The capital of Kosovo, which declared it's independence from Serbia in 2008, has a population of nearly 200 000. The city has known some major modification. During the Yugoslav Communist era the vast majority of Ottoman building, mosques and Orthodox churches were destroyed in a misguided effort to modernize Pristina. It suffered large scale destruction by the hand of Serbian Forces, during the Kosovo War at the end of the 90's, against which NATO conducted a number of airstrikes. At the end of the war, almost all the Serbs who used to live in the city fled Kosovo. Today the city, expending at a fast rate, is a mix of large avenues with brand new buildings and small cobblestone streets lined with precarious constructions.