Dersniku lies about 2 km east of Klina. Recorded traces around the settlement include pottery fragments, old burial grounds, bridge remains, fortification traces, evidence of earlier habitation and use of the area.
Some of these traces are associated with the Illyrian-Dardanian and Roman periods. The settlement appears in written records from 1206, with further references in 1282, 1321. Historical forms of the name recorded in documents include Dersniku. A register from 1455 records 104 households.
The 20th century also brought emigration of residents to the United States and Croatia. During the interwar period, 3 Serbian or Montenegrin colonist families were settled here. During the 1998–1999 war, the settlement experienced burning and destruction.
Source
Source and further reading
Principal source: Prof. Dr. Jusuf Osmani, Settlements of Kosovo 3 — Klina, Prishtina, 2003.
Source entry: DERSNIKU
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.