Raskovë lies about 8 km northeast of Kastriot. The source describes it as a lowland settlement.
In written records, the source traces the settlement at least to 1566–1574, with further references in 1893, 1896. One of the cited registers for 1566–74 records 36 households; more granular demographic details are intentionally omitted here. Following the expulsions of Albanians in 1877–1878, the source records the arrival of Albanian muhajir families from the Sanjak of Niš.
For the period between the two world wars, the source also documents the settlement of Serbian or Montenegrin colonist families. Later emigration of some families to Turkey is also recorded. For 1998–1999, the source documents the expulsion or forced departure of residents, the burning, destruction or damage of homes and other property.
Source
Source and further reading
Principal source: Prof. Dr. Jusuf Osmani, Settlements of Kosovo, Volume 1.
Source entry: BALSHAJ (Raskova)
This page presents only a selected part of a much broader published study of the settlement. For detailed archival references, family histories, microtoponymy and the full treatment of the settlement, consult the original volume.