Ballsh ( sq-definite, Ballshi) is a town and a former
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in
Fier County
Fier County (; sq, Qarku Fier, italic=unset), officially the County of Fier ( sq, Qarku i Fierit, italic=unset), is a county in the Southern Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the eighth largest by area and the third most populous of the ...
, southern
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 ...
. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision and the seat of the municipality
Mallakastër
Mallakastër ( sq-definite, Mallakastra) is a region and a municipality in Fier County, southwestern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the present municipalities Aranitas, Ballsh, Fratar, Greshicë, Hekal, Kutë, Ngraçan, Qendër Du ...
. It was the seat of the former
District of Mallakastër. The population at the 2011 census was 7,657.
[2011 census results]
Name
It was centre of Malkasra (Turkish of "
Mallakastër
Mallakastër ( sq-definite, Mallakastra) is a region and a municipality in Fier County, southwestern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the present municipalities Aranitas, Ballsh, Fratar, Greshicë, Hekal, Kutë, Ngraçan, Qendër Du ...
") kaza in
Sanjak of Berat
The Sanjak of Avlona ( tr, Avlonya Sancağı, al, Sanxhaku i Vlorës; sometimes referred to as the Sanjak of Berat because of its county town) was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire which county town was Berat in Albania. It was establis ...
in
Yanya Vilayet during Ottoman rule between 1670 and 1912. Its name evolved from the name of the ancient town
Byllis
Byllis ( gr, Βύλλις; sq, Bylis; la, Byllis) or Bullis or Boullis (Βουλλίς) was an ancient city and the chief settlement of the Illyrian tribe of the Bylliones, traditionally located in southern Illyria. In Hellenistic times the ci ...
, located in proximity of Ballsh. Church sources report the variants ''Byllis'', ''Bellis'', ''Ballis'' and ''Vallis''.
History
Ballsh is close to the ancient city of
Byllis
Byllis ( gr, Βύλλις; sq, Bylis; la, Byllis) or Bullis or Boullis (Βουλλίς) was an ancient city and the chief settlement of the Illyrian tribe of the Bylliones, traditionally located in southern Illyria. In Hellenistic times the ci ...
, a city during the
Illyria
In classical antiquity, Illyria (; grc, Ἰλλυρία, ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; la, Illyria, ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyr ...
era. The Slavic invasions of the 6th and 7th centuries caused the decline of Byllis while Ballsh was built with materials plundered from Byllis..
Economy
The city's surrounding fields are rich in crude
petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
and are dotted by a series of
oil well
An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas may ...
s established during the
communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
dictatorship
A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...
. Only a fraction of these wells are operating today, but the city includes a working
refinery
A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value.
Types of refineries
Different types of refineries ...
, and outputs of
naphtha
Naphtha ( or ) is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture.
Mixtures labelled ''naphtha'' have been produced from natural gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and the distillation of coal tar and peat. In different industries and regions ''n ...
s are significant.
The refinery was owned by
Taçi Oil
Taçi Oil is an Albanian petroleum company and oil distributor in Albania headquartered in Tirana.
The company's revenue for 2012 was €350 million. and had over 290 petrol stations through Albania and over 850 employees.
In 2009 Taçi Oil purc ...
through ARMO (Anika Mercuria Refinery Associated Oil, owned by Anika Enterprises). In 2013 ARMO was sold to Heaney Assets Corporation, an Azerbaijan corporation.
Sports
The city's team
KS Bylis Ballsh
KF Bylis, also known as Bylis Ballsh, is an Albanian football club based in Ballsh, Mallakastër District. The club's home ground is the Adush Muça Stadium and they currently compete in the Kategoria Superiore.
History
Early history
The club ...
, plays at the
Adush Muça Stadium.
See also
*
Ballshi inscription
The Ballshi inscription is an epigraph from the time of the Bulgarian Prince ('' Knyaz'') Boris I (852–889) testifying to the christianization of Bulgaria. The inscription was unearthed near Ballshi, Albania, in 1918.
The Medieval Greek–lan ...
*
Epitaph of Gllavenica
The Epitaph of Gllavenica ( sq, Epitafi I Gllavenicës) is a 14th-century epitaph, written on a shroud, and embroidered by a monk named Savia from Ballsh, Albania. Its name stems from the ancient name of Ballsh. The shroud is made of silk, linen a ...
References
Former municipalities in Fier County
Administrative units of Mallakastër
Towns in Albania
{{Fier-geo-stub