ABSTRACT
The post-war situation in Kosovo is often read through the prism of ethnicity, and thus understood as a conflict between Albanians and Serbs, and clashing territorial claims combined with contrasting visions for the future of the Kosovo territorial space. As this chapter shows, it is the notion of contested statehood that strongly shapes place-making and space-making practices in Kosovo. The statebuilding in Kosovo expressed through the manifestations of its founders as well as through the divisions in Mitrovica are clearly part of the greater Yugoslavian conflict and territorial conundrum. Statebuilding invariably produces a re-organisation of space and place as it disrupts various place-identity processes. Place-making is the process through which an abstract idea or symbolic meaning is translated into material reality. The question of the conservation of cultural heritage seems to be an important concern in contemporary Kosovo. In Kosovo, the city of Prizren and specifically its castle, are often evoked when it comes to discussions around cultural heritage.
