Baicë, treated in the volume as Baja (Bainca), lies in Drenica about 18–19 km west of Lipjan. Its territory contains a fortified site which, on the basis of material remains and the terrain, is associated with the type of Illyrian hillforts known locally as gjytete. Near the boundary with Nikaj, traces of a church and surrounding habitation also survive.
A register from 1455 records 29 households, while late-19th-century yearbooks use the form Banja-i Drenica. In 1935 the Yugoslav authorities settled four Serbian and Montenegrin colonist families here; the Yugoslav Kingdom also brought migration of residents toward Turkey.
In 1999 the village had 85 houses and around 850 Albanian residents. During the 1998–99 offensives, 68 houses and many other buildings were burned or destroyed; a tower of cultural and historical value was also lost.
Source
Source and further reading
Principal source: Prof. Dr. Jusuf Osmani, Vendbanimet e Kosovës 5 — Lypjani, Prishtinë, 2003.
Source entry: BAJA (Bainca)
This page presents a selected summary from the published study of the settlement. For complete archival references, family histories, microtoponymy and the full treatment, consult the original volume.