Kruja
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Krujë Kruja |
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Coordinates: 41 ° 31 ' N , 19 ° 48' E |
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| Basic data | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Qark : | Durrës | ||
| Municipality : | Kruja | ||
| Height : | 520 m above sea level A. | ||
| Area : | 339.02 km² | ||
| Bashkia residents : | 59,814 (2011) | ||
| Population density (Bashkia): | 176 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Telephone code : | (+355) 511 | ||
| Postal code : | 1501 | ||
| Politics and administration (as of 2019 ) | |||
| Mayor : | Artur Bushi ( PS ) | ||
| Website : | |||
| Culture and history | |||
| Local place name : | Kro / Kroja | ||
| City foundation : | between 6th and 9th centuries | ||
 View of the old town and the fortress (2014) |
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Kruja ( Albanian also Krujë ; in the local Gegic dialect Kro, -ja ) is a small town and a municipality in northern central Albania . In 2011 the city had around 10,000 inhabitants, the entire municipality 59,815 inhabitants (2011).
etymology
The name of the city comes from Albanian and means something like "spring" or "fountain" ( kro, -i ). The name Kroaí ( Greek Κροα der ) appears for the first time in Byzantine documents of the early 7th century , while in Latin the city of Croia , Croya and Croarum was mentioned. In the Ottoman period they called the Turks Ak Hisar or Akçahisar , which means something like "white castle" in Turkish .
geography
Kruja is located on the western steep slope of Mali i Krujës ( 1176 m above sea level ), a summit of the Skanderbeg Mountains , at an altitude between 400 and 640 meters high above the coastal plain, which is drained through the Ishëm to the Adriatic Sea.
The whole area of the former Kruja district belongs to the municipality . The largest place in the municipality is Fushë-Kruja . The following municipalities were merged in 2015:
| Surname | Residents | Area (km²) | Community type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kruja | 11,721 | 40 | Bashkia |
| Fushë-Kruja | 18,477 | 49 | Bashkia |
| Bubq | 5,951 | 50 | Komuna |
| Cudhi | 1,812 | 88 | Komuna |
| Kodër Thumana | 12,335 | 71 | Komuna |
| Nikël | 9,518 | 35 | Komuna |
history
In the early Middle Ages, between the 6th and 9th centuries, Kruja developed from a medium-sized castle settlement into an urban center. Artefacts from this period that were found in graves testify to the high social status and wealth of those buried. In the 9th century, the city was the seat of a bishop named David, who is attested as a participant in the Fourth Council of Constantinople .
In 1190 Progon founded the Principality of Arbanon with Kruja Castle as the dominant center. It was the first principality ruled by an Albanian nobleman. In 1415 Kruja was conquered by the Ottoman troops led by Sultan Mehmed I. In the middle of the 15th century, Skanderbeg and his League of Lezha recaptured the city and defended the fortress from Albania against the invading Ottomans for several decades. They then repeatedly attacked the castle, for example during the months-long but unsuccessful First Siege in 1450 . Only after the death of Skanderbeg could the Turks completely occupy Kruja and all of Albania in 1478 and rule it for more than 400 years. The bazaar mosque was built in the 16th century and is still standing today. In 1617 the medieval Kruja was devastated by a strong earthquake.
Kruja was a center of the Bektashites in Albania. There were several Tekken , of which the Dollmatekke is still preserved in the castle. On the mountain above the city, in a cave, is one of the presumed tombs of Sari Saltik , a saint of the Bektashi order, which is visited by pilgrims of various faiths. Sari Saltik is said to have worked in Kruja.
The first hospital was built in 1946 and a polyclinic in 1948. Between 1968 and 1969 a medicine laboratory and a surgery department were added. In 1970 the Rectorate for Hygiene and Epidemiology of the Kruja District was established. A new hospital was built between 1977 and 1979. In 1986 the obstetrics and gynecology hospital opened its doors. In 2008 the older hospital was renovated and named after its first director Stefan Gjoni .
Attractions
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The fortress of Kruja is a historical sanctuary for the Albanian nation . The Skanderbeg Museum within the fortress wall, in which the struggle of the Albanians under Skanderbeg and his League of Lezha is remembered, was designed by the architect Pranvera Hoxha , the daughter of Enver Hoxha , and is intended to give the appearance of a medieval stronghold . Within the fortress walls there is still the small dollmatekke of the Bektaschi , an ethnographic museum and a Turkish bath . In the lower part of the fortress there are numerous small houses in which families still live. At the foot of the castle hill is a restored bazaar street , the buildings of which date from the 19th century and reflect the typical architecture of the mountain area.
For tourists who visit the sights of the city, there are some hotels, cafes, bars and numerous souvenir stalls like hardly anywhere else in Albania. Most visitors arrive from Tirana or Durrës for a few hours or stop briefly in transit. City tours are offered.
The presumed tomb of Sari Saltik on the mountain above the city also offers a wide view of the region. A mountain range further east is the Qafë Shtama National Park . At the foot of the mountain, not far from Fushë-Kruja , are the ruins of the Illyrian site of Zgërdhesh .
Economy and sport
The city has been declining in recent decades and has also lost population. The more accessible places Fushë-Kruja and Thumana in the plain have more inhabitants than Kruja today. The city offers some work, especially as an administrative center and in the tourism sector. The region is also known for traditional handicrafts and souvenirs that are produced and sold here.
The local soccer club KS Kastrioti Kruja will play in the second highest league in the 2017/18 season .
Personalities
- Mustafa Kruja (1887–1958), politician
- Abaz Kupi (1892–1976), politician
- Sulejman Zalla (1892–1966), teacher and activist of the Rilindja
- Mimoza Ahmeti (* 1963), writer
- Luljeta Lleshanaku (* 1968), poet, grew up in Kruja
Parish partnership
- Cortona , Arezzo Province , Tuscany , Italy , since 1995
literature
- Ismail Kadare : The fortress. dtv, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-423-11477-0 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Ines Nurja: Censusi i popullsisë dhe banesave / Population and Housing Census - Durrës 2011 . Results Kryesore / Main Results. Ed .: INSTAT . Pjesa / Part 1. Adel Print, Tirana 2013 ( instat.gov.al [PDF; 1,4 MB ; accessed on April 14, 2019]).
- ^ Robert Elsie: Historical dictionary of Albania . Scarecrow Press, 2004, ISBN 978-0-8108-4872-6 , pp. 294 .
- ↑ a b Durrës, a good business choice. (PDF) Durrës Chamber of Commerce and Industry, May 2009, archived from the original on May 26, 2015 ; accessed on February 2, 2014 .
- ↑ JM Spieser, Anthony Cutler, Arietta Papaconstantinou: The material and the ideal: essays in medieval art and archeology in honor of Jean-Michel Spieser . BRILL, 2007, ISBN 978-90-04-16286-0 , pp. 55-57 .
- ↑ Miranda Vickers: Shqiptarët - Një histori modern . Bota Shqiptare, 2008, ISBN 978-99956-11-68-2 , Mbërritja e osmanëve, p. 19 (English: The Albanians - A Modern History . Translated by Xhevdet Shehu).
- ↑ Memli Sh. Krasniqi: Bektashi Cultural Heritage And Albanians . Albanological Institute, Kosovo, Pristina, S. 4th f . ( academia.edu [accessed October 15, 2018] undated).
- ^ Robert Elsie : A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture . C: Hurst & Co., London 2001, ISBN 1-85065-570-7 , Sari Salltëk, p. 225-229 .