Blinaja (Lipovica) lies in the Karadak mountains, about 10 km southeast of Gjilan, and is a dispersed hill-and-mountain settlement. At the locality known as Katunishtë, traces of an earlier settlement survive, while local tradition also preserves memories of an old church and links it with Letnicë and Stubllë.
The settlement is mentioned in a record from 1560 and in the Ottoman register of 1566–74 under the form Lipoviça. The place-name Lama e Muhaxhirëve is also preserved, reflecting local memory of population movements.
By 1999 only around 12 Albanian houses remained in the village. During the war the population took refuge in North Macedonia, and at least one Albanian house was burned.
Source
Source and further reading
Principal source: Prof. Dr. Jusuf Osmani, Vendbanimet e Kosovës 6 — Gjilani, Prishtinë, 2004.
Source entry: BLINAJA (Lipovica)
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.