Medvec lies about 18 km northwest of Lipjan, on the eastern side of Mount Golesh. It was once divided into Medveci i Madh and Medveci i Vogël. Wells, stones, roof tiles and bricks remain at the site of Medveci i Vogël, evidence of a settlement destroyed after 1913.
The Deviç monastery register of 1763 mentions Christian residents of the settlement, while late-19th-century yearbooks use the form Medvegja. From 1921, 13 Serbian and Montenegrin colonist families were settled in the area. After 1948, emigrant families from Albania were also housed near the magnesite mine; most later migrated to the United States.
In 1999 Medvec had around 130 Albanian and Roma houses and four Montenegrin families, with about 640 residents. One young Albanian man was killed during the war; the population largely remained confined within the village.
Source
Source and further reading
Principal source: Prof. Dr. Jusuf Osmani, Vendbanimet e Kosovës 5 — Lypjani, Prishtinë, 2003.
Source entry: RREZORI (Medveci)
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.