Semetisht lies about 7 km northwest of Theranda, in a valley surrounded by hills. In the northern part of the village, Lugu i Kishës and old burial grounds survive, while traces recorded in the field point to an early history of habitation.
The settlement is mentioned in a document from 1348. An Ottoman register from 1530 records Shemetishta with eight households, while the 1591 register uses the form Shemesta and lists seven. In 1935 the Serbian authorities settled seven Slavic colonist families here. Later decades also brought migration to Istanbul and to towns within Kosovo.
In 1999 Serbian forces burned or destroyed more than 173 houses and other buildings, together with the school, its records and the mosque. The population was expelled to Albania on 25 March 1999. During the war, KLA structures also operated in the village for a period, including a hospital and logistical facilities.
Source
Source and further reading
Principal source: Prof. Dr. Jusuf Osmani, Settlements of Kosovo 4 — Theranda (Suhareka), Prishtina, 2003.
Source entry: SEMETISHTI
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.