Pogradec
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Pogradec Pogradeci |
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Coordinates: 40 ° 54 ' N , 20 ° 39' E |
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| Basic data | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Qark : | Korça | ||
| Municipality : | Pogradec | ||
| Height : | 735 m above sea level A. | ||
| Area : | 594.77 km² | ||
| Bashkia residents : | 61,530 (2011) | ||
| Population density (Bashkia): | 103 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Telephone code : | (+355) 832 | ||
| Postal code : | 7301-7303 | ||
| Politics and administration (as of 2019 ) | |||
| Mayor : | Ilir Xhakolli ( PS ) | ||
| Website : | |||
| Culture and history | |||
| City foundation : | 10th century | ||
| City Festival : | December 14th | ||
 Pogradec seen from the castle hill ( alb.Kalaja e Pogradecit ) (2013) |
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Pogradec ( Albanian also Pogradeci ; Turkish Pogradaş ; formerly İstarova and İstarye ) is a small town in southeastern Albania on the south bank of Lake Ohrid . Pogradec has 20,848 inhabitants (as of 2011). The city is one of the most important tourist destinations in the country and the seat of the municipality of the same name ( Bashkia ) .
geography
Pogradec is located on the southwest corner of Lake Ohrid, narrowed between two ridges. In the southeast of the city opens a small plain, which is separated from the large south-east Banan lowland of Korça by hills. The North Macedonian border at Sveti Naum is only six kilometers away. The border crossing at Qafë Thana , around 26 kilometers to the north, is the most important of the two countries.
In Pogradec there is a transitional climate between Mediterranean and continental . The winters are usually cold and rainy, the summers are hot and dry.
In 2015, Pogradec was merged with the other municipalities of the former Pogradec district and now includes the entire shore of Lake Ohrid on the Albanian side, a lot of mountainous land and the direct suburbs. The new municipality has 61,530 inhabitants (as of 2011).
| Surname | Population (2011) | Community type |
|---|---|---|
| Pogradec | 20,848 | Bashkia |
| Buçimas | 15,687 | Komuna |
| Çërrava | 7.009 | Komuna |
| Dardhas | 2,182 | Komuna |
| Hudenisht | 5,990 | Komuna |
| Proptisht | 4,785 | Komuna |
| Trebinja | 2,481 | Komuna |
| Velçan | 2,548 | Komuna |
history
The shores of Lake Ohrid have been inhabited since the Neolithic Age (6000 BC). The first historical settlers were the Illyrian Encheleans (8th and 7th centuries BC), who left many traces around Pogradec. So on the hill above the city, which was built by them in the 5th century BC. It was first fortified and lasted until the Slavs invaded in the 6th century. Several Illyrian royal tombs were found near the village of Selca e Poshtme , dating back to the 4th and 1st centuries BC. To date. They belonged to the ancient city of Pelion , which was destroyed by the Slavs in 547/548 AD. In the 10th century the settlement on the hill above the town was abandoned and the new town of Pogradec was founded in its current location. At the same time the hill was re-fortified by Bulgarians. The name Pogradec is of Slavic origin and is formed from the two words pod (under) and gradec (small town) and thus refers to the location of the new town, which is below the "small (old / Illyrian) town".
During the 18th century, the city became an administrative center of the region under the Ottoman rule. Because of the many wars - including the two Balkan Wars , the First World War and the Second World War - the city's old buildings were largely destroyed. Nevertheless, some characteristic buildings in the region survived and were designated cultural monuments.
economy
Pogradec was a center of mining and the food industry during communism. The region is known for its variety of fruits and vegetables, which are grown in a 400 meter wide strip along the lake shore between Lin and Tushemisht on 1500 hectares of irrigated land. Raki and wine are produced for the local market .
There are a few furniture factories, smaller metalworking factories and a textile factory in the city. In the ruins of the iron- nickel ore processing plant Gur i kuq, which was shut down in 1994, three kilometers north of the city, a company for the production of iron molded parts has set up. There is again little mining activity in the mines of the region.
The extensive chestnut forests (Castanea sativa) , which cover an area of over 1000 hectares at an altitude of 800–1200 meters in the hills near the city, were once considered an important economic factor. Neglect and goat feeding led to shrub forms. After the trees were cut back to the cane in the early 1990s and 150 hectares were replanted, chestnuts have been harvested for a few years now. Chestnut wood is used as parquet, generally for building houses and as firewood. There is still a lack of practical forest management to protect forests.
One disposal problem is the 30 to 35 tons of garbage that are produced in Pogradec every day. So far, they have been deposited in a valley near the village of Gurras on both sides of the road to the former coal mine of Alarup. Alternative locations, which are also viewed critically by ecologists, have been under discussion for years.
Progress has been made in wastewater treatment . A third of the wastewater from the city has so far been channeled to Drilon and there, untreated, into the lake. The remaining two thirds and the sewage from the surrounding villages were drained directly into streams or the ground. A sewer system, which was built with the support of the Reconstruction Loan Corporation and the Directorate for Development and Cooperation , has been in operation since 2007 . A new sewage system will treat 60 percent of the area's wastewater.
Better water quality of Lake Ohrid in the vicinity of Pogradec is also beneficial for tourism . This has been an important industry since the collapse of socialism . Many Albanians escape the heat of the coastal area in summer and spend their holidays at the cooler lake, which is almost 700 m above sea level. Numerous private hotels have emerged in recent years . To this end, the administration is also trying to improve the appearance of the city center: in 2007 a paved pedestrian zone with plant pots was almost completed; there is a United Nations- supported citizens' initiative that is creating green spaces. The waterfront is regularly cleaned of rubbish and the installation of waste bins in the green areas is planned.
Attractions
Lake Ohrid with its beaches is of particular tourist interest. Places of interest in the area include:
- Tushemisht , seaside resort east of the city, once a popular travel destination for King Zogus I and the former dictator Enver Hoxha
- Drilon , a small park with springs near the village of Tushemisht with a Chinese bridge that was built by the Chinese during the period of socialism.
- Lin , a small, pretty village about 20 kilometers north on Lake Ohrid.
- Selca , Illyrian graves from the 4th century BC approx. 40 kilometers northwest of Pogradec.
- Golik Bridge , a bridge over the Shkumbin River built by the Ottomans in the 17th century .
- Guri Kamjes (Stone of Kamja) , a free-standing rock, visible from afar, in the mountains southwest of the city, which was formed by the wind and erosion.
traffic
The city is connected by a trunk road with Ohrid (North Macedonia), Elbasan and Korça (further to Kapshtica on the border with Greece). The road section north of the city, along Lake Ohrid, is currently being expanded; it will take some time before the completely desolate roadway is widened and prepared.
To the mine Gur i Kuq a railway line was built in the communist era, that of Elbasan through Shkumbintal leading to Pogradec. The Albanian railway HSH no longer operates the route; rail traffic is at a standstill and, given the condition of the track, it is impossible to predict when trains will run here again. From Gur i kuq ( German Red Stone ) a few kilometers outside, urban buses run to the city center.
Sports
The local football club KS Pogradeci plays in the second division .
Personalities
- Gjergj Pekmezi (1872–1938), linguist and publicist
- Lasgush Poradeci (1899-1987), writer
- Dhimitër Pasko , writer and translator
- Ilmi Sulollari (* 1935), singer
- Luan Starova (* 1941), writer
- Llambi Gegprifti (* 1942), former politician
- Roza Dhami (born 1946), singer
Web links
- Official website of the municipality of Pogradec (Albanian)
- Pogradec Guide (English and Albanian)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Albania Census 2011 (Qark Korça). (PDF file; 1.6 MB) In: Instituti i Statistics . Accessed April 14, 2019 .
- ↑ Albania: Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa. (No longer available online.) In: the art of traveling. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013 ; Retrieved November 3, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ POGRADEC CITY GUIDE - POGRADEC ARCHAEOLOGY. Retrieved November 3, 2013 .
- ^ Forest Association Rhineland-Palatinate - Saarland eV: Excursion report Albania 2005. Archived from the original on November 10, 2007 ; Retrieved June 7, 2009 . (PDF)
- ^ State of the Environment Report 3: Human Activities in the Basin. (PDF; 797 kB) In: Yumpu. Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning, accessed on February 27, 2008 (Kastanienwald p. 35, Industrieabwässer p. 38, Müllabfuhr p. 40).
- ↑ Mary C. Watzin: Lake Ohrid and its Watershed: Our Lake, Our Future. (PDF) A State of the Environment Report. In: worldlakes.org. January 2003, p. 6 , accessed December 13, 2015 .
- ↑ Lake Ohrid. Experience and lessons learned brief. (PDF; 651 kB) In: International Lake Environment Committee Foundation. February 27, 2006, accessed December 13, 2015 (LBMI Project - Project Report).
- ^ Directorate for Development and Cooperation (Tirana Office): Success Story Lake Ohrid: Water Supply and Environmental Protection. Retrieved February 3, 2010 .
