Dimal formerly known as Ura Vajgurore, or as Ura e Hasan Beut, is a town in

Berat County Berat County (; ), officially the County of Berat (), is a Counties of Albania, county in the Southern Albania, Southern Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the ninth largest by area and the List of counties of Albania by population, ninth m ...

, central

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. At the 2015 local government reform it was merged with the former municipalities (now municipal units)

Cukalat Cukalat is a village and a former municipality in Berat County, central Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality of Dimal. The population at the 2011 census was 3,045. Localities * Donofrosë * Sla ...

, Kutalli and

Poshnjë Poshnjë is a village and a former municipality in Berat County, central Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Dimal, Albania, Dimal. The population at the 2011 census was 7,375.

to form a new municipality, that was officially renamed to

Dimal Dimal may refer to * Dimal (municipality), in Berat County, central Albania * Dimal (rapper), from Ukraine {{disamb, geo ...

in April 2021. The seat of the municipality Dimal is the town Ura Vajgurore, that was not renamed in 2021. The population at the 2011 census was 7,232.

History

Ruins in the style of the old Gorica bridge in Berat attest to the existence of early inhabitants and what would later become the town today. The contemporary city has its origins in recent displacements of residents from nearby villages over the last 100 years. The building of bridges has been the mark of continuity in the town's history. Known by various names, such as Bridge of Hasan Bey, the contemporary name comes from a cement and iron bridge believed to have been built by the Italians as infrastructure for oil pipelines that connected Kuçovë with Vlorë. Local residents call it the "Old Bridge." Today it is a small town, known as a crossroad between

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and ea ...

and

Kuçovë Kuçovë ( sq-definite, Kuçova) is a municipality in south-central Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Kozare, Kuçovë, Lumas and Perondi, which all became municipal units. The ...

. Dimal was the scene of violent riots in 1997 between supporters of the political parties PS and PD, in the context of the Albanian unrest of 1997 that was ignited by failing pyramid schemes. Four police officers were killed and six others were injured.

Geography

The town is situated on both banks of the river

Osum The Osum is a river in southern Albania, one of the source rivers of the Seman. It is long and its drainage basin is . Its average discharge is . Its source is in the southwestern part of the Korçë County, near the village of Vithkuq at an a ...

, at the foot of low mountains.

Demographics

The population is composed of a mix between locals who are from the other side of town, with predominantly Orthodox surnames, and migrants of the 1960s onwards who originate from villages near Berat, and nearby villages such as Fief, Kutalli, Konizbalte, etc.. Primarily a middle to low-aged population, similar to other Albanian communities in transition, Ura Vajgurore has witnessed an increase in external and internal migration, and immigration of people from mountainous villages of

. The economy has long been recognized for surface mining of stone, and recently for processing granulated

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

, lime, etc.. The main activities are

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

, etc..

Culture

The town contains a number of educated residents with higher education in distinction to the rest of the population. There are a few notable personalities that originate from this city, like Llazar Fype (writer). Of considerable notoriety is the local Polyphonic Albanian folk music group.

Notable people

*Llazar Fype, writer

References

{{Dimal div Administrative units of Dimal, Albania Towns in Albania