Shkodër County ( sq, Qarku i Shkodrës) is a

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

in northwestern

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 ...

, with the capital in Shkodër. The county spans and had a total population of 197,177 people as of 2021. The county borders on the counties of

Lezhë Lezhë (, sq-definite, Lezha) is a city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. One of the main strongholds of the Labeatai, the earliest of the fortification walls of Lezhë are of typical Illyrian cons ...

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 ...

and the country of

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

. The county consists of five

municipalities 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 ...

: Fushë-Arrëz, Malësi e Madhe, Pukë, Shkodër and

Vau i Dejës Vau i Dejës (), English: Deja's Ford, is a town and a municipality in Shkodër County, northwestern Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Bushat, Hajmel, Shllak, Temal, Vau i Dejës, ...

. During the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

, the area was inhabited by various Illyrian tribes such as the

Ardiaei The Ardiaei were an Illyrian people who resided in the territory of present-day Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia between the Adriatic coast on the south, Konjic on the north, along the Neretva river and its righ ...

s and

Labeatae The Labeatae, Labeatai or Labeates ( grc, Λαβεᾶται; la, Labeatae) were an Illyrian people that lived on the Adriatic coast of southern Illyria, between modern Albania and Montenegro, around Lake Scodra (the ancient ''Lacus Labeatis'') ...

s. Illyria was annexed by

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in the second century BC, becoming an integral part of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

and its successor the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. Falling under Venetian and Ottoman dominion in the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, the modern nation state of

emerged in 1912 following its independence. The climate of the county is profoundly affected by 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 and 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 ...

in the north. It experiences mostly

mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, while the north enjoys continental climate. The summers are predominantly hot and dry, the winters relatively mild, and falls and springs mainly unstable, both in terms of precipitation and temperatures. Heavy rainfall is extremely common in the county and has caused many floodings of the rivers and lakes. The county features notable diversity with the landscape ranging from the snow-capped

in the north to the warm regions of Shkodra Lake and

in the south and southwest. Being a geological continuation of the

Dinaric Alps The Dinaric Alps (), also Dinarides, are a mountain range in Southern and Southcentral Europe, separating the continental Balkan Peninsula from the Adriatic Sea. They stretch from Italy in the northwest through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herz ...

, the Albanian Alps are the highest section and one of the most rugged mountains in

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 ...

. While the Alps occupy the northern part of the territory, the population is concentrated mostly on the Mbishkodra plain, where the largest city is to be found, the cultural and economic centre of Shkodër. The mountainous areas of the county is sparsely populated, where the population density falls. The largest lake of Southern and

Southeastern Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...

, the

Lake Shkodër Lake Skadar ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Скадарско језеро, Skadarsko jezero, ; sq, Liqeni i Shkodrës, ) also called Lake Scutari, Lake Shkodër and Lake Shkodra lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern ...

sprawls in the east and is shared with

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

. With more than 215,000 inhabitants in 2016, the county is the sixth most populous county in Albania, the second most populous county in the Northern Region. The county is ethnically a homogeneous county and mostly inhabited by Gheg Albanians. In addition, Egyptians, Montenegrins and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

s also are present in the ethnic composition of the local population. The country has no

official religion A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a th ...

and

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freed ...

is a right defined by the Constitution of Albania, and the most widely professed

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

in the county is Islam and

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. Muslim 65% Catholic 33% Atheist 1% Orthodox 1%

Geography

Shkodër is one of 12

counties of Albania Counties ( sq, or ), also sometimes known as prefectures (), are the first-level administrative subdivisions of Albania, replacing the earlier districts. Since 2000, there have been 12 counties. Since 2015, they have been divided into 61 munic ...

, located in the west of the Northern Region. It lies 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° 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° E. The county area is and the second largest county by area in Albania and the largest in the Northern Region. It is limited to the counties of

to the northeast and east,

to the southeast and south, the country of

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

in the north and the

in the southwest. The county has a wide variety of topographical sets and natural landscapes. The

, which extends in the north of the county toward Montenegro, is a primarily mountainous region with a high terrain. The alps delineated several sedimentary basins such as the Mbishkodra basin in the center. The highest point in the county is Maja Jezercë at above the Adriatic in the northeast shared with

Kukës County Kukës County (; sq, Qarku i Kukësit) is a landlocked county in northeastern Albania, with the capital in Kukës. The county spans and had a total population of 74,388 people as of 2021. The county borders on the counties of Dibër, Lezhë a ...

. The lowest spot is above the Adriatic, located in the southwest of the county. Thethi Mountains Panorama

Due to the considerable variation in altitude, it makes for a wide range of climate types. The

in the west and

in the north have a great influence to the climate of the county. Most of the county has a usually rainy and hot

as defined by the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

. Mean monthly temperature ranges between in January and in August. The mean annual precipitation ranges between and depending on

and

and prevailing climate type.

Protected areas

Phytogeographically Phytogeography (from Greek φυτόν, ''phytón'' = "plant" and γεωγραφία, ''geographía'' = "geography" meaning also distribution) or botanical geography is the branch of biogeography that is concerned with the geographic distribution o ...

, the county falls within the

Dinaric Mountains mixed forests The Dinaric Mountains mixed forests are a terrestrial ecoregion of the temperate broadleaf and mixed forests biome in Southeastern Europe, according to both the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agenc ...

and

Illyrian deciduous forests The Illyrian deciduous forests is a terrestrial ecoregion in southern Europe, which extends along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It belongs to the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, and is in the Palearctic realm. Geogra ...

terrestrial

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

s of the Palearctic

Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These ...

and Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub. Inside the county, there are a national park, a nature park and a protected landscape, which include the

Theth National Park Theth National Park ( sq, Parku Kombëtar i Thethit) is a national park in northern Albania. Established in 1966, the park covers and is centred on the Albanian Alps, encompassing the larger portion of Shala Valley. The park was established to ...

, Nikaj-Mërtur Regional Nature Park and the Buna River-Velipoja Protected Landscape. The northern bound of the county forms a part of the

European Green Belt The European Green Belt initiative is a grassroots movement for nature conservation and sustainable development along the corridor of the former Iron Curtain. The term refers to both an environmental initiative as well as the area it concer ...

, which serves as a retreat for

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

mammal and

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

species.

Demography

The county of Shkodër is the 6th most populous county 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 Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) estimated the population at 197,177 in 2021. As of the 2011 census, in terms of ethnicity, the county was 91.65% Albanian, 0.32% Egyptian, 0.18% Romani, 0.13% Montenegrin and 0.02%

. By language, 99.77% people spoke Albanian as a first language. Other spoken languages were

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

(0.04%),

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...

(0.03%), Turkish (0.02%) and

(0.01%).

Gallery

File:Theth_and_Theth_National_Park,_Albania_2017.jpg,

Theth Theth ( sq, Thethi) is a small village within Shkodër County, Albania. Following the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Shkodër, and has been declared a Protected Historic Center by the Albanian Government. The commu ...

File:Dalja_e_lumit_te_Bunes_nga_liqeni_i_Shkodres.jpg,

Buna River The Bojana ( cnr, Бојана), also known as the Buna ( sq, Bunë), is a river in Albania and Montenegro which flows into the Adriatic Sea. An outflow of Lake Skadar, measured from the source of the lake's longest tributary, the Morača, t ...

File:Lake_Koman_Albania_2016.jpg, Lake Koman File:Albania._-_panoramio.jpg, Drin Delta File:Rana e hedhun.jpg, Rana e Hedhun File:Kir_Gorge_at_Plan.jpg, Kir Gorge

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shkodër County Shkodër

Geography

Protected areas

Demography

Gallery

See also

References