Vorë ( sq-definite, Vora) is a

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 ...

Tirana County Tirana County ( sq, Qarku Tiranë, italic=unset), officially the County of Tirana ( sq, Qarku i Tiranës, italic=unset), is a Counties of Albania, county in the Central Albania, Central Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the tenth largest by ...

, central

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 ...

. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Bërxullë, Prezë and Vorë, that became municipal units. The seat of the municipality is the town Vorë. The total population is 25,511 (2011 census), in a total area of 82.76 km². The population of the former municipality at the 2011 census was 10,901.

History

According to a tradition, the name of Vorë comes from the Albanian word "vorre" (varre) that means "graveyard." According to that tradition, the name comes from the time of Skanderbeg, because there were buried the fallen soldiers at a war. There is a medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

in the constituent village of Prezë.

Gërdec explosions

The municipality of Vorë includes the small village of Gerdec. In the

Albanian Armed Forces The Albanian Armed Forces ( sq, Forcat e Armatosura të Republikës së Shqipërisë (FARSH)) are the military of Albania and were formed after the declaration of independence in 1912. Today, it consists of the General Staff, the Albanian Land ...

' munition store in this settlement, an accident occurred on 15 March 2008, which caused a series of large explosions, lasting for several hours. As a result of these explosions 26 people lost their lives and several hundred were injured. Several hundred houses and two small villages were completely destroyed and 1,500 buildings were damaged.

2020 Earthquake

On January 28, 2020, a magnitude 5.1

Earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

strikes 12 kilometers Northwest of Vore. The official time of the earthquake was 20:48:05 (UTC).

Economy

The area's economy is positively affected by the large number of nearby offices and the proximity of Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza. There is a lot of agriculture but also factories, such as the

Coca-Cola Bottling Shqipëria Coca-Cola Bottling Shqipëria formerly known as Coca-Cola Bottling Enterprise Tirana (CCBET) is an Albanian-based company engaged in bottling and distribution of Coca-Cola soft drink brands in partnership with Sibeg and Acies groups. The company ...

, and consumer services. The town is located on National Road 2, between

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

and Durrës, to the west of the capital. It is part of the Tirana-Durrës metropolitan region - industrial and commercial facilities extend along the motorway almost all the way from Tirana to Vorë. Many people who have moved from the countryside to urban areas have settled in places like Vorë or

Kamëz Kamëz ( sq-definite, Kamza) is a municipality in Tirana County, Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Kamëz and Paskuqan, that became municipal units. The seat of the municipality ...

. However, these migrants prefer places which lie closer to Tirana and, as a result, other satellite settlements have grown much more rapidly in recent years.

Transportation

Vorë is an important transport hub for Central Albania. It lies in the middle of the long range of hills known as the Kodra e Gjatë which separates the Plain of Tirana from the plains running along the

Erzen The Erzen ( sq-definite, Erzeni) is a river in central Albania. The length of Erzen is , while the catchment area is including the southern Tirana District and eastern Durrës District. Name The ancient Illyrian name of the river was ''Ardaxa ...

and surrounding Durrës to the west. Vorë is located in a pass, not more than 60 metres high, which cuts through the Kodra e Gjatë range. Railways, motorways, country roads, overhead power lines are all routed through this pass. Previously there was a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

as well. The roads from Durrës and the railways run by Hekurudha Shqiptare go on from Vorë through Fushë-Krujë to the northern part of the country and onwards to Tirana in the east. Trains from Tirana to

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...

have to change locomotive at the Vorë station.

Sport

Vore has a soccer team in the Albanian First Division known as FK Vora. And the playing grounds are at Fusha Sportive Vorë with a capacity of 1,000 spectators.

Villages

Villages within the municipality include Ahmetaq, Bërxullë, Breg-Shkozë, Domje, Fushë-Prezë, Gërdec, Gjeç-Kodër, Gjokaj, Kuç, Marikaj, Marqinet, Muçaj, Ndërmjetës, Palaq,

Picar Picar is a village and a former municipality in the Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Gjirokastër. The population at the 2011 census was 937.

, Prezë, Shargë, and Rinas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vore Municipalities in Tirana County Administrative units of Vorë Towns in Albania