Goddess on the Throne Prishtina

Urban traffic of Prishtina unfolds 24/7 under the watchful eyes of the Goddess on the Throne. She towers quietly over vehicles and humans alike. While the city around her constantly expands and rises up, the Goddess on the Throne is an echo travelling to our times from the Stone Age. The modern installation is wrought after the shape of a terracotta figurine that was discovered in the vicinity of Prishtina in the ‘50s.  The installation is erected on one of Prishtina’s many roundabouts. This particular roundabout is situated behind the city’s only stadium ‘Fadil Vokrri”, named after a renowned Kosovo football player. From that roundabout, you can get to the center of Prishtina, drive on to Podujeva or Mitrovica cities, or explore the old-new neighborhood ‘Arbëria’.  In the early morning or just before dusk, the artwork takes on a dramatic quality. The light plays around its intricately interlaced coils, setting it off in a mind-bending outline against the Prishtina sky tinted with urban haze and pierced by new buildings racing upwards. At night, the installation looks like it hovers ethereally over the city that the Goddess on the Throne is an official symbol of, guarding over its people and space.

The original figurine representing the female cult is displayed at the National Museum of Kosovo. The Goddess on the Throne has been chosen as the symbol of Prishtina.