Shkodër [ ʃ kodər], Italian Scutari, German Scutari city and capital of the district in Albania, in the plane at the southeast end of Lake Skadar, the Bune rd, (2011). 76,000 residents.
Largest city as well as the economic and cultural center of Northern Albania; Seat of a Catholic bishop and an Islamic muftiate, college, agricultural research institute, museums, theater; various smaller industrial companies, textile and tobacco industries; southeast of Shkodër hydroelectric power station on the Drin; since 1986 little-used rail connection with Podgorica (Montenegro).
Ancient and medieval town on Rosafa Castle Hill above the confluence of the Drin and Bunë; large medieval fortress, the Khamia-e Plumbit (lead mosque; 2nd half of the 18th century) is built in the style of the classic Ottoman mosque with a rectangular courtyard and portico. Since around 1770 the new town, the center of today’s Shkodër, has been built on the south-eastern shore of Lake Skadar with the Muslim quarter in the north and the Catholic quarter in the south (cathedral, Jesuit college).
The ancient Skodra (Latin Scodra), since the middle of the 3rd century BC. Capital of an Illyrian empire, fell in 168 BC. To Rome and was the capital of the Roman province of Praevalitana under Diocletian. Byzantine since 395, disputed between Zeta, Serbia and Byzantium from the 11th to the 13th centuries, it became the capital of the Balsići in 1360 and came to Venice as Scutari in 1396. 1479–1913 Shkodër belonged to the Ottoman Empire (capital of the Sanjak Albania; 1760–1831 seat of the Bushati Paschal dynasty).
Elbasan
Elbasan, Elbasani, capital of the district of the same name in central Albania, at the exit of the Shkumbin from the mountains into the coastal lowlands, (2011) 78 700 residents.
University; Steel and rolling mill, cement factory, various smaller industrial companies (building material, textile and food production).
Oriental-style old town with mosque and cathedral within a square city wall.
Elbasan was founded on the site of ancient Scampi in 1466 by Sultan Mehmed II as a base for the campaigns against Skanderbeg.
Albanian Orthodox Church
Albanian Orthodox Church, actually Albanian Orthodox Church, the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania; The seat of the head of the church, the “Archbishop of Tirana and all of Albania”, is Tirana; liturgical languages are Albanian and Greek, ecclesiastical training centers the Theological Academy in Tirana (opened 1997) and the seminary in Durrës (1992). The Albanian Orthodox Church has four eparchies (episcopal seats: Tirana, Berat, Gjirokastër, Korçë) and, in addition to the Orthodox Albanians, also includes the Orthodox Greeks, Macedonians, Montenegrins and Aromanians living in Albania (about 7% of the total population according to the 2011 census). – The beginnings of Christianity in what is now Albania go back to the 4th century; since the 8th century it was ecclesiastically under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch. In 1929 the Albanian Orthodox Church declared its autocephaly to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which recognized it in 1937. After 1949 the Albanian Orthodox Church, like all other religious communities in Albania, was exposed to ever more extensive state restrictions; after 1967 (Albania’s declaration as the “first atheist state in the world”) it continued to exist only in the Albanian diaspora in America. The church reconstitution in Albania took place in 1991–98. The head of the Albanian Orthodox Church has been the Greek Metropolitan since 1992 after 1967 (Albania’s declaration as the “first atheist state in the world”) it continued to exist only in the Albanian diaspora in America. The church reconstitution in Albania took place in 1991–98. The Greek-born Metropolitan has been the head of the Albanian Orthodox Church since 1992 after 1967 (Albania’s declaration as the “first atheist state in the world”) it continued to exist only in the Albanian diaspora in America. The church reconstitution in Albania took place in 1991–98. The Greek-born Metropolitan has been the head of the Albanian Orthodox Church since 1992 Anastasios Yannulatos (* 1929).
Berat and Gjirokastër (World Heritage)
Whether Butrint was actually founded by the Homeric hero Aeneas, as the legend reports, will probably never be clarified. According to aristmarketing, it is certain that the ruined city developed from a Roman spa and festival site to an early Christian baptismal center with Byzantine flair and that every era has left its mark.
Berat and Gjirokastër: facts
Official title:
Historical centers of Berat and Gjirokastër
Cultural monument:
Historic cities from the Ottoman era; Gjirokastër: located on the western edge of the basin-like widened valley of the Drino in southern Albania, terraced town complex with citadel (13th century), mosques (18th century), Orthodox cathedral (1774), well-preserved Turkish fortress (after the conquest in 1811 on the Foundations of a Venetian castle built in the 14th century), town houses with defensive character; Berat: located on the Osum River and the rugged Shpiraq massif, old town with the citadel (today the Onufri Museum) and parts of the historic city fortifications; medieval buildings such as the Shën-Mëri church (14th century, with frescoes and icon painting), the king’s mosque (16th century) in the Byzantine tradition with a Greek cross as a floor plan
Continent:
Europe
Country:
Albania
Location:
Gjirokastër and Berat, southern Albania
Appointment:
2005
Meaning:
Exceptionally well-preserved cities from the Ottoman era; outstanding testimony to a society shaped by Islamic culture
