Rufc I Vjetër lies about 4 km west of Lipjan. Local tradition says the settlement moved several times, including because of plague, and traces of earlier habitation remain at former sites. A register from 1455 records the forms Dolina Rushince and Gorna Rushince, while 16th-century documents show continuity of the name.
Circassian families settled in the area in 1864 and left for Turkey in 1878. After the expulsions from the Sanjak of Niš in 1877–78, Albanian muhajir families also settled here. Late-19th-century yearbooks document the settlement as Ruhca.
In 1999 Rufc I Vjetër had around 80 Albanian houses and four Serbian families. The village escaped widespread destruction during the Serbian offensives, although residents experienced pressure and violence; from 19 to 30 April most of the population took shelter in Kroibardh.
Source
Source and further reading
Principal source: Prof. Dr. Jusuf Osmani, Vendbanimet e Kosovës 5 — Lypjani, Prishtinë, 2003.
Source entry: RUFCI I VJETËR
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.