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Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea level. Its old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, described as "a rare example of a well-preserved Ottoman town, built by farmers of large estate". The city is overlooked by Gjirokastër Fortress, where the Gjirokastër National Folklore Festival is held every five years. It is the birthplace of former Albanian communist leader Enver Hoxha, and author Ismail Kadare. The city appears in the historical record dating back in 1336 by its Greek name, gkm, Αργυρόκαστρο, Argyrókastro, label=none, as part of the Byzantine Empire. It became part of the Orthodox Christian diocese of ''Dryinoupolis and Argyrokastro'' after the destruction of nearby Adrianoupolis.Giakoumis, Konstantinos (2010).The Orthodox Church in Albania Under ...
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Gjirokastër Ethnographic Museum
Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a city in the Republic of Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino, at 300 metres above sea level. Its old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, described as "a rare example of a well-preserved Ottoman town, built by farmers of large estate". The city is overlooked by Gjirokastër Fortress, where the Gjirokastër National Folklore Festival is held every five years. It is the birthplace of former Albanian communist leader Enver Hoxha, and author Ismail Kadare. The city appears in the historical record dating back in 1336 by its Greek name, gkm, Αργυρόκαστρο, Argyrókastro, label=none, as part of the Byzantine Empire. It became part of the Orthodox Christian diocese of ''Dryinoupolis and Argyrokastro'' after the destruction of nearby Adrianoupolis.Giakoumis, Konstantinos (2010).The Orthodox Church in Albania Under ...
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List Of Cities And Towns In Albania
This is a list of cities and towns in Albania categorised by municipality, county and population, according to the criteria used by the Institute of Statistics (INSTAT). As of 2014, there were 74 cities classified as urban areas and 2,972 villages as rural areas in Albania. The legislation of Albania provides no official classification on the criteria of how to define a city or urban area. Furthermore, according to the methodology for cities conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), five areas, including Tirana, Durrës, Elbasan, Shkodër and Vlorë, can be classified as urban audit cities. Cities and towns in Albania belong to the following size ranges in terms of the number of population: *One city larger than 250,000: Tirana *Seven cities from 50,000 to 250,000: Durrës, Fier, Elbasan, Kamëz, Korçë, Shkodër and Vlorë *Four cities from 20,000 to 50,000: Berat, Lushnjë, Pogradec and Kavajë List Map Gallery Notes R ...
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Gjirokastër Fortress
Gjirokastër Castle (Albanian language, Albanian: ''Kalaja e Gjirokastrës'' or ''Kalaja e Argjirosë'') is a fortress in Gjirokastër, Albania (during Ottoman rule it was historically known as Ergiri while local Greeks referred to it as Argyrokastro, a name applied also to the castle). Gjirokastër Castle is situated at a height of . The castle dominates the town and overlooks the strategically important route along the river valley. It is open to visitors and contains a military museum featuring captured artillery and memorabilia of the Communist resistance against German occupation, as well as a captured United States Air Force plane to commemorate the Communist regime's struggle against the imperialist western powers. History The citadel has existed in various forms since before the 12th century. Princess Argjiro inspired Albanian author Ismail Kadare in a poem he wrote in the 1960s. According to local Albanian folkloric traditions she lived in the 15th century and jumped ...
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Greeks In Albania
The Greeks of Albania are ethnic Greeks who live in or originate from areas within modern Albania. After ethnic Albanians, they form the second largest ethnic group in the country. They are mostly concentrated in the south of the country, in the areas of the northern part of the historical region of Epirus, in parts of Vlorë County, Gjirokastër, Korçë and Berat County. The area is also known as Northern Epirus. Consequently, the Greeks hailing specifically from Southern Albania are also known as Northern Epirotes ( el, Βορειοηπειρώτες ''Vorioipirotes'', sq, Vorioepirot). The Greeks who live in the "minority zones" of Albania are officially recognised by the Albanian government as the Greek National Minority of Albania ( el, Ελληνική Μειονότητα στην Αλβανία, ''Elliniki Mionotita stin Alvania''; sq, Minoriteti Grek në Shqipëri). In 1913, after the end of five centuries of Ottoman rule, the area was included under the sovereignty o ...
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Republic Of Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south. Tirana is its capital and largest city, followed by Durrës, Vlorë, and Shkodër. Albania displays varied climatic, geological, hydrological, and morphological conditions, defined in an area of . It possesses significant diversity with the landscape ranging from the snow-capped mountains in the Albanian Alps as well as the Korab, Skanderbeg, Pindus and Ceraunian Mountains to the hot and sunny coasts of the Albanian Adriatic and Ionian Sea along the Mediterranean Sea. Albania has been inhabited by different civilisations over time, such as the Illyrians, Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians, and Ott ...
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Autonomous Republic Of Northern Epirus
The Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus ( el, Αὐτόνομος Δημοκρατία τῆς Βορείου Ἠπείρου, translit=Aftónomos Dimokratía tis Voreíou Ipeírou) was a short-lived, self-governing entity founded in the aftermath of the Balkan Wars on 28 February 1914, by the local Greek population in southern Albania (Northern Epirotes). The area, known as Northern Epirus () to Greeks and with a substantial Greek population, was taken by the Greek Army from the Ottoman Empire during the First Balkan War (1912–1913). The Protocol of Florence, however, had assigned it to the newly established Albanian state. This decision was rejected by the local Greeks, and as the Greek Army withdrew to the new border, an autonomous government was set up at Argyrokastron ( el, Αργυρόκαστρον, today Gjirokastër), under the leadership of Georgios Christakis-Zografos, a distinguished local Greek politician and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and with taci ...
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Gjirokastër County
Gjirokastër County ( sq, Qarku i Gjirokastrës) is one of the 12 counties of Albania. The total population in 2021 was 58,031, in an area of 2884 km². Its capital is the city Gjirokastër. Administrative divisions Until 2000, Gjirokastër County was subdivided into three districts: Gjirokastër, Përmet, and Tepelenë. Since the 2015 local government reform, the county consists of the following 7 municipalities: Dropull, Gjirokastër, Këlcyrë, Libohovë, Memaliaj, Përmet and Tepelenë. Before 2015, it consisted of the following 32 municipalities: * Antigonë * Ballaban * Buz * Çarshovë * Cepo * Dishnicë * Dropull i Poshtëm * Dropull i Sipërm * Frashër * Fshat Memaliaj * Gjirokastër * Këlcyrë * Kordhocë * Krahës * Kurvelesh * Lazarat * Libohovë * Lopës * Luftinjë * Lunxhëri * Memaliaj * Odrie * Përmet * Petran * Picar * Pogon * Qendër Libohovë * Qendër Piskovë * Qendër Tepelenë * Qesarat * Sukë * Tepelenë * Zagori The municipalities ...
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Dropull
Dropull ( sq-definite, Dropulli; el, Δρόπολη or Δερόπολη ''Dropoli'' or ''Deropoli'') is a municipality in Gjirokastër County, in southern Albania. The region stretches from south of the city of Gjirokastër to the Greek–Albanian border, along the Drino river. The region's villages are part of the Greek "minority zone" recognized by the Albanian government, in which live majorities of ethnic Greeks. The municipality Dropull was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Dropull i Poshtëm, Dropull i Sipërm and Pogon. The seat of the municipality is the village Sofratikë. According to the 2011 census the total population is 3,503; according to the civil registry of that year, which counts all citizens including those who live abroad, it is 23,247. The municipality covers an area of . Name A city called Hadrianopolis was founded in the region by the Roman emperor Hadrian ( r. 117–138). The Synecdemus of Hierocles, which contains a list of ...
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Gjirokastër National Folklore Festival
Gjirokastër National Folklore Festival () is an artistic festival taking place every five years at Gjirokastër Castle in Gjirokastër, southern Albania. The festival was first held in 1968 and is regarded as the most important event in Albanian culture. The festival showcases Albanian traditional music, dress and dance from Albania, the diaspora, and Albanian inhabited lands throughout the Balkans and Southern Italy. The Gjirokastër Festival followed the tradition of the Folklore Festivals started in Tirana in 1949. History The Gjirokastër National Folklore Festival was preceded by the ''National Festival of Song, Music and Dance'' held in Tiranë, capital of Albania in 1949 and subsequently on November 25–27, 1959. Ten years later, on October 8–16, 1968, the first National Folklore Festival was held in Gjirokastër to celebrate the birthday of Enver Hoxha, the communist leader of Albania and native of the city. The festival was reheld every five years in 1973, 1978, 1 ...
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John Zenevisi
John Zenevisi or Gjon Zenebishi ( sq, Gjon Zenebishi or ''Gjin Zenebishi''; died 1418) was an Albanian magnate that held the estates in Epirus, such as Argyrokastro (Gjirokastër) and Vagenetia. Name Zenevisi can be found with different spellings in historical documents. His name in modern English is usually ''John Zenevisi'' Elsie 2003, p. 53: "Lord John Sarbissa (Zenevisi) was lord of the town of Gjirokastra and the region of Vagenetia and Paracalo (Parakalamo)." or ''John Sarbissa''. In Italian, his name was spelled as ''Giovanni Sarbissa''. In Albanian, his name is mostly spelled as ''Gjin Zenebishi'' (less commonly as ''Zenebishti''), his given name scarcely spelled ''Gjon'', as well. In Serbian his name is spelled like ''Jovan Zenović''. Life The Zenevisi family was from the Zagoria region, between Përmet and Argyrokastro (Gjirokastër). In 1381 and 1384, the Catholic lords of Arta asked the Ottoman troops for protection against the invading Albanian clan of the Zenev ...
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Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania from 1941 until his death in 1985. He was also a member of the Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania, chairman of the Democratic Front of Albania, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces and ruled the country from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the 22nd Prime Minister of Albania from 1944 to 1954 and at various times was both foreign minister and defence minister of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. Hoxha was born in Gjirokastër in 1908 and became a grammar school teacher in 1936. Following the Italian invasion of Albania, he joined the Party of Labour of Albania at its creation in 1941 in the Soviet Union. He was elected First Secretary in March 1943 at the age of 34. Less than two years after the liberation of the country ...
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Ismail Kadare
Ismail Kadare (; spelled Ismaïl Kadaré in French; born on 28 January 1936) is an Albanian novelist, poet, essayist, screenwriter, and playwright. He is a leading international literary figure and intellectual. He focused on poetry until the publication of his first novel, '' The General of the Dead Army'', which made him famous internationally. In 1992, Kadare was awarded the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca; in 1998, the Herder Prize; in 2005, the inaugural Man Booker International Prize; in 2009, the Prince of Asturias Award of Arts; and in 2015, the Jerusalem Prize. He was awarded the Park Kyong-ni Prize in 2019, and the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 2020. In 1996, France made him a foreign associate of the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques of France, and in 2016, he was a '' Commandeur de la Légion d'Honneur'' recipient. He has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature 15 times. Since the 1990s, Kadare has been asked by both major political ...
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