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Vlorë

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Khirurg (talk | contribs) at 06:56, 16 July 2008 (This one stays. "Founded by Greeks in 6th century BC" is quite clear.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 06:56, 16 July 2008 by Khirurg (talk | contribs) (This one stays. "Founded by Greeks in 6th century BC" is quite clear.)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Place in Vlorë County, Albania
Vlorë Vlora
View over VloraView over Vlora
CountryAlbania
CountyVlorë County
DistrictVlorë District
Founded6th century BC
Government
 • MayorShpëtim Gjika (PS)
Elevation0 m (0 ft)
Population
 • Total124,000
Time zoneUTC+1 (Central European Time)

Vlorë or Vlora (locally, Vlonë or Vlona) is the second largest port city of Albania, after Durrës, with a population of about 124,000 (2006 estimate).

Location

The city 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 and is just 70 nautical miles from Salento's coasts. The island of Sazan is in close proximity to the city, strategically located at the entrance to the Bay of Vlorë. The town has rather a pleasant appearance, surrounded with gardens and olive groves. Valonia, a material largely used by tanners, is the pericarp of an acorn obtained in the neighboring oak forests, 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 shoreline
Bektashi center in Vlora
Cemetery of the Partisans

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 was captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1417; 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

Beach in Vlora
Municipal Building, Bashkia e Vlores
Mosque in Vlora
Port of Vlora

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.

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

Sister Cities

See also

Sources and References

External links


Albania Cities and towns in Albania
Cities and towns in Albania share the status of a geographic unit which makes up a municipality.
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