Kolonja municipality

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Kolonjë
Kolonja
Coat of arms of the Kolonja municipality
Kolonja Municipality (Albania)
Paris plan pointer b jms.svg

Coordinates: 40 ° 20 '  N , 20 ° 41'  E

Basic data
Qark : Korça
Municipality : Kolonja
Area : 846.06 km²
Bashkia residents : 11,070 (2011)
Population density (Bashkia): 13 inhabitants / km²
Telephone code : (+355) 0812
Postal code : 7401
Politics and administration (as of 2019 )
Mayor : Erion Isaj ( PS )
Website :
Location of the Kolonja municipality

Location of the Kolonja municipality

The municipality of Kolonja ( Albanian  Bashkia e Kolonjës ) is one of the 61 municipalities in Albania . The area of ​​the municipality with an area of ​​805 square kilometers in Korça Qark corresponds to the former Kolonja district . The main town is Erseka .

Hilly landscape on the northern border of the municipality

11,070 inhabitants live in Kolonja (2011). Ethnic minorities - especially Aromanians and Greeks - make up around 10 percent of them. Around 50 percent of the population are self-confessed Bektashi ; a third is Orthodox .

geography

Aerial view facing west, Pindus on the left

Kolonja is very remote in the southeast of the country on the border with Greece , the Sarandaporos river partially forms the border. The region forms a triangle between the Osum river , the Gramoz mountain ( Greek : Grammos; 2523  m above sea level ) and the Vjosa valley in the south. Located on the north side of the Pindus Mountains , the landscape is high and mountainous. The lowest point is in the hardly accessible Osum valley at 550  m above sea level. A. From there the landscape rises rapidly up to the Gramoz. Only in the outermost areas of the municipality in the south does the landscape fall below 500  m above sea level in some deeply cut valleys . A. Erseka applies with a height of 1020  m above sea level. A. as the highest city in the country, and Leskovik is also over 900  m above sea level. A. The winters in Kolonja are correspondingly hard and cold with icy north winds.

The name Kolonja refers in particular to the northern part of the area, the valley on the upper reaches of the Osum. The area with deeply cut stream valleys, sometimes also referred to as the plateau , is the bottom of a primeval lake. The southern part of the municipality includes various valleys of tributaries of the Vjosa, including the Lengarica . The transitions from valley to valley are usually over 1000  m above sea level. A.

There are still many forests in Kolonja municipality, where wild predators such as wolves are also widespread. A small area on the western border of the municipality is part of the Hotova-Dangell National Park .

economy

Kolonja mountain range

The population, the majority lives in the countryside, is heavily dependent on agriculture and forestry . There are also fish farms . In the future, tourism could also play a more important role if a modest infrastructure were in place for hikers and other adventure holidaymakers who want to explore the unspoiled nature.

The traffic routes within and to Kolonja are very rudimentary. Since there is no road in the Osum Valley from Berat to Kolonja, the municipality can only be reached via Korça (45 kilometers from Erseka) or Tepelena (130 kilometers from Erseka). It's less than 30 kilometers from Leskovik to the new border crossing to Greece in the Vjosa Valley.

history

Several barrows have been found in Kolonja . The most important place in the area was Leskovik during the Ottoman period . Due to the demarcation, however, many residents lost their properties. During the Second World War Kolonja was first a combat zone for Greek and Italian troops, and later a center of anti-fascist resistance. In retaliation, the German Wehrmacht destroyed several villages: To deter the population from supporting the partisans, the Wehrmacht introduced a so-called atonement quota : 100 Albanians were to be killed for every German killed. In application of this rule, the village of Borova - the "Albanian Lidice " - was destroyed and numerous residents were murdered.

Since the end of the communist regime in Albania, many residents of the region - especially young men - have emigrated to Greece.

Former parishes

In summer 2015, the following municipalities were merged to form Kolonja municipality :

Surname Residents Community type
Erseka 000000000003746.00000000003,746 Bashkia
Leskovik 000000000001525.00000000001,525 Bashkia
Barmash 000000000000480.0000000000480 Komuna
Çlirim 000000000000355.0000000000355 Komuna
Mollas 000000000001520.00000000001,520 Komuna
Novosela 000000000000355.0000000000355 Komuna
Qendër-Erseka 000000000002673.00000000002,673 Komuna
Qendër-Leskovik 000000000000416.0000000000416 Komuna

Individual evidence

  1. a b Ines Nurja: Censusi i popullsisë dhe banesave / Population and Housing Census - Korçë 2011 . Results Kryesore / Main Results. Ed .: INSTAT . Pjesa / Part 1. Adel Print, Tirana 2013 ( instat.gov.al [PDF; accessed April 14, 2019]).