Qukës is a former municipality in the
Elbasan County, eastern
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 of the municipality
Prrenjas
Prrenjas (also written ''Përrenjas'', sq-definite, Përrenjasi) is a town and a municipality in Elbasan County, eastern Albania. The municipality was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Prrenjas, ...
. The population at the 2011 census was 8,211.
[2011 census results]
The municipal unit consists of the villages Berzheshte, Dritaj, Fanje, Gurre, Karkavec, Menik, Pishkash, Pishkash Veri, Qukës-Shkumbin, Qukës-Skenderbej and Skroske. In the later Ottoman era about a quarter of the city of Qukes itself was Bektashi.
[Çarçani, Leonard (2007). ''Besimet Fetare në Prefekturën e Elbasanit''. Page 9: "Nahija e Qukësit do të kishte 7915 myslimanë shqiptarë në 26 fshatra
Bektashianët përbënin ¼ e popullsisë së qytetit"] Via Egnatia
">passes through Qukës, which was a very important trade route in the Balkans during the conquest of the Roman Empire.
References
Former municipalities in Elbasan County
Administrative units of Prrenjas
{{Elbasan-geo-stub