Lake Batlava

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Lake Batlava (Albanian Liqeni i Batllavës, Serbian Batlavsko jezero) refers to both a lake and resort located in Kosovo.

[edit] History

The local village of Batlava was founded by Serbian workers in electrodistribution. Until 1932, the Ristic family was the only family to have lived in the village. They eventually relocated elsewhere in Serbia due to the start of World War II. Present-day Batlava is an ethnic Albanian village.

[edit] Present day

Lake Batlava is currently the main source of potable water for the cities of Priština and Podujevo. As a result of the cities' population growth, withdrawal regularly exceeds inflow, especially in summer.

As Kosovo is landlocked, Batlava Lake is a popular destination for Kosovars to go and have a swim. Thus, tourism is a large revenue source for the local village. The lake is in the Llap region and is fed by the Batlava River from the north. The villages of Orlan and Koliq are also located quite near the lake.