Trepça is located as a small town in Mitrovica, Kosovo with a rich mining history dating back to Roman times, (based on the document in the Dubrovnik archive of 1303). The modern exploitation of the mines began in 1927 by a London-based company, and Trepça quickly became a major industrial pillar of the Kosovo economy. Regular production began in 1930, and in the following years, investments were made in lead and zinc metallurgy, and other metal processing factories were built in different centres of Kosovo.

In the 1950s and 1960s, significant investments were made in the mining and metallurgy industries, and factories for processing lead, zinc, and other metals were built in Mitrovica, Peja, Gjakova, Prizren, Gjilan, Vushtrri, and Skenderaj. However, in the 90s, the production of Trepça mines declined due to the suppression of Kosovo’s autonomy and the expulsion of Albanian workers. After the declaration of Kosovo’s independence, Trepça came under the administration of the Kosovo Privatization Agency and later transformed into a joint-stock company with 80% of its shares owned by the government of Kosovo and 20% owned by the workers of Trepça.

Considering this major history and the impact of Trepça in the economical and socio-cultural field, we as “TrepçArt Factories” seek to promote the integrity and the industrial heritage of Trepça in creative ways to create opportunities to attract local and foreign investors in the near future. Except for underground values, it’s time to turn our attention to Trepça’s industrial heritage and collective memory. That’s why we believe that Trepça, with its rich mining history and not only, represents an important part of the cultural heritage of the region and Kosovo’s development itself. Keeping in mind that for two decades most of the buildings have been abandoned, there is still an opportunity for a decline in the preservation and promotion of this heritage which will lead toward the potential for sustainable development of the region through tourism and job creation.