Kukës ( sq-definite, Kukësi) is a city in the

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 l ...

. The city is the capital of the surrounding municipality of Kukës and county of

Kukës Kukës ( sq-definite, Kukësi) is a city in the Republic of Albania. The city is the capital of the surrounding municipality of Kukës and county of Kukës, one of 12 constituent counties of the republic. It spans and had a total population of 1 ...

, one of 12 constituent

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

of the republic. It spans and had a total population of 16,719 people as of 2011.

Geologically Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...

, the terrain of the surrounding area is dominated by mountainous and high terrain. The city sprawls across the Luma Plain within the

Albanian Alps The Accursed Mountains ( sq, Bjeshkët e Nemuna; sh-Cyrl-Latn, Проклетије, Prokletije, ; both translated as "Cursed Mountains"), also known as the Albanian Alps ( sq, Alpet Shqiptare), are a mountain group in the western part of the B ...

between the banks of

Lake Fierza The Fierza Reservoir ( sq, Liqeni i Fierzës) is a reservoir in Albania and Kosovo. The Drin River and parts of the White Drin and Black Drin also runs through the reservoir. The size of the lake is , of which 2.46 km2 belong to Kosovo. It ...

and the hills of the northernmost Korab Mountains and westernmost

Shar Mountains In the Unix operating system, shar (an abbreviation of ''shell archive'') is an archive format created with the Unix shar utility. A shar file is a type of self-extracting archive, because it is a valid shell script, and executing it will recr ...

. At the confluence of the

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

and

White Drin The White Drin or White Drim ( sq, Drini i Bardhë,/ ''Beli Drim'') is a river in Kosovo and northern Albania, a ca. -long headstream of the Drin. Course Kosovo The Kosovo section of the White Drin flows entirely in the semi-karst part of ...

, the

Drin River The Drin (; sq, Drin or ; mk, Дрим, Drim ) is a river in Southern and Southeastern Europe with two distributaries one discharging into the Adriatic Sea and the other one into the Buna River. Its catchment area extends across Albania, ...

originates close to the city's territory.

History

Early Development

Kukës traces its history back over a thousand years. The region that nowadays corresponds to the city territory was inhabited by several ancient

Illyrian tribe This is a list of ancient tribes in the ancient territory of Illyria ( grc-gre, Ἰλλυρία; la, Illyria). The name ''Illyrians'' seems to be the name of a single Illyrian tribe that was the first to come into contact with the ancient Greeks ...

s, as most of Albania. Numerous tombs from the

Illyrians The Illyrians ( grc, Ἰλλυριοί, ''Illyrioi''; la, Illyrii) were a group of Indo-European-speaking peoples who inhabited the western Balkan Peninsula in ancient times. They constituted one of the three main Paleo-Balkan populations, a ...

have been identified at Këneta and Kolsh nearby the city. The residential estate served as a stopping point on a branch road leading to the

Via Egnatia The Via Egnatia was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It crossed Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thracia, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, and European Turkey as a continu ...

, which connected

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

on the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

in the west with

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

on the

Marmara Sea The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via the ...

in the east. Ura e Nermjeme ne Kukes te Vjeter

Illyrian tombs were found at Këneta and Kolsh nearby Kukës. It was a small Roman settlement, a stopping point on a branch road leading to the

, and a minor Ottoman market centre and trading post on the road to southern Kosovo. It was there (Qafa e Kolosjanit) where Albanian resistance stood up against retreating Serbian army in 1912.

Modern Development

Kofi Anann ne kukes gjate Krizes Kosoves 1999

The old Kukës was located at the confluence of the

and

Black Drin The Black Drin, or Black Drim ( sq, Drini i Zi, mk, , translit=Crn Drim) is a river in North Macedonia and Albania. It flows out of Lake Ohrid in Struga, North Macedonia. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . After abo ...

. In 1976 the town was submerged beneath the

Fierza Reservoir The Fierza Reservoir ( sq, Liqeni i Fierzës) is a reservoir in Albania and Kosovo. The Drin River and parts of the White Drin and Black Drin also runs through the reservoir. The size of the lake is , of which 2.46 km2 belong to Kosovo. It ...

, which is held back by a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

. The new town (''Kukësi i Ri'' - "New Kukës") was built in the 1970s in the plateau nearby which is 320m over the sea level. Kukësi i Ri is surrounded by the artificial lake of Fierza and it looks like a peninsula from the above. It is linked with the other parts of the country by three bridges. On the east it faces the snow-covered mountain of Gjallica, 2468 m above sea level. In

modern time The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

s and due to the close proximity to Kosovo, the city achieved worldwide recognition during the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the wa ...

as thousands of Kosovo-Albanian refugees crossed the border and found security in the city. Kukës attracted international attention during the

Kosovo conflict The Kosovo War was an armed conflict in Kosovo that started 28 February 1998 and lasted until 11 June 1999. It was fought by the forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (i.e. Serbia and Montenegro), which controlled Kosovo before the war ...

when 450,000 Kosovo Albanian refugees crossed the frontier and were housed in camps in and around Kukës.

Contemporary

The city was nominated for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

in regard to hospitality and for embracing thousands of refugees during the Kosovo War. It was the first time a town was nominated for the prize. In 2017, the city applied for the 2018

European Green Capital Award The European Green Capital Award is an award for a European city based on its environmental record. The award was launched on 22 May 2008 and the first award was given to Stockholm for the year 2010. The European Commission has long recognised ...

to become

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

's Green Capital. There is a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

and a closed alpine-style

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

, part of an attempt to establish a tourist industry there.

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

maintained a villa there.

Environment

Kukës is situated in the northeast of the country. It lies mostly between

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

s 42° and 5° N, and

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east– west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lette ...

s 20° and 25° E. The city extend strategically within the

and is trapped on four sides by numerous

two-thousander Two-thousanders are mountains that have a height of at least 2,000 metres above sea level, but less than 3,000 metres. The term is used in Alpine circles, especially in Europe (e.g. German: ''Zweitausender''). The two photographs show two t ...

s including

Gjallica Gjallica or Gjallica e Lumës is a limestone mountain at above sea level and the highest summit in the region of Kukës County, Albania. It lies southeast of the city of Kukës, having a cap covered by snow up to June when the winters are cold ...

in the south, Koritnik in the east, Pashtrik in the northeast and several mountains in the west. It lies on the Luma Plain and the southern shores of

. It lies approximately in the southeast of the former location of the city, which was relocated as part of a hydroelectric scheme.

Climate

Like all East Albanians who are in the plain the zone is

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Cfa''), similar to the north of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, due to its interior location but near the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

. Despite its southern location, its distance to the east compensates for this difference. The climate of the city is profoundly impacted by the

in the northeast,

in the east, Korab Mountains in the southeast and the

in the south. The city experiences mostly continental climate. This means that the winters are very cold and snowy and the summers are predominantly hot. The city's temperature varies a large deal across the seasons with a mild spring in April and May, hot summer months from June to August, frequently rainy and windy autumn months in September and October and very cold winter months, often with snow and frost, from December to March. The mean monthly

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various Conversion of units of temperature, temp ...

ranges between in winter and in summer. The mean annual

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

ranges between and depending on

and

Politics

The Kukës municipality was formed in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Arrën, Bicaj, Bushtricë, Grykë-Çajë,

Kalis A kalis (Baybayin: or ; Jawi script: كاليس ; Abecedario: ''cáli'', ''cális'') is a type of double-edged Philippine sword, often with a "wavy" section. The kalis has a double-edged blade, which is commonly straight from the tip but wavy n ...

, Kolsh, Kukës, Malzi,

Shishtavec Shishtavec is a village in Kukës County in northeastern Albania. It was also the seat of the former municipality of the same name. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Kukës. The administrative unit of Shishtavec ...

Shtiqën Shtiqën is a village and a former municipality in Kukës County, Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Kukës. The population at the 2011 census was 3,438.Surroj, Tërthore, Topojan, Ujmisht and Zapod, that became municipal units. The municipality spans and had a total population of 47,985 people as of 2011.

Economy

There is also a local historical museum and a carpet factory. The food industry is confined only to the production of alcoholic drinks produced in a drink factory, and to some local small workshops producing drinks and dairy products. The Highlanders in the region are well known for their developed agriculture. Kukës has a carpet factory whose products are for domestic and trade use. There is also a copper processing factory as the raw material, copper is found in this place. Kukës is a good centre for fishing and walking in the surrounding mountains. Kukës has an Kukes International Airport of its own. It is located approximately about 3.5 km (2.2 mi) south of Kukës city centre. The government of Albania granted permission for it to host international passenger traffic in 2016. Companies like

Air Albania Air Albania is the flag carrier of Albania. The airline maintains its hub and company headquarters at the Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza in Tirana, Albania. Founded in 2018, it operates scheduled air services for passengers to thirt ...

and

Wizz Air Wizz Air, legally incorporated as Wizz Air Hungary Ltd. ( hu, Wizz Air Hungary Légiközlekedési Zrt.) is a Hungarian ultra-low-cost carrier with its head office in Budapest, Hungary. The airline serves many cities across Europe, as well as s ...

operate services to Kukes, with direct flights from some European cities. The A1 highway passes through Kukës.

Sister cities

Shëngjin Shëngjin is a coastal town and a former municipality in Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality of Lezhë. The population at the 2011 census was 8,091.

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 ...

* Prizren,

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

* Lyndhurst,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kukes Municipalities in Kukës County Administrative units of Kukës Towns in Albania Gegëri