Magurë lies about 14 km west of Lipjan, at the foot of Mount Golesh. An Ottoman register from 1455 records Maguri with 18 households, while the 1566–74 register documents continued settlement. After a period of abandonment, it was re-established after 1862 as a Circassian colony. Circassian families largely left for Turkey in 1913–14, selling their property to Albanian residents.
A sibijan mekteb operated here in the late 19th century. During the socialist period, development of the Golesh magnesite mine brought expansion of the settlement and housing for workers.
Before the 1999 war Magurë had around 273 houses and miners' apartments with approximately 1,870 Albanian residents. During Serbian attacks in September 1998 and April–May 1999, more than 350 buildings were looted, burned or destroyed. The population was fully expelled on 21 March 1999 toward Macedonia, Albania and the Blinaja area.
Source
Source and further reading
Principal source: Prof. Dr. Jusuf Osmani, Vendbanimet e Kosovës 5 — Lypjani, Prishtinë, 2003.
Source entry: MAGURJA
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.