The settlement surrounding the then fort was called Trgovià ¡te, which it was called until 1912.
During the Ottoman Empire's reign over Montenegro, the Sultan Murat II Mosque was constructed in the city in the 1500s, which also contains the turbe of the sultan's body. It is considered to be the oldest mosque in the entire city.
In 1700, after the Great Serb Migration, the Albanian clans of the Kelmendi and Kuçi and other tribes like the Shkreli of Rugova established themselves in the region of Roà ¾aje and the neighboring town of Tutin in Serbia. The Shala, Krasniqi, and Gashi also moved in the region. In the villages surrounding Rozaje, 44 Albanian families of the Kelmendi were noted in 1721 and 58 residents in Urban Rozaje itself.
In 1797, the GaniÃÂ kula, a defensive tower was built from the Muslim side of the KuÃÂi, as they supported the Muslim authority and cultural practices, was built. Nowadays, the tower is currently the town's museum.
During World War I, the army of the Kingdom of Montenegro captured the city in 1912 from the Ottoman Empire, during the First Balkan War. Within this time, the Montenegrin Army under King Nikola quickly sought to Serbianize the population, to reduce threats of invasions or uprisings by the Albanian locals. It was officially ceded to Montenegro following the Treaty of London in 1913 that ended the war. In 1917, the local Albanian qadi Bajram Balota organised a force of irregulars in the territory held by Austria-Hungary in Montenegro around Berane and Roà ¾aje, with his soldiers and allies persecuting and killing Orthodox Montenegrins. His movement was dissolved following a defeat by Austro-Hungarian soldiers on 18 June 1918. In 1919, after the war, Roà ¾aje was one of the main cities that participated in an Albanian revolt, which later came to be known as the Plav Rebellion (Montenegrin: Plavska Pobuna), rising up together with the Plav and Gusinje districts and fighting against the inclusion of Sandà ¾ak in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. An estimated 700 Albanians were killed in Roà ¾aje by the Serbian army when the rebellion was quelled. These events resulted in a large influx of Albanians migrating to Albania.
During World War II, the city has seen conflict between the Yugoslav Partisans, the Chetniks, the Sandà ¾ak Muslim Militia, and the Albanian Vulnetari. Mullah Jakup KardoviÃÂ, who would end up being a prominent commander of the Militia and would participate in the Battle for Novi Pazar, came from the village of Bià ¡evo, which is 4âÂÂ5km away from the city.
After World War II, the city of Roà ¾aje became a part of SR Montenegro, which was ultimately a part of the SFR Yugoslavia. Within this time period, the municipality of Roà ¾aje did not exist, as it was a part of the Ivangrad (now Berane) municipality at the time. During the 1960s, the authorities established the Gornji Ibar company, which was a woodworking/lumber/furniture assembling factory. At one point, the company employed more than 53% of the entire city. It expanded the economic status of the city, and became a focal point for woodworking within the region.
In 1992, the Gornji Ibar company was liquidated and subsequently went out of business, which left the city in economic turmoil.
During the Bosnian War, the Bosniaks of FoÃÂa who managed to escape the massacre that happened in the area resettled in Roà ¾aje.
During the Kosovo War in 1999, around 1,000 ethnic Albanians that also managed to escape the war settled in the south of Roà ¾aje. They were mostly from the regions of Drenica and Mitrovica.
In 2018, a replica of the Sebilj in Sarajevo has been completed and is currently displayed in the town's main square.
The municipality is situated on large hills, with the mountains Hajla, Mokra Gora, Ahmica, Krstac, à ½ljeb, à  tedim and Turjak to its east and southeast. Those mountains belong to the northern part of the Accursed Mountains range. The city stands at around 1,014m or 3,326ft above sea level.
Roà ¾aje is the administrative centre of the Roà ¾aje municipality, which has a total of 25,247 residents. The town of Roà ¾aje itself has a population of 13,608 in 2023.
There are 2 major neighbourhoods within the municipality, Ibarac, and Bandà ¾ovo Brdo. Ibarac is split between Lijeva Obala Ibar and Desna Obala Ibar.
In the 2023 census, 84.66% declared themselves as Bosniaks. Roà ¾aje is considered to be the centre for the Bosniak community of Montenegro. Bosniaks form the majority in both the town and the municipality itself.
Ethnic Albanians, have been present within the city, as well as the outskirts, especially villages that are close to the border of Kosovo (such as DaciÃÂi, BalotiÃÂi, Plumci, BaÃÂ, Besnik, etc). They enjoy and support mutual relations with the Bosniaks and other ethnicities within the city and have also become an integral part of Roà ¾aje's society. The current population of Albanians living in Roà ¾aje Municipality is 1,176, forming 5.07% of the total population in 2023. The Albanians of this region speak in the Gheg dialect of the Albanian language and are majority Muslims.
Albeit very small in terms of population size, the Serbs (2.56%) have also lived in Roà ¾aje for some time, and usually have amicable relations with the other ethnic communities in the city. Bijela Crkva is one of the only Serb-majority villages within the municipality.
3.76% of the total population in Roà ¾aje declared themselves as Montenegrins.
Montenegrin, Serbian, Bosnian, and Croatian are mutually intelligible as standard varieties of the Serbo-Croatian language. Like most cities and areas belonging to the Sandà ¾ak region, they speak a dialect of the Bosnian language known as "Boà ¡njaÃÂki", with the total amount of speakers declared at 74.05%, as it is the most widely-spoken language in the city. The second most spoken language in the city is Montenegrin (16.55%), Albanian speakers amount to 4.34%, and Serbian speakers amount to 3.02% of the population. A total of 1.82% of the population have not declared their native, or primarily-spoken language.
As Roà ¾aje is one of the only Muslim-majority municipalities, it has several mosques within the city, two notable ones being the KuÃÂanska Dà ¾amija and the other being the Sultan Murat II mosque. However, there are 2 Orthodox churches that can be found in the municipality, with the ruined Ruà ¾ica church and GospoÃÂin vrh church allegedly built by the wife of the Serbian king Uroà ¡ I.
Roà ¾aje is predominantly a Muslim-majority city, comprising 96.52% of the total population. The population of Roà ¾aje is composed largely of Bosniaks, who predominantly adhere to Sunni Islam. Historically, Islam has played a significant role in shaping the cultural and social fabric of the town. Mosques are prominent landmarks in the municipality, serving as places of worship and community gathering. However, Roà ¾aje is also characterized by religious diversity. Alongside Islam, there are minority populations practicing Orthodox Christianity, amounting to 3.06% of the total population.
Roà ¾aje is twinned with: