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Vlorë(Albanian: Vlorë or Vlora, (locally) Vlonë or Vlona, Template:Lang-it, Template:Lang-el, Template:Lang-tr) is the second largest port city of Albania, after Durrës, with a population of about 85,000 (2003 estimate).

Situation

It is located in Albania, in the District of Vlorë and County of Vlorë at 40°28′N 19°29′E / 40.467°N 19.483°E / 40.467; 19.483. Vlorë occupies an eminence near the Bay of Vlorë, an inlet of the facing the Adriatic Sea, almost surrounded by mountains. The port of Vlorë is the closest in proximity to the port of Bari, Italy. The island of Sazan is in close proximity to the city, strategically located at the entrance to the Bay of Vlorë.

The town is about 11/2 m. from the sea, and has rather a pleasant appearance cith its minarets and its palace, surrounded with gardens and olive-groves. Valonia, a material largely used by tanners, is the pericarp of an acorn obtained in the neighboring oakvoods, and derives its name from Valona, the ancient name of Vlorë. Many locals of the city still refer to it as Vlonë or Vlona.

History

Vlorë is one of the oldest cities of Albania. It was founded by Greeks in the 6th century BC and named Aulōn, one of three such colonies on the coast of Illyria, mentioned for the first time by Ptolemy (Geographia, III, xii, 2). Other geographical documents, such as Peutinger's "Tabula" and the "Synecdemus" of Hierocles, also mention it. The city was an important port of the Roman Empire, when it was part of Epirus Nova.

It became an episcopal see in the 5th century. Among the known bishops are Nazarius, in 458, and Soter, in 553 (Farlati, "Illyricum sacrum", VII, 397-401). The diocese at that time belonged to the Patriarchate of Rome. In 733 it was annexed, with all eastern Illyricum, to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, and yet it is not mentioned in any Notitiae episcopatuum of that Church. The bishopric had probably been suppressed, for, though the Bulgarians had been in possession of this country for some time, Aulon is not mentioned in the "Notitiae episcopatuum" of the Patriarchate of Achrida.

Vlorë played a central role in the conflicts between the Norman Kingdom of Sicily and the Byzantine Empire during the 11th and 12th centuries. During the Latin domination a Latin see was established, and Eubel (Hierarchia catholica medii aevi, I, 124) mentions several of its bishops. Several of the Latin bishops mentioned by Le Quien (Oriens christianus, III, 855-8), and whom Eubel (I, 541) mentions under the See of Valanea in Syria, belong either to Aulon in Greece (now Salona) or to Aulon in Albania (Vlorë).

Serbia captured Vlorë, or Valona, as it was also called, in 1345 and it passed to the Ottoman Empire in 1464; and after being in Venetian possession in 1690, was restored to the Turks in 1691, becoming a caza of the sandjak of Berat in the vilayet (province) of Janina. The city had about 10,000 inhabitants; there was a Catholic parish, which belonged to the Archdiocese of Durrës; it persisted nominally as a Titular see, suffragan of Durrës.

In 1851 it suffered severely from an earthquake.

Ismail Qemali declared Albania's independence in Vlorë on November 28, 1912, during the First Balkan War. The city became Albania's first capital but was invaded by Italy in 1914 and occupied until 1920. Italy again invaded Vlorë in 1939, following which Nazi Germany occupied the city until 1944.

During World War II, the island of Sazan in Bay of Vlorë became the site of a German and Italian submarine base and naval installations; these were heavily bombed by the Allies.

After WWII, under communism, the port was leased to the Soviet Union as a submarine base, and played an important part in the conflict between Enver Hoxha and Khrushchev in 1960-1961, as the Soviet Union had made considerable investments in the naval facilities and objected strongly to the loss of them as a consequence of Albania denouncing the USSR as 'revisionist' and taking the Chinese side in the split in the world communist movement. The Soviet Union threatened to occupy Vlora with Soviet troops in April 1961, and cut off all Soviet economic, military and technical aid to Albania. The threat was not carried out, as a result of the simultaneous development of the Cuban missiles crisis, but Hoxha realized how vulnerable Albania was, and, after the USSR invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, he built the tens of thousands of ubiquitous concrete bunkers that still litter the entire Albanian landscape. Under Hoxha Vlorë was an important recruiting centre for the Sigurimi, the secret police.

In 1997, Vlorë was the center of popular riots after the collapse of several fraudulent investment schemes that led to the downfall of the Sali Berisha administration, and almost precipitated the country into a civil war.

Economy

Vlorë remains a major seaport and commercial centre, with a significant fishing and industrial sector. The surrounding region produces petroleum, natural gas, bitumen and salt. The city is also the location of important installations of the Albanian Navy.

Vlorë has grown in importance as an agricultural centre with very large-scale planting of olive and fruit trees, and as a centre of the food processing, oil and bitumen export industries. ra

The surrounding district is mainly agricultural and pastoral, producing oats, maize, otton, olive oil, cattle, sheep, skins, hides and butter. These commodities are exported.

Tourism has become a major industry in recent years, with many hotels, recreational centers, and vast beaches. It is a pleasant place to relax, to have a coffee and admire the beautiful view over the Bay of Vlorë.

People

• Kristaq Mitro - film director
• Ibrahim Muçaj - film director
• Haxhi Dalipi - musician, composer, conducter.
• Skënder Kamberi - painter
• Nestor Jonuzi - painter
• Josif Gjipali - tenor
• Agim Sulaj - painter
• Aurela Gaçe - singer
• PONI - singer
• Zani Caushi- gangster
• Ibrahim Sulejman Vogli- boxer

Sister Cities

• Hollywood, Florida, USA

See also

• History of Albania
• List of cities in Albania
• Tourism in Albania

Sources and References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
• "Vlorë." Encyclopædia Britannica, 2005
• "Vlorë." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 2004
• "Vlorë or Vlora, Ital. Valona, ancient Aulon." Crystal Reference Encyclopedia, 2001
• Tourism Information about Vlore, Albania (Written by American Robert Nagle in 2002).

External links

• Municipality of Vlora, official site. (Site in Albanian and partial in English)
• Vlora Live (Albanian)
• Site of Vlora City (Albanian)
• Photos of Vlorë (site in Albanian)
• Picture Gallery of Vlora (Website in English)
• Flamurtari of Vlora vs Partizan in Belgrade (soccer game)
• Barcelona vs Flamurtari of Vlora in Spain (soccer game)

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