Korçë District

Korçë District (), was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 counties. It had a population of 143,499 in 2001, and an area of . Its capital was the city of Korçë. Its territory is now part of Korçë County: the municipalities of Korçë, Maliq and Pustec.

Korçë District was considered one of two main minority regions of the country's south.
During World War I the French created the Republic of Korça in the area.

Geography

It had an area of , making it the largest district in Albania. It was situated in the southeastern part of Albania, from lat. 40°27'N to lat. 40°57'N and from long. 21°4'E to 20°19'E.

It was bordered by Pogradec District to the north, by Greece with the Florina regional unit (Greek Macedonia) to the east, Devoll District to the southeast, by Kolonjë District and Përmet District to the southwest, and by Gramsh District and Skrapar District on the west.

History

19th century

Yuriy Venelin (1802–1839) a Russian scholar who specialised in Bulgarian studies noted that the Korçë District in 1833 (at which point its boundaries were quite different from the modern district, including all of Devoll and various other differences) had 50 villages with two thirds being Muslim and a third being Christian. Settlements of significance during that time were Moscopole, Vithkuq, Kamenicë, Floq, Boboshticë, Drenovë, Borje, Voskop and so on. Houses of the area numbered a total of 2400 containing some 22,000 people according to the Ottoman census. The Muslims and Christians of the region were noted as being "Albanians by nationality — speaking the same language, having the same customs" involved in agricultural employment, many unskilled and illiterate apart from those in Korçë and Moscopole that conduct trade. The villagers of Moscopole were mainly Aromanians in addition to Greeks and Albanians, while some Bulgarians living nearby. "The district of Korcha includes some 50 villages. One third of them are Christian, the others — Mohammedan. More important are Voskopol or Moskopol, Vitkuki, Kamenitsa, Flioki, Boboshtitsa, Drenovo, Borya, Boskopy and others. The total number of the houses is almost 2400 and the number of the inhabitants is 22,000, according to the royal census taken in that district. Both the Turks (the Moslems) and the Christians are Albanians by nationality — speaking the same language, having the same customs, illiterate and unskilled, poor farmers and shepherds, with the exception of the inhabitants of Korcha and Moskopol, who carry on some trade. The inhabitants of Voskopol are Walachians; there also are some Bulgarians in the vicinity."; p.83. "Юрий Венелин, Древние и нынешние болгаре (Yuril Venelin, Ancient and modern Bulgarians), Moscow, 1833, pp.2–3, 11–12; the original is in Russian."

20th century

In the 1908 statistics of Amadore Virgili as presented by Nicholas Cassavetes for the Pan-Epirotic Union of Northern Epirus showed the entire kaza of Korçë, which also included surrounding rural areas as well as the modern Devoll District as having a Muslim majority which was not differentiated by nationality alongside a Christian minority of which there were 43,800 Albanian speakers and 1,214 Aromanians (Vlachs), with no Greek speakers found, while Bulgarians were not counted for.Cassavetes, Nicholas J (1919). ''The Question of Northern Epirus in the Peace Conference''. New York: Pan-Epirotic Union of Northern Epirus, American Branch, 1919. Page 77. Cited in Psomas, Lambros (2008), ''The Religious and Ethnographic Synthesis of the Population of Southern Albania (Northern Epirus) in the Beginning of the 20th Century'', discusses on pages 248–252. For the same area, the 1913 statistics of Destani, which did not differentiate subjects by faith but only language, found 89829 Albanian speakers, 3190 Aromanian speakers, 3985 Bulgarian speakers, no Greek speakers and 527 "others".Psomas, Lambros (2008). ''The Religious and Ethnographic Synthesis of the Population of Southern Albania (Northern Epirus) in the Beginning of the 20th Century''. Statistics of Destani discussed on 256–260 With regard to the Aromanian population, Lambros Psomas argues the study of Virgili likely undercounted the Aromanian speakers while the study of Destani is more reliable with regard to the Aromanians but he also argues the study of Destani was pro-Albanian in motive and drastically undercounted the number of Greek speakers in the Himara and Leskovik kazas, while Psomas also excludes Korçë from the collection of regions with notable Greek-speaking presence. British historian Tom Winnifrith states that during the delineation of the Greek-Albanian border a part of the local pro-Greek element included communities whose native speech was Greek.

In 1919, US diplomat Joseph Emerson Haven on special detail in Albania wrote a detailed report regarding the political circumstances in the country. Haven wrote that the province of Korçë numbered some 60,000 people of whom 18% had a preference for union with Greece and within that group half were doing so from fear or from being promised financial gain through attainment of Muslim properties and land. "One commissioner from the delegation Sederholm noted the population of Korçë being “entirely Albanian” with “the number of Greeks there” being “quite insignificant”.... "Joseph Emerson Haven, a U.S. diplomat based in Italy on special detail in Albania during the spring of 1919, had already come to a similar conclusion. In his detailed report on the political situation in the country, Haven suggested that the disputed province of Korçë had roughly 60,000 inhabitants, roughly 18 per cent of whom were in favour of Greek sovereignty. Of those 18 per cent, he argued, half were seeking that end out of fear or had been promised material gain in the form of Moslem land and property.... Haven found that the ‘most intense hatred and loathing exists in Southern Albania for Greece, this hatred being shown by both Orthodox Christians and Musselmen. The cry is “We are Albanians first and religionists second.” With the exception of comparatively few residents in the province of Coritsa orçëand a few towns in the region of Chimara imarë the country is absolutely Albanian in sentiment." Haven also noted that in 1919 there was a degree of antipathy shown by both Muslims and Christians in the district toward Greece, and an ethnic affinity among Albanians that, at the time, came before religious affinity. At the Peace Conference in Paris, the Greek delegation argued that all Christians in North Epirus, including those that spoke Albanian, should be classified as Greeks because, they argued, their sentiments were Greek, and they had a common religion with Greeks; Lambros Psomas, however, argued that this did not apply in Korçë kaza, where there were many Orthodox Albanian nationalists.

Demographics

Ethnicity

According to the 2011 Albanian census most of the population of the district of Korçë are ethnic Albanians, while a significant number of ethnic minorities such as Aromanians and Greeks also inhabit the district. Nowadays, Aromanians are found mainly residing in rural communities surrounding Korçë and according to the Albanian government census number some 5,000 people.

In 2002 it was reported that Greek-speakers were also present in the city of Korçë and in the area surrounding it. A Slavic minority most concentrated in the municipality of Pustec also exists, as does a scattered presence of Romani people.

Religion

The largest religions in the district of Korçë are Orthodox Christianity and Islam. The Muslims are mainly Albanians and are divided between Sunni, Bektashi and Halveti groups. The Orthodox Christians are mainly Ethnic Albanian Orthodox Christians, Orthodox Albanians, and Aromanians. Additionally, among the Christians, there is a presence of Protestants, dating back to the actions of Gjerasim Qiriazi. Finally, a presence of Catholics was detected in the 2011 census.

Economy

During the 20th century, Korçë gained a substantial industrial capacity in addition to its historic role as a commercial and agricultural centre. The plateau on which the city stands is highly fertile and is one of Albania's main wheat-growing areas. Local industries include the manufacture of knitwear, rugs, textiles, flour-milling, brewing, and sugar-refining. Deposits of lignite coal are mined in the mountains nearby such as Mborje- Drenovë. The city is home to the nationally famous Birra Korça.

Administrative divisions

The district consisted of the following municipalities:

* Drenovë
*Gorë
*Korçë
*Lekas
* Libonik
*Maliq
*Moglicë
* Mollaj
* Pirg
*Pojan
*Pustec (Liqenas)
* Qendër Bulgarec
*Vithkuq
* Voskop
* Voskopojë
* Vreshtaz

Other communities and settlements

* Baban
* Bickë
* Boboshticë
* Burim
* Cerja
* Dardhë
* Diellas
* Drenovë
* Cangonj
* Ekmeçi
* Floq
* Gollomboç
* Goricë e Madhë
* Goricë e Vogël
* Kallamas
* Kamenicë
* Kapshticë
* Kozeli
* Kreshpanj
* Lajthizë
* Mançurisht
* Pilur
* Plasë
* Progër
* Pustec
* Rakickë
* Shtyllë
* Sinicë
* Voskopoja (Moscopole)
* Vreshtas
* Vranisht
* Zaroshkë
* Zëmblak
* Zvezdë

Notable residents

* Pellumb Kulla (born 1940), diplomat and author
* Ibrahim Agha Father of Muhammad Ali Pasha
* Mustafa Naili Pasha (1798-1871) Born in Pojan near Zëmblak, Ottoman statesmen who held the title of Grand Vizier twice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Korce District
Districts of Albania
Geography of Korçë County