Tirana County

Circle :	Tirana
Main place:	Tirana
Qark :	Tirana County
Surface:	1238 km²
Residents:	687.123   Status: 2011
Population density:	555.03 inhabitants / km²
ISO-3166-2 code:	AL-TR
License plate :	TR

The Tirana District ( Albanian  Rrethi i Tiranës ) was one of the 36 administrative districts in Albania that were abolished in the summer of 2015 following an administrative reform. The district with an area of ​​1238 km² belonged to Qark Tirana . It had 687,123 inhabitants (2011). The district was named after the capital Tirana , which is also the capital of Albania.

geography

The area can be roughly divided into three geographical regions: A plain that extends from the southern outskirts of Tirana to the northwest towards the Adriatic Sea , the hill country to the west and south of it and the Skanderbeg Mountains to the east, adjoining the plain and the hill country .

Surroundings of Tirana from the air (2008)

Settlement area in the Tirana region in 1990 and 2005

The plain near Tirana is alluvial land of the rivers Zeza , Tërkuza , Tirana (Lumi i Tiranës) and Lana , which emerge from the mountains and together form the Ishëm further north . Together with the city of Tirana, at the edges of which the plain rises slowly into hill country, the area is one of the regions of the country that have undergone the greatest change in the years of transformation since the collapse of communism . Tirana developed into a lively city with 418,495 inhabitants (2011 census) and many new buildings. The city is expanding more and more into the surrounding area. Numerous service companies have sprung up, especially along the road to Durrës , which crosses the plain on its southern edge: Albania's Coca-Cola factory made the start, and it was soon followed by car companies, freight forwarders and wholesalers , other factories and shopping centers. Along the road to the north on the eastern edge of the plain there are construction companies and construction material suppliers in particular. Tirana has now grown together with all of the neighboring towns: On the northwestern outskirts of the city, slums have emerged around the town of Kamza , where thousands of rural refugees from northern Albania have settled. These slums document the change in the region particularly dramatically, as the population of Kamzas increased tenfold in the 1990s and is now 66,841 (2011 census). Other places have also undergone major changes - for example, Kashar in the west with 43,353 inhabitants (2011 census) and Paskuqan in the north with 37,349 inhabitants (2011 census) were among the ten most populous municipalities in the country before they were incorporated into Tirana and Kamza, respectively. The two neighboring communities in the south and east, Farka (22,633 inhabitants) and Dajt (20,139 inhabitants), were also among the largest communities in Albania (2011 census). In the south of the city, where the Great Park of Tirana is also located, the development is even less dense.

Tirana Airport is located in the northwest of the Tirana Plain , but its terminal building is already in the neighboring Qark Durrës to the north . Away from these main traffic routes, the plain is still an important agricultural area . In Valias southeast of the airport earlier was lignite promoted.

Canyon of the Tirana River north of the Dajti

The hill country blocks direct access from Tirana and the northern plain to the sea and to Durrës. The elongated northern extension Kodra e Gjatë (long hills) west of Tirana reaches an altitude of 491  m above sea level. A. It flattens out towards the north and finally runs out into the sea as the pointed Cape Rodon around 50 km northwest of Tirana. At Vora the chain of hills forms a passage not even 60 m high. This is where railways , motorways , country roads, high-voltage lines and, earlier, an irrigation canal pass the range of hills. Further south, the river Erzen, coming from the mountains, cuts through the hills in a valley with a broad floor. The Kodrat e Krabës (Krraba hills) extend south of the ore and increase in height towards the south (up to 932  m above sea level ). They represent a natural barrier between Tirana and Elbasan in the Shkumbin valley and are only crossed by a road at one point not far from the highest point.

At the mining town of Krraba , where coal is mined, the hill country gradually changes into mountain country. Towards the north the difference is more abrupt: the mountains of the Kruja chain rise steeply from the plain: the peak of Dajti ( 1613  m above sea level ) is barely ten kilometers from the center of Tirana. Together with the Priska Mountain to the south ( 1365  m above sea level ), the Dajti forms the core zone of the Dajti National Park with an area of ​​29,384 hectares, which not only includes parts of the Kruja chain, but practically the entire mountainous hinterland of the region . The Kruja chain is regularly traversed by deeply cut gorges : all rivers cross the mountain range from east to west, which runs in a north-south direction. In the northeast, the Tërkuza is dammed in such a gorge to form the Bovilla reservoir , the largest water reservoir in Tirana. The reservoir with a volume of 80,000,000 m³ has been in operation since December 1998. Further gorges form the Tirana River north of the Dajti and the Ores south of the Priska Mountain. Behind this mountain range lies very secluded mountainous land. In the east, the region is closed off by another high mountain range, the highest point of which, Mount Shën Noi i Madh ( 1,848  m above sea level ), was also the highest point of the circle. This forms the watershed to the valley of the Mat , which was the border to the district of Mat . Another part of this mountain range are the Mali me Gropa (mountains with holes) , a barren karst landscape interspersed with countless sinkholes and reminiscent of the surface of the moon . Its highest point is the Maja e Miçeku të Shënmërisë at 1828  m above sea level. A.

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View over the Tirana basin, the southern hill country (left) and the plain (right)

history

Shpella e Zezë at Pëllumbas

Although the city of Tirana was only founded in 1614, the region has a very long history: traces of the first human settlement go back to the Paleolithic . At Rrëza e Dajtit at the foot of the Dajtis and in the large Pëllumbas cave in the Erzen gorge Gryka e Skronës near Pëllumbas , numerous finds from this and later epochs were discovered. The fortress Kalaja e Dorzit at 477  m above sea level comes from the Iron Age . A. high hill about 20 km southwest of Tirana. The protection system is surrounded by a 300 m long stone wall. Another fortress dates from the Illyrian era (3rd and 2nd centuries BC): Persqop Castle is located on a mountain east of the village of Petrela. Only a 30 m long and 6 m high fragment of the stone wall remains. A grave was also discovered in the castle.

Petrela Castle before the construction of a restaurant

In late antiquity and in the Middle Ages , numerous castles were built to control and protect the region and the various trade routes. At Tirana routes from north to south crossed those connecting the coast in the west with the central areas of the Balkans . The most famous and most accessible castle is that of Petrela , which was part of Skanderbeg's defensive system in the 15th century . The castle is located on a pointed mountain west of the village, overlooking the entire Erzen valley. The first fortifications probably date from the 3rd century. In the 9th century the complex was expanded and served as a base for the numerous local rulers of Central Albania. Later, an outer wall was added to secure the rather small but well-fortified castle at the top. In Skanderbeg's time, it was part of a defensive system, with warning signals being passed from one castle to the next.

On the western slope of the Dajtis at around 1200  m above sea level. A. are the remains of the Dajti castle , which was built in the 4th century and allowed control over large areas. Another fortress is located at the northwest foot of the Dajtis near the village of Tujan . This castle dates from around the same time and controlled the road to the east through the gorge of the Tirana River. In the 6th century Justinian had a fortress built in what is now the city center of Tirana - in contrast to all other structures, this is not on a hill, but on the plain. Mosaic remains from an early Christian church in Tirana are a little older . On the western edge of the plain of Tirana , the castle of Preza still watches today , probably only built by the Ottomans in the 15th century. Further fortifications were located near Ndroq at a narrow point further to the west in the Erzen Valley, near Lalmi on the southwestern outskirts of Tirana on the north bank of the Erzen and near Shën Gjergj in the east of the area on the road to Mat and Dibra . Another piece of Ottoman heritage is the Bride's Türbe near the village of Mullet in the Erzen Valley.

In 1902, near the village of Vrap in the southwest, a farmer found a gold and silver treasure in his field, which included nine gold vessels, 30 silver vessels and parts of clothing accessories. The objects were made by Avars in the 8th century . 39 of them are in the Metropolitan Museum of New York today .

During the Second World War, there were repeated secret meetings of the resistance fighters in the hills and mountains around Tirana. In the village of Peza, southwest of Tirana, a non-partisan national liberation movement was launched on September 16, 1942 at the so-called Peza Conference . In August 1943, communists and nationalists in the village of Mukja north of Tirana agreed on further cooperation and the structures of the resistance.

traffic

Motorway and trade between Vora and Tirana

Old license plate from Tirana

Tirana was founded at the crossroads of old trade routes. Today Tirana itself is the center from which important transport connections run away, but only in three directions. The way to the east is now only an insignificant side road in poor condition, only serving the local supply. Otherwise Tirana is now an important transport hub with road connections to the north, south and west as well as train connections and the only international airport in the country. Away from these axes, however, many areas of the region are remote and hardly accessible.

Motorways and railways leave the Tirana basin in a north-westerly direction. In recent years, an almost complete chain of service, trading and industrial production companies have settled along this traffic axis to Durrës, including the Qendra Tregtare Univers and Citypark shopping centers . Another transport hub is near Vora , halfway between Tirana and Durrës. The road to northern Albania (part of the A1 ) and the railway line to Shkodra start here .

Other important roads lead from Tirana directly north , on a more southerly route to Durrës and as SH3 over the Krraba Pass to Elbasan. The road network around Tirana is constantly being expanded in order to cope with the ever increasing traffic. At the end of 2006 the road from Vora north to Fushë-Kruja was renewed. For the connection to Elbasan, a new A3 motorway is being built east of the existing pass road, the core of which, the 2200-meter-long Krraba tunnel , and most of the other sections have already been opened to traffic. At the same time, a new bypass road will be built to relieve the city center. The airport, the new terminal of which was opened in early 2007, also received a new connection . In the meantime, it had to be expanded further due to increasing flight frequencies and is to receive a railway connection. The road connection through the mountains to the east, the Rruga e Arbërit , is currently under construction.

Car traffic has become a multifaceted problem in Tirana. While private car ownership was not allowed in 1991, tens of thousands of cars are now clogging the streets of the city. In addition to the traffic jams caused by the many cars on narrow streets, the smog they cause is also a serious problem: Many cars are older and the exhaust gases from the Tirana boiler are poorly ventilated. The construction of a rapid transit railway to the airport is planned as a relief. Local public transport is almost entirely handled by buses.

Communities

The area of ​​the former district is now part of the communities ( Bashkia ) Kamza , Tirana and Vora .

Former parishes

Surname	Residents	Community type	belongs to today
Tirana	418,495	Bashkia	Tirana
Kamza	66,841	Bashkia	Kamza
Vora	10,901	Bashkia	Vora
Baldushk	4,576	Komuna	Tirana
Bërxull	9,883	Komuna	Vora
Bërzhita	4,973	Komuna	Tirana
Dajt	20,139	Komuna	Tirana
Farka	22,633	Komuna	Tirana
Kashar	43,353	Komuna	Tirana
Krraba	2,343	Komuna	Tirana
Ndroq	5,035	Komuna	Tirana
Paskuqan	37,349	Komuna	Kamza
Petrela	5,542	Komuna	Tirana
Peza	6,272	Komuna	Tirana
Preza	4,727	Komuna	Vora
Shëngjergj	2,186	Komuna	Tirana
Vaqarr	9.106	Komuna	Tirana
Zall bastar	3,380	Komuna	Tirana
Zall sir	9,389	Komuna	Tirana

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Ines Nurja: Censusi i popullsisë dhe banesave / Population and Housing Census - Tiranë 2011 . Results Kryesore / Main Results. Ed .: INSTAT . Pjesa / Part 1. Adel Print, Tirana 2013 ( instat.gov.al [PDF; accessed April 14, 2019]).
2. ↑ Vendim No. 402 (June 21, 2006): Për shpalljen e ekosistemit natyror të Malit të Dajtit "Park Kombëtar" (me sipërfaqe të zgjeruar). (PDF) In: Official Journal No. 68 2006. P. 1908 ff. (24 ff. Of the PDF) , accessed on September 22, 2019 (Albanian). 
3. ↑ ProGEO - Albania Trip ( Memento from June 18, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ PDF at www.sgu.se
5. ↑ Timediver.de: Gold Treasure Vrap , Metropolitan Museum of New York