Vorë ( sq-definite, Vora) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Tirana County Tirana County (), officially the County of Tirana (), is a county in the Central Region of Albania. It is the tenth largest by area and the most populous of the twelve counties, with more than 912,000 people within an area of . The county border ...

, 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 ...

. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Bërxullë,

Prezë Prezë is a village and a former municipality in Tirana County, 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 Ioni ...

and Vorë, that became municipal units. The seat of the municipality is the town Vorë. The total population is 21,621 as of the 2023 census, in a total area of . The population of the municipal unit is 8,969.

History

There is a medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

in the constituent village of

Gërdec explosions

The municipality of Vorë includes the small village of Gerdec. In the Albanian Armed Forces' munition store in this settlement, an accident occurred on 15 March 2008, which caused a series of large explosions, lasting for several hours. As a result of these explosions, 26 people died and several hundred were injured. Several hundred houses and two small villages were completely destroyed and 1,500 buildings were damaged.

2020 earthquake

On January 28, 2020, a

magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (mathematics), the relative size of an object *Norm (mathematics), a term for the size or length of a vector *Order of ...

5.1

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

struck northwest of Vorë. The official time of the earthquake was 20:48:05 (UTC).

Economy

The area's economy is positively affected by the large number of nearby offices and the proximity of Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza. There is a lot of agriculture but also factories, such as the Coca-Cola Bottling Shqipëria, and consumer services. The town is located on National Road 2, between

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

and

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

, to the west of the capital. It is part of the Tirana-Durrës metropolitan region - industrial and commercial facilities extend along the motorway almost all the way from Tirana to Vorë. Many people who have moved from the countryside to urban areas have settled in places like Vorë or Kamëz. However, these migrants prefer places which lie closer to Tirana and, as a result, other satellite settlements have grown much more rapidly in recent years.

Transportation

Vorë is an important transport hub for Central Albania. It lies in the middle of the long range of hills known as the Kodra e Gjatë which separates the Plain of Tirana from the plains running along the

Erzen The Erzen ( sq-definite, Erzeni) is a river in central Albania. The long Erzen has a catchment area, including the southern Tirana District and eastern Durrës District. Name The ancient Illyrian name of the river was ''Ardaxanos'', which ...

and surrounding Durrës to the west. Vorë is located in a pass, not more than high, which cuts through the Kodra e Gjatë range. Railways, motorways, country roads, and

overhead power line An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit electrical energy along large distances. It consists of one or more conductors (commonly multiples of three) suspended by towers or poles. ...

s are all routed through this pass. Previously there was a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

as well. The roads from Durrës and the railways run by go on from Vorë through

Fushë-Krujë Fushë-Krujë is a city in Durrës County, Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Krujë. The population as of the 2023 census is 17,877. The city has gained wider fame due to President George ...

to the northern part of the country and onwards to Tirana in the east. Trains from Tirana to

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

have to change locomotive at the Vorë station.

Sport

Vorë has a soccer team in the Albanian First Division known as FK Vora. The playing grounds are at Fusha Sportive Vorë with a capacity of 1,000 spectators.

Villages

Villages within the municipality include Ahmetaq, Bërxullë, Breg-Shkozë, Domje, Fushë-Prezë, Gërdec, Gjeç-Kodër, Gjokaj, Kuç, Marikaj, Marqinet, Muçaj, Ndërmjetës, Palaq, Picar,

, Shargë.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vore Municipalities in Tirana County Administrative units of Vorë Towns in Albania