Opterushë lies about 6-7 km southeast of Rahovec. It is a compact settlement. Its elevation is about 420 metres above sea level. Archaeological investigations were undertaken at Arefshicë, while Doric columns were found at Gurishtë. Old burial grounds and traces of churches survive near the centre of the village; some identifications with Illyrian-Roman periods are also preserved in local tradition.
Written records trace the settlement at least to 1530, with further references in 1591, 1689. Historical forms of the name recorded in documents include Opterusha, Hopterusha. A register from 1530 records 30 households. Around 1879, the settlement formed part of the Bajrak of Suharekës and had 89 households. In 1912, 5 people were killed during violence affecting the settlement.
In 1912, five people were killed at the Morina tower. During the 1998 offensives the village was burned; the school and its records, library, local office, mosque and the Kara Mahmut Rrotulla tower were destroyed. Thirty-two people from Apterusha were killed or disappeared, and the population was forced to leave.
Source
Source and further reading
Principal source: Prof. Dr. Jusuf Osmani, Settlements of Kosovo 2 — Rahovec, second edition, Prishtina, 2008.
Source entry: APTERRUSHA
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.