Malësia e Madhe

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View into the Malësi e Madhe near Koplik on Lake Shkodra

The Malësia e Madhe ( Albanian  also  Malësi e Madhe and Malësia for short , Serbian Малција Malcija ) is a region of the Albanian Alps in the Albanian - Montenegrin border area. In the Kanun it is referred to as the area of ​​the Kuqi, Hoti, Gruda, Kastrati and Kelmendi tribes.

Translated, the name means Great Mountains . Although the region was part of the Ottoman Empire for 500 years, around three quarters of the population are still Catholics today . The Kanun , the old Albanian custom , has also been revived in Albania after the end of communism . The state power always has difficulties to assert itself in the tribal society .

geography

In the valley of the Cem near Nikç

Malësia e Madhe refers to the part of the Albanian Alps that is drained to Lake Shkodra . The karst mountains are very rugged, especially the central part Bjeshkët e Namuna with several mountains more than 2,500 meters high, including the 2568 meter high Radohima .

The state border between Albania and Montenegro runs through the northern part of Malësia e Madhe . Tuzi and other regions southeast of Podgorica and the Morača are part of it. The Malësia e Madhe includes the areas of the clans of the Hoti , Gruda , Kelmendi , Kastrati and Shkreli . In the south, the 1570 m high Maranaj forms the border.

The Malësia e Madhe includes in particular the valleys of the Përroi i Thatë , the Cem and Vermosh as well as the mountain ranges in between and the upstream hills. Many areas are rather arid. In the small, south of Përroi i Thate -lying valley of Rrjoll other hand, has a number of large sources whose water is sold guided in part by longer distances to supply drinking water, packaged in part also in bottles.

Vermosh , the northernmost village in Albania, no longer belongs to Malësia e Madhe , at least geologically . It can only be reached from Albania via two passes . This valley is the only one in the Albanian municipality of Malësia e Madhe that is not drained into Lake Shkodra, but to the north across the Lim River into the Drina . It is the only area in Albania that belongs to the Black Sea ( Danube ) catchment area .

The Malësia e Madhe is one of the most precipitation- rich areas in Albania. In Boga it is over 3000 millimeters per year.

economy

Scattered settlement on the upper reaches of the Cem near Selca

The inhabitants of the region live almost exclusively from agriculture . The small and mountain farmer families often lack the essentials. Many are dependent on transfers from relatives abroad. Thousands have left the mountainous region in the last 15 years and settled either in Shkodra, Tirana or abroad. A little hope is placed in tourism : the mountain villages of Theth , Valbona and Vermosh are known for their impressive mountain landscapes. They are suitable as starting points for hikes and mountain tours . Like the entire economic development in the region, tourism is also struggling with two major problems. On the one hand, the infrastructure is bad. The roads in particular are in poor condition, so that even short stretches become long and arduous journeys. In the winter months, many villages are cut off from the environment for months and the pass roads are long covered in snow. The second major problem is the still precarious security situation. From the blood feud threatened people hardly their house can often leave for years. Smuggling has long been a widespread activity in the border region. And strangers were always robbed. Tourists are advised to visit Malësia e Madhe only after good preparation and not without local contacts.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Robert Elsie (Ed.): The Kanun . Dukagjini Publishing House, Peja 2001
  2. ^ Franz Nopcsa : Geography and Geology of Northern Albania , Institutum Regni Hungariae Geologicum, Budapest 1929;
    Akademia e Shkencave e RPSSH : Fjalor enciklopedik shqiptar , Tirana 1985 and Gjeografia fizike e Shqipërisë , Tirana 1990
  3. ↑ Akademia e Shkencave e RPSSH (ed.): Gjeografia fizike e Shqipërisë . tape 2 . Tirana 1991, p. 31 f .

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