Gjirokastër

Gjirokastër
Gjirokastër, seen from the Citadel
Gjirokastër
Coordinates:
Country	Albania
County	Gjirokastër County
District	Gjirokastër District
Government
- Mayor	Flamur Bime
Elevation	300 m (984 ft)
Population (2009)[1]
- Total	43,095
Time zone	Central European Time (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	6001-6003
Area code(s)	084
Car Plates	GJ
Website	www.gjirokastra.org

Gjirokastër is a city in southern Albania with a population of around 43,000. Lying in the historical region of Epirus, it is also the capital of both the Gjirokastër District and the larger Gjirokastër County. Its old town is inscribed on the World Heritage List as "a rare example of a well-preserved Ottoman town, built by farmers of large estate." Gjirokastër is situated in a valley between the Gjerë mountains and the Drino River, at 300 meters above sea level. The city is overlooked by the Gjirokastër Castle.

In the 14th and beginning of the 15th century the city was the capital of the Principality of Gjirokastër, under Gjon Zenebishi, before falling under the Ottoman Empire. After the Ottoman defeat in the Balkan Wars and the subsequent withdrawal of the Greek Army, it became again a capital, this time of the short lived Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus. Gjirokastër is also the city of birth of former Albanian communist leader Enver Hoxha and notable writer Ismail Kadare. It also hosts the Eqerem Çabej University.

Although the majority of the population is Albanian, the city is also home to an ethnic Greek community, as well as to communities of Vlachs and Roma. Gjirokastër is considered the center of the Greek community in Albania^[2].

Name

The name of the city appears for the first time in historical records under the name of Argyrocastron as mentioned by John VI Kantakouzenos in 1336.^[3] The theory that the city took the name of the Princess Argjiro, a legendary figure on whom Ismail Kadare wrote a poem in the 1960s does not have any basis on historical documents and is considered a local legend, since the princess is said to have lived later, in the 15th century.^[4] The definite Albanian form of the name of city is Gjirokastra while in the Gheg Albanian dialect it is known as Gjinokastër.^[5] In Aromanian the city is known as Ljurocastru, while in Greek as Αργυρόκαστρο (Argyrokastro). During the Ottoman era the town was also known in Turkish as Ergiri.

History

Traditional Gjirokastër houses

In antiquity, the area around Gjirokastër was inhabited by the Greek tribe of the Chaonians.

The city's walls date from the 3rd century AD. The high stone walls of the Citadel were built, instead from the 6th to the 12th century.^[6]

The city developed into a major commercial center known as Argyropolis (Ancient Greek: Αργυρόπολις, meaning "Silver City") or Argyrokastron (Ancient Greek: Αργυρόκαστρον, meaning "Silver Castle").

It was part of the Byzantine Despotate of Epirus in the 13 and 14th century with an autonomous period being the capital of the Principality of Gjirokastër under Gjon Zenebishi. In 1417 it became part of the Ottoman Empire. It was captured in 1811 by the Albanian-born Ali Pasha, who carved out his own semi-autonomous fiefdom in the southwestern Balkans. In the late 19th century, the city was the capital of the sandjak of Ergiri in the Yanya vilayet.

The official declaration of the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus (1 March 1914). River Drino on the background.

Given its large Greek population, the city was claimed and taken by Greece during the First Balkan War of 1912–1913, following the retreat of the Ottomans from the region.^[7] However, it was awarded to Albania under the terms of the Treaty of London of 1913 and the Protocol of Florence of 17 December 1913^[8]. This turn of events proved highly unpopular with the local Greek population, and their representatives under Georgios Christakis-Zografos formed the "Panepirotic Assembly" in Gjirokastër in protest.^[9] The Assembly, short of incorporation with Greece, demanded either local autonomy or an international occupation by forces of the Great Powers for the districts of Gjirokastër, Saranda, and Korçë.^[10] Finally, in March 1914 the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus was declared in Gjirokastër and was confirmed by the Great Powers with the Protocol of Corfu^[11]. The Republic, however, was short-lived, as Albania collapsed at the beginning of the First World War.^[12] The Greek military returned in October-November 1914, and again captured Gjirokastër, along with Saranda and Korçë. In April 1916, the territory referred to by Greeks as Northern Epirus, including Gjirokaster, was annexed to Greece. The Paris Peace Conference of 1919 restored the pre-war status quo, essentially upholding the border line decided in the 1913 Protocol of Florence, and the city was again returned to Albanian control.^[13]

In April 1939, Gjirokastër was occupied by Italy and was annexed to that country along with the rest of Albania. During the Second World War, the Greek Army entered the city in 1940 and stayed for a brief six months period, before capitulating to the Germans and returning the city to Italian command. After Italy's capitulation Germany invaded and took control in September 1943, but the city returned to Albanian control in 1944.

The postwar Communist regime developed the city as an industrial and commercial centre. It was elevated to the status of a "museum town",^[14] birthplace of the Communist leader of Albania, Enver Hoxha, who had been born there in 1908. His house was converted into a museum.^[15]

Gjirokastër suffered severe economic problems following the end of communist rule in 1991. It was particularly badly affected by the 1997 collapse of a massive pyramid scheme which destabilised the entire Albanian economy. The city became the focus of a rebellion against the government of Sali Berisha and violent anti-government protests took place which eventually forced Berisha's resignation. On December 16, 1997, Hoxha's house was damaged by unknown (but presumably anti-communist) attackers, but subsequently restaured.^[16]

Historic Centres of Berat and Gjirokastra*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	Albania
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iii, iv
Reference	569
Region**	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	2005  (29th Session)
Extensions	2008
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO.

Economy

Gjirokastër is principally a commercial center with some industries, notably the production of foodstuffs, leather, and textiles.

Landmarks

The Clock tower of the Citadel

The city is built on the slope surrounding the citadel, located on a dominating plateau.^[14] Although the city's walls were built in the third century and the city itself was first mentioned in the 12th century, the majority of the existing buildings date from 17th and 18th centuries. Typical houses consist of a tall stone block structure which can be up to five stories high. There are external and internal staircases to surround the house and it is thought that such design stems from fortified country houses typical in southern Albania. The lower storey of the building contains a cistern and the stable. The upper storey is composed of a guest room and a family room containing a fireplace. The upper stories are to accommodate extended families and are connected by internal stairs.^[14]

Many houses in Gjirokastër have a distinctive local style that has earned the city the nickname "City of Stone", because most of the old houses have roofs covered with stones. The city, along with Berat, were among the few Albanian cities that were preserved in the 1960s and 1970s from modernizing building programs. Both cities gained the status of "museum town" and are UNESCO World Heritage sites.^[14]

The Gjirokastër Castle dominates the town and overlooks the strategically important route along the river valley. It is open to visitors and contains a military museum featuring captured artillery and memorabilia of the Communist resistance against German occupation, as well as a captured United States Air Force plane to commemorate the Communist regime's struggle against the imperialist powers. Additions were built during the 19th and 20th centuries by Ali Pasha of Tepelene and the Government of King Zog. Today it possesses five towers and houses a clock tower, a church, water fountains, horse stables, and many more amenities. The northern part of the castle was eventually turned into a prison by Zog's government and housed political prisoners during the communist regime.

Gjirokastër also features an old Ottoman bazaar which was originally built in the 17th century, but which had to be rebuilt in the 19th century after it burned down. There are more than 200 homes preserved as "cultural monuments" in Gjirokastër today. The Gjirokastër Mosque dominates the bazar and was built in 1757.^[17]

When the town was first proposed for inscription on the World Heritage List in 1988, ICOMOS experts were nonplussed by a number of modern constructions which detracted from the old town's appearance. The historic core of Gjirokastër was finally inscribed in 2005, 15 years after its original nomination.

Old Orthodox Church in Gjirokastra.

Religion

The city's only left Mosque, Gjirokastër Mosque was built in 1757

The city has historically had 15 mosques, and in 1945 13 of them were functional.^[17] Out of the 13 mosques only the Gjirokastër Mosque has survived and the remaining 12 were destroyed or closed during the Cultural Revolution that the communist government applied in 1967.^[17]

The city is also home to an Eastern Orthodox diocese, part of the Orthodox Church of Albania.

Culture

17th century Ottoman traveller Evliya Çelebi, who visited the city in 1670 described the city in detail. During a Sunday Çelebi noticed the big noise of the ongoing vajtim, the typical Albanian lament of the dead performed by a professional: the traveller found the city so noisy during that day because of the vajtims, that he dubbed Gjirokastër the city of wailing.^[18]

The novel Chronicle in Stone of the Albanian writer Ismail Kadare tells the history of this city during the Italian and Greek occupation in World War I and II and expands on the customs of the people of Gjirokastër. The first female Albanian writer, Musine Kokalari, instead, wrote at the age of twenty-four, a 80-page collection of ten youthful prose tales in her native Gjirokastrian dialect: As my old mother tells me (Albanian: Siç me thotë nënua plakë), Tirana, 1941. The book tells the day-by-day struggles of women of Gjirokastër, and the prevailing mores of the region.^[19]

Gjirokastër is home to the National Folklore Festival (Albanian: Festivali Folklorik Kombëtar) that has held every five years, starting from 1968^[20] and most recently in 2009, in its 9th season.^[21] It is also where the newspaper Laiko Vima, is published. Founded in 1945, it was the only printed media allowed in the Greek language during the Socialist People's Republic of Albania.^[22]

Education

The city is home to the Eqerem Çabej University, which opened its doors in 1968. The university has recently been experiencing low enrollments and, as a result, during the 2008-2009 academic year, the departments of Physics, Mathematics, Biochemistry and Kindergarten Education did not function.^[23]

In 2006, the establishment of a Greek-language university in Gjirokastër was agreed upon after discussions between the Albanian and Greek governments ^[24]. The program had an attendance of 35 students as of 2010, but was abruptly suspended when the University of Ioannina in Greece refused to provide teachers for the 2010 schoolyear and the Greek government and the Latsis foundation withdrew funding.^[23]

The first school in the city, a Greek language school, was erected in the city at 1663, sponsored by local merchants, functioned under the supervision of the local bishop. In 1821, when the Greek War of Independence broke up, it was destroyed, but it was reopenned 9 years later, in 1830.^[25][26] In 1727 a madrasah started to function in the city, and it worked uninterruptedly for 240 years until 1967, when it was closed due to the Cultural Revolution applied in communist Albania.^[17] In 1861-1862 a female school was founded, which was financially supported by the local benefactor Christakis Zografos.^[27]

The first Albanian school of Gjirokastër was Drita School, which opened in 1908. Today Gjirokastër has seven grammar schools, two general high schools, and two professional high schools.

Sports

Football (soccer) is popular in Gjirokastër: the city hosts Luftëtari Gjirokastër, a club founded in 1929. The club has competed sometimes in international tournaments and played in the Albanian Superliga until 2006-2007. Currently the team plays in the Albanian First Division. The soccer matches are played in the Subi Bakiri Stadium, which can hold up to 8,500 spectators.^[28]

Demographics

The town only has around 43,000 inhabitants.^[1] Gjirokastër is home to an ethnic Greek community that was about 4000 in 1989, as well as of communities of Vlachs and Roma.^[29][30] Gjirokastër is considered the center of the Greek community in Albania^[2].

Notable people

Ismail Kadare, novelist, born in Gjirokastër

See also

• List of cities in Albania
• History of Albania
• Geography of Albania

References

Sources

• "Gjirokastër." Encyclopædia Britannica,2006
• "Gjirokastër or Gjinokastër." The Columbia Encyclopedia (2004)

External links

• Website of Gjirokastra
• Photo Gallery of Gjirokastër from Hotel Kalemi
• Photos of Gjirokastër
• Photo gallery by Andy Carvin
• Gjirokastra Online by Klodian Lula & SIFE UGJ

World Heritage Sites in Albania Historic Centres of Berat and Gjirokastër · Butrint

Municipalities of Gjirokastër County Capital: Gjirokastër Gjirokastër District Antigonë · Cepo · Dropull i Poshtëm · Dropull i Sipërm · Gjirokastër · Kakavijë · Lazarat · Libohovë · Lunxhëri · Odrie · Picar · Pogon · Qendër Libohovë · Zagori Përmet District Ballaban · Çarshovë · Dishnicë · Frashër · Këlcyrë · Përmet · Petran · Qendër Piskovë · Sukë Tepelenë District Buz · Fshat Memaliaj · Krahës · Kurvelesh · Lopës · Luftinjë · Memaliaj · Qendër · Qesarat · Tepelenë

Cities in Albania Bajram Curri · Bajzë · Ballsh · Berat · Bilisht · Bulqizë · Burrel · Cërrik · Çorovodë · Delvinë · Divjakë · Durrës · Elbasan · Ersekë · Fier · Fushë-Arrëz · Fushë-Krujë · Gjirokastër · Gramsh · Himarë · Kamëz · Kavajë · Këlcyrë · Klos · Konispol · Koplik · Korçë · Krastë · Krrabë · Krujë · Krumë · Kuçovë · Kukës · Kurbnesh · Laç · Leskovik · Lezhë · Libohovë · Librazhd · Lushnjë · Maliq · Mamurras · Manëz · Memaliaj · Orikum · Patos · Peqin · Përmet · Përrenjas · Peshkopi · Pogradec · Poliçan · Pukë · Reps · Roskovec · Rrëshen · Rrogozhinë · Rubik · Sarandë · Selenicë · Shëngjin · Shijak · Shkodër · Sukth · Tepelenë · Tirana · Ulëz · Urë Vajgurore · Vau i Dejës · Vlorë · Vorë