Morina (Albania)

Morinë
Morina
( Designation in an indefinite and definite form )

42.148611111111 20.539444444444 420Coordinates: 42 ° 9 ' N , 20 ° 32' E

Basic data

Qark :

Kukës

Municipality :

Kukës

Height :

420 m above sea level A.

Morina ( Albanian also Morinë ) is a small village in the Kukës district in northeastern Albania . It belongs to the municipality of Kukës . Morina is particularly known in Albania as the most important border crossing to Kosovo .

geography

View from Pashtrik to the opposite side of the valley with Koritnik and Morina in the middle of the picture

The village lies on the northern slope of the Koritnik ( 2393 m above sea level ) above the bank of the Fierza reservoir in the valley of the White Drin . The neighboring village of Vërmica lies across the border on the Kosovar side .

Morina is halfway between Kukës in northern Albania and Prizren in Kosovo. Both cities are 20 kilometers away.

traffic

The Kukës – Prizren route is part of the European route 851 , which is signposted on the Albanian side as SH5 and forms the end of the A1 motorway . In Kosovo, the road continues as the Route 7 motorway and the M25 national road .

Last meters of the motorway before the border crossing

Since the construction of the highway, also known as Rruga e Kombit (Road of the Nation) , the first high-speed road connection between Kosovo and central Albania, the border crossing between the two countries has grown in importance. Most of the goods transported between Albania and Kosovo pass through Morina, and most travelers cross the border here.

Kosovo War

During the Kosovo war , tens of thousands of Albanian refugees passed the border in Morina every day . At that time Morina was the only border crossing between Kosovo and Albania. On June 13, 1999, Bundeswehr troops from Albania passed the border near Morina after NATO and Yugoslavia had agreed to withdraw Serbian troops from Kosovo.

Individual evidence

^ Reconstruction of Hani i Hotit Border Crossing Point (BCP) and Completion of Works at Morine (Kukes) BCP. (PDF) Project Fiche - IPA National programs. European Commission, 2012, accessed February 7, 2015 .
↑ Michael Schwarz, Gaby Neujahr, Annette Blettner: The misery of the expellees. In: Focus. April 12, 1999, accessed February 7, 2015 .
↑ AFP: Five refugees killed by mine. New references to mass graves. In: Der Tagesspiegel. April 18, 1999, accessed February 7, 2015 .
^ John Lancaster, James Rupert: Kosovo Escape Routes Closed Off Again. In: The Washington Post. April 20, 1999, accessed February 7, 2015 .
^ Frank Nordhausen, Norbert Mappes-Niediek: tanks, flowers, tears of joy. In: Berliner Zeitung. June 14, 1999, accessed February 7, 2015 .

[1] Reconstruction of Hani i Hotit Border Crossing Point (BCP) and Completion of Works at Morine (Kukes) BCP. (PDF) Project Fiche - IPA National programs. European Commission, 2012, accessed February 7, 2015 .

[2] Michael Schwarz, Gaby Neujahr, Annette Blettner: The misery of the expellees. In: Focus. April 12, 1999, accessed February 7, 2015 .

[3] AFP: Five refugees killed by mine. New references to mass graves. In: Der Tagesspiegel. April 18, 1999, accessed February 7, 2015 .

[4] John Lancaster, James Rupert: Kosovo Escape Routes Closed Off Again. In: The Washington Post. April 20, 1999, accessed February 7, 2015 .

[5] Frank Nordhausen, Norbert Mappes-Niediek: tanks, flowers, tears of joy. In: Berliner Zeitung. June 14, 1999, accessed February 7, 2015 .