Dumreja

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Typical landscape in the Dumreja - Seferan lakes

The Dumreja ( Albanian  also  Dumre and Dumrea ) is a landscape in central Albania . The karst hill country connects to the east of the large coastal plain of Myzeqe . The Dumreja is characterized by numerous lakes and sinkholes . Due to its geological structure, the Dumreja shows features of a tectonic-volcanic plateau ( plateau ; Albanian: Pllaja e Dumresë ), but given the low altitude above sea it seems to be more of a hilly country.

geography

Karst landscape

Belsh with lake

The territory of the Dumreja consists mostly of rolling hills and lakes. Most of the area is 150  m above sea level. A. up to 200  m above sea level A. There are more than 80 lakes in depressions, around 20 of which dry out in summer. The large number of lakes is explained by the particular geology of the zone in which the karst predominates. The basins have developed due to the ongoing expansion of sinkholes .

“[…] A small, very strange landscape, the Belsh plateau. It is a plateau covered with maquis , about 150 m above sea level, with raised elevations that rise up to 200 m. And in this plateau there are numerous troughs of up to 100 m relative depth and several kilometers in diameter. Many contain lakes, some have a swampy bottom. "

- Herbert Louis

The highest point is in the north-east: Mali i Aldekut or Kodra e Malit ( 449  m above sea level ). Outside the northeast corner, the height of 300 meters is not exceeded. Most of the other elevations in the hilly landscape are well below 300 meters. The water surfaces of the lakes are usually between 100 and 150 meters high.

The last time a sinkhole opened in the municipality of Shalës was in April 2009; this initially had a diameter of 30 meters and a depth of 100 meters. Three more sinkholes were created in 1982, 1998 and 1999, the last in the municipality of Fierza.

Demarcation

The hill zone of the Dumreja is located next to two of the largest plains in Albania, the Myzeqe in the west and the Elbasan plain in the east . In the north the Shkumbin river and in the south the Devoll form the natural border to other regions.

The area covers around 215 square kilometers.

Lakes

Dega lake

The large number of around 85 lakes form the defining element of the region. The lakes together make up three percent of the surface of Dumreja, about 14.2 square kilometers, and together contain around 26 million cubic meters, of which 11.3 million cubic meters are accounted for by Lake Merhoja, the deepest lake in the region.

Main lakes
lake Albanian name Area (ha) Depth (m)
Çestinja lake Liqeni i Çestinjës 96.8
Seferan lake Liqeni i Seferanite 87.5 20.8
Merhoja lake Liqeni i Merhojës 65.5 61
Dega lake Liqeni i Degës 37.4
Peraska Lake Liqeni i Peraskës 27.4 51
Çërraga Lake Liqeni i Çërragës 29
Belsh lake Liqeni i Bellshit 26.9 18th

Some of the lakes have been provided with dams and are used to irrigate the fields.

"The levels of the lakes are at very different levels, which indicates that their floors are sealed by impermeable material."

- Herbert Louis

geology

The karst landscape of the Dumreja was formed in gypsum .

"The Belsh plateau consists of lime, smoky cakes and gypsum that [...] belong in the hanging wall of the flysch."

- Herbert Louis

The Evaporit - Diapir from Dumreja consists of anhydrite , limestone, dolomite , gypsum and clay . The salt dome has an elliptical surface with axes of around ten by 20 kilometers (area of ​​around 210 square kilometers). The approximately 6100 meter thick diapir overlays around 20 to 30 kilometers and has a volume of around 1500 cubic meters. It originated before the Upper Triassic or the Perm-Triassic border . Oil spills occur on the western and southern edges of the Diapir, forming the oil fields of Kuçova and others.

climate

There is a Mediterranean climate , characterized by dry summers and rainy winters. The average rainfall reaches 1080 mm. In summer (July) the average temperature is 24.2 ° C, in winter (January) it is 6.6 ° C. The drought during the summer months is one of the biggest problems for the Dumreja.

The winds are moderate and the Dumreja is an obstacle to the warm winds from the Adriatic and the cold ones from the mountainous inland.

Administrative division and population

Until 2015, the area comprised the five parishes of Belsh , Fierza , Grekan , Kajan Rrasa and Shalës , all of which belonged to Elbasan County . Together they have an area of ​​215 square kilometers. In the south, the Dumreja borders on the Kuçova district , in the west on the Lushnja district and in the north on the Peqin district .

In the territorial reform of 2015, Belsh was merged with the municipalities of Fierza, Grekan, Kajan and Rrasa. The community has 19,503 inhabitants (as of 2011). Shalës has been part of Bashkia Cërrik since then .

In 2001 the population was 32,634. Ten years later, the population of the six municipalities was recorded as 23,345 people. The center is the most populous place Belsh with 12,228 inhabitants in 2001 and 8,781 in 2011. This is followed by the communities Shalës with 3842 inhabitants (this and all following figures as of 2011) and Kajan with 3925 inhabitants. Grekan (3138 inhabitants), Fierza (2065 inhabitants) and Rrasa (1594 inhabitants) are smaller.

Flora and fauna

The area's vegetation is fairly poor, with the exception of some areas in Grekan Municipality where there is some forest. Among the most common trees include pine , especially in the villages and Rrasa Çerraga, poplars , which are found throughout the Dumreja, and near the lakes and pastures . Before the Second World War, forests predominated in Dumreja, which consisted mainly of oaks . Between 1950 and 1970 a large-scale deforestation plan was implemented to make the entire area cultivable. From the 1990s, vines and olive trees were planted in parts of Dumreja.

A variety of fish species can be found in the lakes, including trout and carp . Lilies are widespread in the less deep lakes .

Toponymy

The meaning of the toponym Dumreja is not clear, there are no official sources about the origin. The word duam re literally stands for I want a cloud . This phrase is used in the Albanian language as a supplication in times of severe drought. The inhabitants of the region see the origin of the name in the drought of the summer months, which plagues the whole region.

history

Ancient and Middle Ages

Gradishta hill

The Dumreja is close to important traffic routes. The oldest traces of settlement date back to the Bronze Age and drag on until they became stable around the 4th to 6th centuries, supported by the construction of Gradishta Castle , some ruins of which still exist today. The peasants have mended the castle. In the south of the complex, fortifications are even more visible and can reach heights of up to one meter. Inside the walls there is a ceramic workshop with four different work rooms. The Romans built the important traffic axis Via Egnatia in the Shkumbintal , west of Belsh there was in the 4th to 1st century BC. A temple of Aphrodite . The finds from a princely grave are exhibited in Tirana today . In the 6th century, the fortified ancient city was destroyed by invading Slavs .

Modern and present

After Albania was taken by the Ottoman Empire , the castle was destroyed and the population was driven into the mountains and the Myzeqe plain.

During the 18th century, farmers began to populate the area. The first church was built in the village of Dragot, and although it was declared a cultural asset in 1967, it was destroyed in 1981. In general, the names of the villages come from the first inhabitants who settled there and built houses. The village of Dragot is a typical example, the name of which comes from Tare Dragoti , who immigrated from the mountainous areas to the south. So after the first residents settled there were other villages and towns, for example Hysaj , Seferaj and other small fractions.

The main town of Belsh of Dumreja was proposed as the capital of Albania by Sami Frashëri , one of the leaders of the Rilindja movement.

In the first 40 years of the 20th century the problem of fundamental soil transformation increased, leading to a large fragmentation of landed property. The reason for this was that the large landowners sold land to the farmers. When the farmers were expropriated after the Second World War, the first villages were built and the forests were cut down. The wood was used to build the country's first railways. Small remnants of the woods can be found near the villages of Dëshiran and Rrasa. The formation of the agricultural cooperatives resulted in large immigration from the areas of Gramsh and Skrapar .

After the collapse of the communist system, the cultivated land was assigned to the population by the state in the early 1990s. As a result, the Dumreja experienced a significant increase in population. Since the distribution was proportional to the number of residents, this had changed the structure of some villages, which resulted in many conflicts between the old and new landowners.

Culture and folklore

Culture and festivals

The Dumreja culture is rich and ancient. In all the communities there were cultural houses that were built during the communist dictatorship: meeting places for the important occasions of social life. Today only the Belsh House of Culture remains in its original structure.

As is customary in the entire area of ​​Elbasan, the Spring Festival is celebrated in all Dumreja parishes and villages , which takes place on the evening of March 13th and throughout March 14th. This festival, which has similarities with Halloween especially in the celebrations of the 13th , is one of the most important festivals that is celebrated in all of Albania.

folklore

The typical folklore has its roots in the population who immigrated from the south. There are local chants and dances in Dumreja, which are performed polyphonically in groups of four to five people . The folklore group from the main town of Belsh is famous and regularly performs at the national folklore festival . The traditional costumes from Dumreja are known for their strong colors and the variety of shapes. The women's costumes have particularly long aprons.

Economy and Transport

With the establishment of the first urban centers and the clearing, mostly carried out in the 1950s, the first paths and connections between the villages and the cities of Elbasan - via Cërrik - as well as Berat , Kuçova and Lushnja were created. The majority of the roads within the Dumreja are unpaved, and important connecting roads were not paved until the 2010s. In 2011, plans were communicated to the government that a motorway would be built between Tirana and the cities in the south of the country. The A3 would also pass through the Dumreja area.

In the second half of the 20th century, Dumreja became one of the most important agricultural areas in the country. The opening of the area as grazing land and the conversion into cultivable land attracted people from the surrounding regions, and after a few years collectivization began, which led to the establishment of several state-owned agricultural cooperatives. Because of the small number of buildings and the large pastures, the Dumreja was famous for animal husbandry until the Second World War. After the 1950s the farms were collectivized; As a result, mainly grain, corn, sunflowers and tobacco were grown and numerous olive trees were planted and vineyards were created.

Olive production has increased steadily since the early 1990s, thanks in part to economic support from the government in collaboration with the World Bank , which not only created green spaces, but also made it possible to set up three oil mills where olive oil is produced.

Another common profession is fishing. The catch is not only sold in the region, but also in surrounding and other cities in Albania. The most important species are trout , carp and eel .

In addition to agriculture, the Dumreja also has large resources of natural gas and oil . A corresponding license was awarded in 2010 . The mines of Troy and Gradisht were also in operation until the 1990s.

In 2016, projects were started to promote tourism in the region.

literature

  • Mario Parisel, Perikli Qiriazi, Skënder Sala: Natural and anthropogenic hazards in karst areas of Albania . In: Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences . No. 4 , October 8, 2004, p. 569-581 ( PDF ).
  • Petraq Naço, Fatbardha Vinçani, Vesel Hoxha: Evolution of Laky Landscape Formation in the Region of Dumrea, Albania . Ed .: Institute of Geosciences, Energy, Water and Environment, UPT. Tirana.
  • Fatmir Popja: Dumreja, perla karstike e harruar e Mesdheut. Retrieved December 2, 2008, December 7, 2014 (Albanian).
  • Anne Jardin, Luan Nikolla, François Roure: Subsalt Imagery of the Dumre Area, Ionian Basin, Albania . In: American Association of Petroleum Geologists (ed.): AAPG European Region Annual Conference (Paris, 23–24 November 2009), Online Journal for E&P Geoscientists . Paris 2009, p. 63–66 ( PDF [accessed December 18, 2016]).
  • Anne Jardin, François Roure, Luan Nikolla: Subsalt Depth Seismic Imaging and Structural Interpretation in Dumre Area, Albania . In: Oil & Gas Science and Technology - Rev. IFP Energies nouvelles . Vol. 66, No. 6 , 2011, p. 911–929 ( http://ogst.ifpenergiesnouvelles.fr [PDF; accessed December 18, 2016]).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Akademia e Shkencave e RPSSH (ed.): Fjalor enciklopedik shqiptar . Tirana 1985, Dumreja, p. 213 f .
  2. ↑ a b Arudin Krutaj, Elda Frashëri: Quelques particularités de la morphologie karstique en Albanie . In: Fourth International Conference on Geomorphology, Italy 1997 . 1998, p. 75–81 ( glaciologia.it [PDF; accessed December 18, 2016]).
  3. ↑ a b c d 85 liqenet e Dumresë tërheqin vëmëndjen e TRT-së. In: albeu. June 3, 2013, accessed December 7, 2014 (Albanian).
  4. ↑ a b c Herbert Louis: Albania. A knowledge of the country mainly because of my own travels . Published by J. Engelhorn's successors in Stuttgart, Berlin 1927, p. 68 .
  5. ↑ Official map 1: 50,000 of the military cartographic office of Albania, sheet K-34-100-D, 2nd edition 1990
  6. ↑ Gazeta Shqip: Fundoset toka në Dumre, bllokohet rruga | Gazeta SHQIP Online . June 26, 2012 ( gazeta-shqip.com [accessed December 18, 2016]).
  7. ↑ F. Salliu: Shfaqet grope karstike, rrezikohen banoret e Shales. In: Info Arkiva. Koha Jonë , April 1, 2009, accessed December 7, 2014 (Albanian).
  8. ↑ a b Akademia e Shkencave e RPSSH (ed.): Fjalor enciklopedik shqiptar . Tirana 1985, Liqenet e Dumresë, p. 625 .
  9. ↑ Jostina Dhimitri: Geographical Assessments on the Relationships between Agrarian Economy and Population after 1990s (Case Study in Albania) . In: European Scientific Institute (Ed.): European Scientific Journal . Special Edition No. 2, June 2013, p. 34 ( PDF [accessed October 24, 2015]).
  10. ↑ Telo Velaj: Evaporites in Albania and their impact on the thrusting processes . In: Journal of the Balkan Geophysical Society . tape 4 , no. 1 . Tirana February 2001, p. 10 ( PDF [accessed October 25, 2015]).
  11. ↑ Prifti Irakli, Mehmeti Nensi, Dauti Suela: Petroleum System of East Part of Ionian Zone in Albania . In: Online International Interdisciplinary Research Journal . Volume IV, Issue III, May 2014, ISSN  2249-9598 ( PDF [accessed October 24, 2015]).
  12. ↑ a b Artur Ajazi: Origjina e emrit "Dumre" dhe historia e 800 peshkatarëve. In: telegraf.al. May 16, 2016, accessed April 7, 2018 (Albanian).
  13. ↑ a b Ines Nurja: Censusi i popullsisë dhe banesave / Population and Housing Census - Elbasan 2011 . Results Kryesore / Main Results. Ed .: INSTAT . Pjesa / Part 1. Adel Print, Tirana 2013 ( document as PDF ). Document as PDF ( memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.instat.gov.al
  14. ↑ a b c d Pëllumb Gorica: Dumreja, sykaltra mes blerimit. In: Zemra Shqiptare. June 12, 2014, Retrieved December 17, 2016 (Albanian, with quotations from Neritan Ceka ).
  15. ↑ a b Akademia e Shkencave e RPSSH (ed.): Fjalor enciklopedik shqiptar . Tirana 1985, Belshi, p. 82 .
  16. ^ Guntram Koch: DuMont Art Travel Guide Albania . DuMont, Cologne 1989, ISBN 3-7701-2079-5 .
  17. ↑ Neritan Ceka: The princely tomb of Belsh . In: Arne Eggebrecht (Ed.): Albania - Treasures from the land of the Skipetaren . Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 1988, ISBN 3-8053-0978-3 , p. 244 f .
  18. ^ Andromaqi Gjergji: Albanian costumes through the centuries. Origin, types, evolution . Ed .: Folklore Institute of the Albanian Academy of Sciences . Mësonjëtorja, Tirana 2004, ISBN 99943-614-4-9 , p. 121 .
  19. ^ Andromaqi Gjergji: Albanian costumes through the centuries. Origin, types, evolution . Ed .: Folklore Institute of the Albanian Academy of Sciences. Mësonjëtorja, Tirana 2004, ISBN 99943-614-4-9 , p. 159 .
  20. ↑ a b c Zylyftar Hoxha: Një “Kopsht Edeni” në mes të Shqipërisë së sotme. In: Gazeta Dita. September 28, 2014, accessed December 19, 2016 (Albanian).
  21. ↑ Sky Petroleum secures significant blocks in Albania. Press release. In: Business Wire. June 25, 2010, accessed December 19, 2016 .
  22. ↑ Turizmi, Belshi bëhet pjesë e fondit të zhvillimit që mbështetet nga SHBA. (No longer available online.) In: belshaku.com. July 15, 2016, archived from the original on December 22, 2016 ; Retrieved December 18, 2016 (Albanian).

Coordinates: 41 ° 0 ′ 0 ″  N , 19 ° 55 ′ 0 ″  E