Prokletije
| Prokletije (Albanian Alps) | |
|---|---|
.png) Northern Albania |
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 Central part of the mountain with the upper Shala valley and the Jezerca group |
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| Highest peak | Jezerca ( 2694 m above sea level ) |
| location | Albania , Kosovo , Montenegro |
| part of | Dinaric Alps |
| Coordinates | 42 ° 34 ′ N , 20 ° 0 ′ E |
| Type | Fold Mountains |
| rock | mainly limestone |
| Age of the rock | Jurassic and chalk |
| surface | 2,240 km² |
| particularities | highest mountain range in the Dinaric Alps |
 View from Shkodra to the mountains |
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The Prokletije ( Serbian - Cyrillic Проклетије to German "Enchanted Mountain", respectively North Albanian Alps, or Albanian Alps ; Albanian Alpet Shqiptare ) is a mountain massive of Südostdinariden in North albany , western Kosovo and eastern Montenegro , formed by deep valleys is divided into individual mountain ranges. It forms the southern transverse end of the Dinaric Chains and is also its highest part.
The heavily karstified Prokletije, which is marked by diverse glacial traces, culminates in the Jezerca at an altitude of 2694 m above sea level. A. Fissured Karlinge with high alpine steep walls and wide trough valleys formed by glaciers give the mountains an alpine impression that is rarely found anywhere else on the Balkan Peninsula .
The second highest peak of the Prokletije is Gjeravica ( 2656 m. I. Y. Year ) built from silicate rocks , which is also the highest mountain in Kosovo . The Zla Kolata ( Albanian Kollata e Keqe ) on the Albanian-Montenegrin border is 2534 m. i. J. the highest peak in Montenegro.
Word origin
The toponomastics of the mountains is characterized by two peculiarities. On the one hand there are the indigenous names Prokletije and Bjeshkët e Nemuna , which both mean Verfluchtes or Forbidden Mountains in German , which reflect the etymological ambivalence of the morphographic inaccessibility in the relief as well as the earlier socio-historical and socio-cultural circumstance: the mountains were formerly of patrilineal tribal associations dominated, in which no state order could prevail until the 20th century, but the common law of the Kanun with blood vengeance was considered the toughest sanction . The mountains were not available to non-residents for a long time, also because of Turkish travel bans. On the other hand, the Prokletije was the proverbial terra incognita , a “nameless” landscape in Europe, which waited for scientific and communicative penetration for a long time and was therefore toponomically not precisely recorded. In 19th century Europe, either the classical geographical Greek toponyms or vague Ottoman names were known for the important mountains. As a result, cartographers soon used an artificial name.
It was only fully explored cartographically, morphographically and ethnographically in the 20th century. Due to recurring unrest and wars, the international demarcation of borders , a lack of development and strict restrictions on movement in the Socialist People's Republic of Albania after the Second World War , it was mostly inaccessible to Western European scientists in the central part until the end of the 20th century. For example, it took until 2000 before the high mountain flora of the Jezerca could be scientifically recorded for the first time by the Slovenian botanist Tone Wraber.
The Ptolemaic name of Prokletije, Mons Bertiscus , is the oldest written record. Bertiscus is still the technical name of the mountain range and is used as an epithet in the form bertiscae for endemic species or species that have their locus classicus in these mountains (for example Valeriana bertiscae , Crepis bertiscae , Iris bertiscae ). August Grisebach used the traditional Latin name Bertiscus almost continuously for mountains north of the Drin and west of Peć in 1839 . He only briefly mentioned the term "Albanian Alps" in Chapter 13 of Volume Two. Old names, widespread in the Balkans and also associated with the Prokletije, are the Ottoman names "Karadag" and "Kurbeta planina" after Grisebach and Pančić . These mountain toponyms of the Balkan morphography can be found numerous in the descriptions of the first half of the 19th century, but mostly offer only a vague idea. Ami Boué could not give a general toponym for the mountains in La Turquie d'Europe in 1840 . When François Pouqueville (1820) of more land than was Lacoulac and Arnaoutlik referred.
In German and in various other languages, in addition to Prokletije, the artificial name Northern Albanian Alps and, more rarely, Albanian Alps are used. According to Jovan Cvijić, the term map legends came from the representation of the Balkan Peninsula, which was printed in Europe. However, the area itself was only shown schematically on the official map of the Imperial and Royal Military Geographic Institute in Vienna at the end of the 19th century. The term “Northern Albanian Alps” has also become common practice with some English geographers. The last cartographic gaps were only closed with the intensive, strategic exploration of Albania by the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War.
The addition North- is not used in Albanian, but there is also the term Alpet e veriut (Alps of the North) in non-scientific texts . In Italian and French there is no reference to the direction of the compass (Alpe albanese, Alpes albanaises). While the term North Albanian Mountains can be found in expedition reports of the German and Austrian Alpine Association from 1931 , it was used a few years later in reports of mountaineering expeditions the name North Albanian Alps prevailed in the area.
Outline of the Prokletije
Location and relief
The Prokletije is about 40 kilometers wide from southwest to northeast from Lake Skadar over 90 kilometers along the Montenegrin-Albanian and Montenegrin-Kosovar border to Peja in Kosovo and Rožaje in Montenegro, meridional between 42 ° 45 ′ and 42 ° 15 ′ N lying massif in the subtropical zone of the western Balkan peninsula. The southern border of the Prokletijes is formed by the river Drin and its tributary Valbona . The actual high mountains comprise the central areas with an extension of around 20 to 25 kilometers.
In a broader sense, the mountain ranges to Mitrovica with Hajla and Mokra Gora also belong to the Prokletije. Other authors, on the other hand, see the geological northern limit of Prokletije as early as the Lim or a little further south, where a zone with shale begins.
The limestone table of the Prokletijes is divided into several mighty mountain blocks by deeply incised valleys, which strive towards the center from all sides, such as the Bjeshkët e Namuna north of the Përroi i Thatë , the Biga e Gimajive south of it, the Jezerca block between Shala and Valbona Valley, the mountain range of the Maja e Hekurave south of the Valbona valley, the plateau of the Kollata north of the Valbona or the Shkëlzen northeast of the Valbona. A mighty incision consisting of the Shala valley south and Runica valley north of the pass Qafa e Pejës ( 1710 m above sea level ) divides the mountain range into a western and an eastern half.
The valleys were formed into pronounced trough valleys by Ice Age glaciers , which are characterized by very steep walls and basins in the uppermost section with a depth of up to 1000 meters. At 800 meters, the south face of Arapi is the highest rock face on the Balkan Peninsula. 13 mountain peaks are higher than 2500 m above sea level. A.
The Prokletije is divided into numerous regions based on ethnographic and sociological principles. The names of the various tribes - Hoti, Gruda, Këlmendi, Kastrati, Dukagjini, Shkreli, Shala, Nikaj, Krasniqi, Gashi - are used to describe their geographical habitats.
In addition, the mountain range is divided into the following areas based on geological principles, some of which overlap or are parts of higher-level regions:
Bjeshkët e Namuna
Bjeshkët e Namuna (in English: Verwunschene Berge ) describes on the one hand an approximately twelve kilometer long series of mountains northwest of Theth , which are characterized by a particular lack of water, rugged karst landscape and desertedness. The massif lies between the valleys of the Përroi i Thatë in the south, that of the Cem in the northwest and the Shala in the east.
Bjeshkët e Namuna includes 42 mountain peaks with a height of over 2000 meters, another 22 peaks are higher than 2300 meters and five are higher than 2500 meters. The Radohima ( 2568 m above sea level ) as the highest elevation dominates the eastern part with several secondary peaks. Other high peaks are the Maja e Shënikut ( 2553 m above sea level ), the Maja e Risklit ( 2496 m above sea level ), the Arapi ( 2217 m above sea level ), the Maja e Prozhmit ( 2452 m above sea level). A. ), the Maja e Langojve ( 2525 m above sea level ) and the peaks of the Karanfili ( 2490 m. I. J. ), which is already north of the border in Montenegro. The landscape of the Galziokarst is typical of the rugged and karst mountain world of Bjeshkët e Namuna . Major depression is particularly noticeable. In such closed “paleo dolines ” of large glacial troughs there are small forms of the glacial karst: carts, sack dolines , shafts and layered stairs. The landscape of the Glaziokarst mainly belongs to the Naked Karst , the surrounding rock dominates. In between, however, there are always areas of the covered karst on which a closed soil layer has formed.
Contrary to the claim, Bjeshkët e Namuna is not the Albanian name for the entire mountain range, although it is the literal translation of Prokletije .
Bjeshkët e Nemuna të Kosovës
With Bjeshkët e Nemuna të Kosovës (in German: Verwunschene Berge Kosovos ), the term is also used for the mountains in western Kosovo along its borders with Albania and Montenegro. These form the eastern end of the Prokletije. In contrast to the central parts, where open, unforested limestone cliffs and deeply cut valleys shape the landscape, the high peaks here are also less rocky, greener and usually a little less steep.
The highest peaks in this region include the Gjeravica ( 2656 m. I. Year ; Serbian - Cyrillic Đeravica ), the Maja e Ropës ( 2502 m. I. Year ; also Rops ) and the Marijaš ( 2530 m. I. Year ; Albanian Marijash ). The Gjeravica is the highest mountain in Kosovo and is located less than two kilometers within Kosovar territory not far from the Tromeđa ( 2366 m. I. J .; Albanian Trekufiri ), the triangle with Albania and Montenegro. A distinction is made between several sub-areas and massifs such as Rugova and Lumbardh in the north, Strellc and Koprivnik in the north-east , the Bogićevica in the southern border area with Montenegro and the mountains of Junik and Deçan in the south-east.
In the Bjeshkët e Namuna të Kosovës there are various smaller mountain lakes, for example the Gjeravica lake and the Zemra lake on the Gjeravica as well as the Leqinat lake in Rugova in Kosovar territory and the group of Sylbica lakes in the north of Tropoja in Albania .
Malësia e Madhe
Malësia e Madhe (in English: Great Mountains ) is the name of the western part of the Prokletijes, which is drained to Lake Shkodra and mainly includes the valleys of the Cem and Përroi i Thatë . These include today's Albanian community Malësia e Madhe (30,823 inhabitants according to the 2011 census) as well as some areas bordering north in southern Montenegro to Tuzi .
Traditionally, the region is mostly inhabited by Catholics. In the Kanun , these include the areas of the Hoti, Gruda, Kastrati and Këlmendi tribes. Albanian geographers sometimes refer to them as the Western Alps (Alpet perëndimore) . The highest mountains are those of Bjeshkët e Namuna .
Malësia e Vogël
The bordering Eastern Alps (Alpet Lindore) are also known as Malësia e Vogël (in German: Little Bergland ) and Malësia e Gjakovës (in German: Bergland von Gjakova ). The Malësiae Vogël covers the northern and western parts of the municipality of Tropoja (20,517 inhabitants according to the 2011 census), in the east it extends to the edge of the Kosovar plain Rrafsh i Dukagjinit west of Gjakova. The highest peaks here are the Jezerca ( 2694 m above sea level ), the Maja Grykat e Hapëta (with 2625 m above sea level the third highest peak of the mountains), the Maja e Hekurave ( 2559 m above sea level ), the Maja e Kollatës ( 2552 m above sea level. A. ) with a minor peak Zla Kolata ( 2538 m. i. J. ), which Maja Rosit ( 2528 m above sea level. A. ) and the Shkëlzen ( 2407 m above sea level. A. ). From the Jezerca massif in the west of the Malësia e Vogël, a mountain ridge that forms the border with Montenegro stretches to the east, known as the Kollata group in Albania and the Belić group in Montenegro . In the far east rises the Shkëlzen massif, south of the Valbona valley the mighty mountain range of the Maja e Hekurave. In the northeast it turns into the Bjeshkët e Namuna të Kosovës .
Important rivers are the Valbona , its tributaries Gash and Bistrica and the Curraj brook on the southern edge. The town of Bajram Curr and the village of Tropoja , the historic center, also belong to this area.
Dukagjin
The mountainous country bordering the Malësia e Madhe to the south and east and which is drained towards the Drin is called Dukagjin (Malësia e Dukagjinit) according to ethnographic criteria . Today it belongs mostly to the Shkodra municipality . The Dukagjin covers an area of 814 square kilometers, which roughly forms a triangle between the Jezerca block in the north, the mountain Maranaj ( 1576 m above sea level ) in the southwest and the Koman reservoir in the southeast. An important mountain is the Biga e Gimajve ( 2231 m above sea level ) on the border with Malësia e Madhe . The most important valleys are those of the Kir and the Shala, the lower reaches of which were called Leshnica until it was inundated by the Koman reservoir. The Cukali massif ( Maja e Meqithit , 1734 m above sea level ) rises between the Kir and Drin valleys , but geologically stands out from the karst in the north.
In Dukagjin there are 32 villages with around 5870 inhabitants (2011 census), which until 2015 were grouped together in the communities of Shala, Shosh, Pult, Shllak and Temal. This also includes the well-known village of Theth .
In Kanun, Dukagjin refers to the area of the Shala, Shoshi, Nikaj, Dushamani and Merturi tribes.
There is a risk of confusion with two other areas that have the same name: On the one hand, Metochien , the western part of Kosovo, is called Rrafsh i Dukagjinit in Albanian . On the other hand, in historical times there was the area of the princes Dukagjini and the Sanjak Dukagjin , who lay in the mountainous region south of the Prokletijes and the Drins.
Northeastern foothills
In the northeast, the mountains in the border area between Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia across the Rugova Gorge to Mitrovica are also included in the Prokletije. These include, in particular, the Hajla , Žljeb and Mokra Gora massifs .
The Hajla is located in the far west of Kosovo north of the valley of the Pećka Bistrica , which makes its way to the east through the Rugova Gorge . The massif culminates in the eponymous summit at 2403 m. i. J. The Kosovar-Montenegrin border crosses the highest peaks. The river Ibar has its source in the north on the Montenegrin side . In the Kosovar village of Boga , which is around 1400 meters at the foot of the Hajla, there are ski lifts for winter sports enthusiasts.
Following the border to the east, the Hajla is followed by the Žljeb massif . It is north of Peja. The highest peak Rusulija ( 2381 m. I. J. ) is a little south of the border.
Further to the northeast are the Mokra Gora . The highest point is the Pogled ( 2154 m. I. J. ) on the border between Kosovo and Serbia. A little to the west is the document ( 2142 m. Y. Year ) on the border between Kosovo and Montenegro - in between lies the three-country point.
Kučka Krajina and Komovi
The assignment of the Kučka Krajina to the Prokletije is controversial as it lies in the transition to the Montenegrin high karst. These mountains, to which the Surdup ( 2184 m. Y. Year ), the Stitan ( 2165 m. Y. Y. ), Žijevo ( 2131 m. Y. Y. ) And Maglič ( 2142 m. Y. Y. ) Belong , lie in Montenegro a little west of the border with Albania Lim, Tara and Morača .
The Komovi mountain range, bordering the Kučka Krajina to the north, with Kučki Kom ( 2487 m. Yr . ), Ljevoriječki Kom ( 2469 m. Y. Year ) and Vasojevicki Kom ( 2460 m. Y. Y. ) As the highest peaks is also often no longer counted as part of the Prokletije; at least geologically it is of different origin.
geology
Structurally geologically, in the Prokletije the ceiling of the high karst overlaps with the Durmitor ceiling . Tectonically, the Hochkarst belongs to the younger outer Dinarides, the Durmitor ceiling to the inner Dinarides. This means that the age of the geological series decreases from northwest to southeast.
In its western and central part, the mountains are mainly composed of uniform and powerful Mesozoic limestone and dolomites from the Jurassic and Cretaceous ages. In the part belonging to the Durmitor ceiling, the massif has a more varied and complex structure, which requires small-scale facies changes.
In the eastern Prokletije, in addition to limestone and dolomite series, there are therefore late Paleozoic and Lower Triassic Flysche , Central Triassic igneous rocks and Central and Lower Jurassic metamorphic rocks .
In its entirety, however, the mountain range has not yet been fully recorded.
Geomorphological processes
The Prokletije Mountains are typical high mountains with a pronounced steep relief and a wealth of glacial shapes. Absolute relief energies of 1,800 m can be found in the Valbona, Grbaja and Ropojani as well as Cijevna valleys, overhanging walls and pointed ridges such as mountain peaks are typical for the western and central Prokletije, while in the eastern part of the mountains milder relief forms prevail. The kart stairs and trough valleys are characteristic of the strong Pleistocene glaciation.
Recent icing
On shady north-east slopes between 1980 and 2420 meters above sea level, there are around a dozen active recent glaciers as well as active and inactive rock glaciers in Prokletije, along with snow fields . Below the Jezerce peak lie three smaller slope glaciers of around 150 to 250 meters in length, of which the largest in autumn 2006 had an area of around 7 hectares. Other smaller glaciers with lengths of almost 400 meters formed on the southern slopes of the Valbona valley around the Maja e Zhaporës ( 2561 m above sea level ) and the Maja e Brijasit ( 2567 m above sea level ). Two other glaciers were (in steep northwestern slopes between Karanfili 2490 m. I. J. ) and Maja Vukocës ( 2450 m above sea level. A. ) demonstrated a latter on a large cirque between Kollata ( 2552 m above sea level. A. ) and Dobra Kollata ( 2,528 mi J . ). In addition to two glaciers in the Pirin Mountains in Bulgaria, these are the southernmost glaciers in Europe. They are all below the climatic snow line .
The trough valleys of Ropojani, Grbaja and Valbona were carved out by kilometers of glaciers in the last ice age. The Plavsko jezero , located in the main valley of the Lim , was long considered a tongue basin lake , but is no longer regarded as such because the glaciers never advanced that far. In contrast, around 20 smaller lakes are of glacial origin, such as the Buni i Jezerce lake group on the north side of the Jezerca (hence the name of the lake peak ), the Liqenet të Sylbicës lake group in the northeast of Tropoja, the Ridsko jezero and Bukumirsko jezero and Rikavacko jezero in Montenegro and the Leqinat lake in Kosovo. Other small lakes there are in Kosovo around the Žuti came and Gjeravica ( Gjeravica Lake , Zemra Lake ). Such an accumulation is usually only found in the Alps on mainland Europe .
Karstification
Characteristic for the karstified part of the Prokletije are the numerous, largely unexplored caves . The Shpella e Puçit cave above Boga is considered the largest cave in Albania. It is 370 meters deep, around five kilometers long and bears the name of an Italian speleologist . A very long horizontal cave that has been explored for years can be found at the Arapi .
Fluvial dynamics
Numerous important rivers of the southeastern Western Balkans have their source in the Prokletije. The Tara and Lim , two headwaters of the largest Dinaric river system, the Drina, begin on the northern edge . The Lumi i Vermoshit , which is called Lim in Montenegro, has its source in the north-western part of the mountain. At Plav the Lim flows through the Plavsko jezero lake . As a tributary of the Drina, it drains into the Black Sea with the source rivers of the Tara .
The southern Prokletije, on the other hand , is drained to the Adriatic by the Drin and its tributary Valbona , which form the southern border of the mountains . The Valbona takes from the Northeast still the gash on. In the west of the mountains, the Cijevna (Albanian: Cem ) is the most important drain. The Cijevna drains the north-western part of the Montenegrin-Albanian border area with the Adriatic. Also known are the Shala and the Kir in the southern Prokletije, which, due to the karst nature of the Bjeshkët e Namuna , are characterized by strong water level fluctuations caused by the karst hydrological drought. The rivers carry the most water in May when the snowmelts. The dry valley of the Përroi i Thatë (in English: dry brook ), which flows water only after heavy rainfall , which flows into Lake Shkodra, is another example of karst rivers.
The White Drin , the source of which is located on the northeastern edge of the mountains, takes on numerous rivers that arise in the east of the mountains. These include the Bistrica e Pejës and the southern Bistrica e Deçanit , both of which form deep gorges, and the Erenik .
In summer the rivers carry little water or, like most watercourses, dry up completely. Water is then very rare in the mountains. In the water-rich valleys of the Shala and Valbona rivers, a lot of water from springs in the mountain emerges again and is also used there to irrigate fields and generate energy. Oko Skakavica is an important karst spring in the Montenegrin part near Vusanje.
climate
The climate in Prokletije is characterized by cold winters and hot, dry summers, although in higher elevations it is pleasantly fresh even in summer. The mountains are exposed to both the Mediterranean and continental climates. The western edge is not far from the Adriatic Sea . The climate on the eastern edge, however, is more continental. The mean temperature distribution is 10 ° C in July and −8 ° C in January. Average temperatures in Theth are 20.4 ° C in July and −0.2 ° C in January, in the slightly higher Vermosh they are with 15.9 ° C respectively. −2.8 ° C a little lower.
The Prokletije is considered to be an area rich in rainfall with peaks of over 3500 mm per year. Precipitation of 3,033 millimeters per year is measured in the village of Boga in the dry valley ; in the rest of the mountains 2000 to 2500 millimeters per year are the rule. Most of the precipitation falls in the cold season, over 500 mm in November alone. Up to two meters of snow are also common. At higher altitudes there is usually still snow to be found even in midsummer. Only in very dry years did the snow fields in the high mountains disappear in the course of late summer and autumn. In winter, some villages in the Albanian part of the Prokletijes are in fact completely cut off from the environment for months.
The discovery of recent glaciers a few years ago is of great interest for further climate research .
biogeography
Flora and vegetation
The vegetation of the Prokletije is one of the richest in the Balkan Peninsula and belongs to the Central European flora . To date, 1611 wild plants have been described in the Albanian part alone. A total of 50 endemic , sub-endemic and threatened plant species have been identified. The southern edge mountains already show a sub-Mediterranean character. For the deepest valley areas of the gorges and sunny slopes this means evergreen maquis , in higher valley areas summer green Sibljak bushes. Due to its altitude and topographically favored habitats, the Prokletije is one of the centers of the arctic-alpine relic flora of the Balkan Peninsula. Of the 77 arctic-alpine species of the former Ice Age flora of the Balkan Peninsula, a little more than 50 species are still found in the Prokletije. 19 species that occur in the Prokletije can be found in the Red List of Endangered Species .
100 lichen species, 145 fungi , but only 258 taxa of bryophytes were detected.
Vegetation levels
The vegetation levels in the Prokletije correspond to the alpine ones: these lead from colline valleys over the montane mountain range to forest-free alpine and subalpine meadows and the subnival tundra , which is shaped by the effect of the permafrost from extensive debris heaps with raw soil . A real nival level is not widespread, although snow and firn fields can hold up over the summer in the high areas and four very small glaciers have been preserved in shaded high areas around the highest elevation of the Jezerca peak.
Beech and fir forests and, in silicate areas, spruce forests characterize the montane areas. Here prevail beeches ( Fagus sylvatica ) in front, which frequently White Fir note. In contrast, the Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris ) typical of Northern Europe is rare , whereas the drought-resistant Mediterranean black pine (Pinus nigra) is common . Quivering aspen ( Populus tremula ) are found in damp locations, while sycamore maple ( Acer pseudoplatanus ) and Norway spruce ( Picea abies ) - the Prokletije is one of the southernmost distribution areas of the spruce in Europe - are widespread at the tree line . The “battle zones” of the forest are formed by thick thickets of mountain pine ( Pinus mugo ). Two relic - conifers that snakeskin pine ( Pinus heldreichii ) in carbonate rocks and the Macedonian pine ( Pinus peuce ) on silicates, are typical elements of Balkan endemic flora and of particular naturalistic interest. The tree line is at an altitude of around 1700 meters.
The tiers, which are rich in alpine species, belong to the associations of upholstered sedges and blue grass lawns of the Seslerion juncifoliae as well as of the shallow rocky rubble-calcareous soils of the Oxytropidion dinaricae , which correspond to the alpine sloping grasslands of the Alps. The numerous alpine species , also known from the Alps, include the alpine aster ( Aster alpinus ), edelweiss ( Leontopodium nivalis ) and white silver arum ( Dryas octopetala ). Like the types of snow valley societies, these are typical high mountain plants, specially morphologically and ecologically adapted to short vegetation periods, high UV radiation, frost and poor soils.
The rock communities in Prokletije are particularly noteworthy as they are rich in rare and endemic species: including the tertiary relict Neumayer jug fruit ( Amphoricarpos neumayerianus ), Wulfenia carinthiaca subsp. blecicii , a plantain family ( Plantaginaceae ) that is distributed in the central Prokletije as a disjoint species of the alpine Wulfenia over 700 kilometers as the crow flies, Petasites doerfleri , which can only be found on the Jezerca, the Albanian lily ( Lilium albanicum ) and the on Viola ducagjinica occurring in serpentine soils at the summit of Radohina. Worth mentioning is also Viola vilaensis Hayek, one the nature Viola chelmea belonging violets from the Montenegrin-Albanian border area, especially at the lake Bukumirsko jezero used in 2100 meters above sea level and belonging to a common only in Asia Minor and the Balkans clan, the powerful by a verholzendenes, Rhizome , kleistogamous flowers and the lack of foothills are specially adapted to the inhospitable high mountain climates of dry high karst mountains. The Prokletije is also the only European distribution area of the tertiary relic of Forsythia europaea .
Use of medicinal plants
More than 100 medicinal herbs have been identified in the mountains , including species from the genera Primula , Satureja and Sideritis .
Collecting medicinal plants for commercial purposes has been practiced for many decades. Common sage ( Salvia officinalis ), but also, for example, yellow gentian ( Gentiana lutea ), black deadly nightshade ( Atropa belladonna ), black elderberry ( Sambucus nigra ), lingonberry ( Vaccinium vitis-idaea ), autumn crocus ( Colchicum autumnale ), woolly are collected Foxglove ( Digitalis lanata ) and silver birch ( Betula pendula ). Excessive gathering of these plants is a threat to individual species and to biodiversity.
fauna
Among the mammals - along with more common animals such as roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus ), badger ( Meles meles ), fox ( Vulpes vulpes ) and polecat ( Mustela putorius ) - are species that have long been extinct elsewhere, such as the brown bear ( Ursus arctos ), the otter ( Lutra lutra ) and the wolf ( Canis lupus ). Also chamois subspecies Rupicapra rupicapra balcanica are often detected. The endangered Balkan lynx ( Lynx lynx balcanicus ), a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx , of which there are only 30 to 50 specimens left, has found a final refuge in the Prokletije in northern Albania as well as in the Rugova valley; Evidence is extremely rare. The Hungarian researcher Nopcsa speculated whether mouflons were still living in the Prokletije during his travels before the First World War .
The bird world is diverse with over 200 species recorded. After like coming, for example, Golden Eagle ( Aquila chrysaetos ), Schlangenadler ( Circaetus gallicus ), Buzzard ( Pernis apivorus ), Peregrine ( Falco peregrinus ), Rock Partridge ( Alectoris graeca ), owl ( Bubo bubo ), Zwergohreule ( Otus scops ), snow Fink ( Montifringilla nivalis ) and capercaillie ( Tetrao urogallus ).
The Prokletije mountain lizard ( Dinarolacerta montenegrina ) is an endemic species of the Prokletije. It is considered a relic species and has so far been described by two places in Montenegro and one population in Albania. The species inhabits sub-alpine armored pine forests in particular, where it has mostly been observed around damp places at springs and glacial lakes. Overall, the area is considered a center of European herpetofauna . Amphibians in the waters and wetlands are also striking . This includes the southern border of the European distribution of the Alpine salamander ( Salamandra atra ). In the Hridsko jezore there is a special center of the neotenic population of the mountain newt ( Triturus alpestris ). In larger glacial lakes of the Prokletije, such as in Visitorsko jezero , such populations with large populations of mountain newts were severely decimated by the introduction of fish. Forest lizards are found in high beech forests and the forests with Macedonian pine. So far, however, they have only been found around Lake Hridsko . Among the amphibians, fire salamanders ( Salamandra salamandra ) and yellow-bellied toads ( Bombina variegata ), Greek frogs and the giant green lizard (Lacerta tirlineata) are also common. Also worth mentioning are the sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) , the green lizard (Lacerta viridis) , the Greek tortoise (Testudo hermanni) as well as the poisonous horned viper (Vipera ammodytes) and the adder (Vipera berus) , which are real otters .
In the rivers you can find the marmorata trout ( Salmo trutta marmoratus, Salmo trutta macrostigma ) growing into capital fish , in Cem the local stream subspecies Leuciscus souffia montenegrinus .
natural reserve
Thanks to its remote location and the low living conditions, the natural environment in the mountains is generally still well preserved. Various regions of the mountains are already designated as nature reserves:
- In Albania:
- At Theth, an area of 2300 hectares is protected as Theth National Park. These include the very narrow gorge and the Grunas waterfall .
- The Valbonatal National Park bordering to the east with a lot of forest covers 8,000 hectares.
- Even further to the east is the Lugina e Gashit nature reserve ( Gashi Valley) , which covers 3,000 hectares in the northeast of the municipality of Tropoja at the border triangle. With the resolution of 1996 a practically uninhabited and untouched mountain world is protected.
- The valley of Nikaj-Mërtur, south of the Valbona valley, has been protected as a regional nature park since 2008 . The remote and sparsely populated region covers around 17,505 hectares.
- The Montenegrin part of the central Prokletije has been completely protected as a national park since 2009: The Prokletije National Park covers an area of 16,630 hectares, mainly south of the Lim and east of Plav.
- In Kosovo, a total of 62,488 hectares were protected as Bjeshkët e Nemuna National Park in 2013 with the Rugova Gorge in the Pećka Bistrica valley near Peja . In addition, the Rugova Gorge is a natural monument (4301 hectares), and there are several other very small nature reserves and natural monuments.
The responsible Albanian ministry has plans to establish a large Albanian Alps National Park , which would not only encompass the two protected areas, but also a large part of the mountains in Albania with an area of over 144,000 hectares. There are also efforts to unite the protected areas in the three countries into one large, transnational protected area. In 2013 Albanian and Kosovo decided to work together in this area.
In the Gashi Valley, the largest beech forest in the mountains was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017 . The remote, 1262 hectare area belongs to the primeval beech forests and old beech forests of the Carpathian Mountains and other regions of Europe , which includes 66 other protected areas in numerous European countries.
Although the Prokletije still shows little damage by humans, the pressure on nature is great. Illegal clearing of forests is a major problem across Albania and Kosovo today. Large parts of the mountains including the nature reserves are affected by this. Forest fires occur again and again in dry summers, some of which are started intentionally. All large mammals such as wolves, chamois, foxes, badgers and wild boars as well as the large birds of prey are hunted regardless of the national park boundaries; Illegal fishing and excessive foraging of plants were also found. In recent years, more and more illegal buildings have been discovered. There is also a lack of sewage and waste disposal facilities. Otherwise, the pollution is still modest, as there is no industry or mines worth mentioning. The air and water quality are good, the rivers are mostly in their natural state.
Settlement, economy and transport
Settlements and infrastructure
The Prokletije is inhabited by Albanians , Montenegrins , Serbs and Bosniaks , but only very sparsely populated. On the outskirts there are some small towns that serve as regional centers: the Albanian Koplik and the Montenegrin Tuzi in the west not far from Lake Shkodra, Plav and Gusinje in the valley of the Upper Lim in Montenegro on the northern edge, as well as Bajram Curr , the capital of the municipality of Tropoja, in the eastern Prokletije. The larger cities of Shkodra, Podgorica, Gjakova and Peja, which are a little further away, can also include parts of the Prokletije as part of their area of influence and are frequented by the inhabitants of the mountains as supra-regional centers for errands, visits to the authorities and market sales. The population including the population in the peripheral zones and associated cities adds up to an estimated 150,000 people.
Within the mountains there are only villages with up to a few hundred inhabitants. Often there are distinct scattered settlements without a clear core. There are more compact settlements in the eastern area. Tamara in the valley of the Cem, which belongs to Kelmend, is one of the largest villages . The former community with eight villages - including Vermosh - had 3,056 inhabitants (2011 census). Today Tamara is the only place in the central mountains with infrastructure facilities such as a secondary school ( Albanian Shkolla e mesme ) and - besides Vermosh - a maternity hospital. Until the collapse of the communist system, there were such facilities in the Shala Valley, for example, where there was a small administrative center in Breglumi with municipal administration, a middle school, a small hospital and a military. Many residents of the villages in the inner Prokletije such as Boga, Theth or Valbona only live there in the summer months, as these villages are often cut off from the environment for weeks or months in winter and the supply situation is very poor.
In addition to seasonal migration, the entire mountain range suffers from strong migration, as there is hardly any income besides agriculture. Poor infrastructure, the war in 1999, and aging intensify these emigration trends. In Albania in particular, many move to the Shkodra or Koplik area, to Tirana or abroad in the hope of work and a little more comfort . Since the number of the year-round population and therefore also of children is getting smaller, there are only a few state or municipal employees such as teachers. Many villages were settled before the 15th century. Individual valleys, which numbered several thousand inhabitants at the end of communism, threaten to depopulate today . In the former parishes of the Dukagjin, the population decreased from 12,000 in 1990 to around 7,000 in 2001, which roughly corresponds to the population of the late 1920s, and to 5,870 in 2011.
Hydropower is only used to a greater extent on the Drin. In many villages such as Theth and Tamara there are or were small hydroelectric power stations that were supposed to supply the area with electricity.
Agriculture
The Prokletije is one of the poorest regions in all three countries, but the Albanian part is particularly underdeveloped. Agriculture is the most important branch of the economy, with livestock being particularly important. Mainly sheep are kept, along with a few cows and goats. Vegetables are grown and fruits are harvested. The products are especially feta cheese , brandy , honey , collected berries and medicinal herbs and craftsmanship sold. As in all of Albania and Kosovo, however, most farmers only operate subsistence farming and are often dependent on remittances from family members abroad. The average farm in Dukagjin in the mid-1990s had 1,500 to 3,000 square feet of land, one to three cows, 15 sheep and goats, two or three pigs, and a few chickens.
In addition to agriculture, forestry - often illegally - and, to a modest extent, tourism also provide an income. There is no industry in the mountains.
In the summer of 2014, the police destroyed several hundred cannabis fields in Dukagjin . The area has also been called the Lazarat of the North - as in Lazarat , the police encountered armed resistance in this remote area.
tourism
Thanks to the “very special landscape and the high natural value of these mountain ranges” ( UNEP ), tourism also offers a certain potential. The tourist infrastructure, however, is modest or is completely lacking and therefore still offers little income. The tourist offer is constantly being expanded. There has been a modest amount of mountain tourism around Plav and Gusinje for a long time . In 2008, a sport climbing area was set up by German climbers. There is even winter tourism in the Hajle area in Kosovo , while the first via ferrata in the Balkans was opened in the Rugova Gorge in 2013 .
In Albania, too, mountain and hiking tourism has developed strongly in a few places such as Theth in recent years. With initial help from GTZ , tourist accommodation was built in private houses; In 2010, 130 beds were available in private accommodation - 100 more than in 2007. In addition - with the long-distance hiking trail Peaks of the Balkans even across the borders - hiking trails were expanded and marked, signposts, orientation maps were set up and the publication of hiking guides was financed. In the period from 2006 to 2009, the number of tourists in Theth rose from around 300 to 7500 per year - in contrast to the rest of Albania, the majority of these are foreign travelers. During this time, the residents of the village generated an income of an estimated 150,000 euros from tourism.
There are also individual hotels in Valbona and Razma, an excursion destination on a terrace on the western edge of the Malësia e Madhë, and in the larger towns on the edge of the mountains such as Plav, Tuzi , Bajram Curr, Deçan and Peja. Some of the rivers are suitable for kayaking .
Traffic routes
In the past, what was once the most important connection from the southern Adriatic into the interior of the Balkan Peninsula led through the Prokletije, following the large river valleys. The former caravan route between Podgorica and Plav also crossed the mountains along Lim and Cijevna, but was blocked by the drawing of the border through the valley of Vermosh at the Berlin Congress for strategic reasons at the time when Austria-Hungary required it to be drawn through the Vermosh valley . Today the transport infrastructure is very weak and the main roads lead around the mountains. The road network is poorly developed, barely paved and often blocked by snow in winter.
Only in the north-west is there a road that crosses the Prokletije. It leads from the east bank of Lake Shkodra at Han i Hotit over a first pass into the valley of the Cem, follows this up to the source high over the Qafa e Bordolecit to Vermosh, crosses the border to Montenegro and ends at Gusinje. The asphalting of the road was completed at the end of 2016. From west to east there is only one road that leads from Koplik via Boga and the Qafa e Thorës to Theth. This road is paved up to the top of the pass. From Theth, from where a bad road leads down the Shala valley into the Kir valley and following this river to Shkodra, it is only possible to walk north - over the Qafa e Pejës - and to the east - over the Qafa e Valbonës - further. The Valbona valley is accessible via an asphalt road from Bajram Curr. Bajram Curr is best reached from Gjakova via the well-developed Qafa e Morinës . The operation of the car ferry on the Koman reservoir from Koman to Fierza was temporarily suspended in 2012. In the meantime, ferries run again in summer and boats for passenger transport all year round. Between Kosovo and Montenegro only the road between Peja and Rožaje over the Kula Pass is open.
history
Early history and antiquity
The Prokletije has a long history of settlement. For example, the oldest documented traces of settlement in the upper Shala valley date from the Paleolithic . In Montenegro, significant rock carvings from the Middle Bronze Age have been found on the Maja Popadija mountain . Finds from Illyrian times were also made; For the Illyrians, the mountain valleys were retreat areas during Roman times . The oldest finds in Plav, which was later colonized by the Romans, date from the 8th century BC. From the 4th century the area became Christian .
middle Ages
In late antiquity from the 7th to 10th centuries, when the Slavs conquered the Balkans , the Prokletije was also colonized by Slavs . Numerous place names of Slavic origin indicate this. At the end of the 13th century the area became part of the Serbian Nemanjid Empire. After the death of Stefan Dušan in 1355, the Serbian sphere of influence gradually disintegrated. The Kosovar eastern edge of the mountains remained a center of Serbian orthodoxy until modern times and is home to the archbishop's seat of the Patriarchate of Peć . In the area of Prokletije, after the Serbs, the Balšić ruled first , then mainly local Albanian noble families such as the Dukagjini princes , who all had to ally either with the Turks or with the Venetians. Around 1430, the Prokletije and other mountain regions in the north were among the last areas that were not yet occupied by the Turks.
Turkish times
The conquest of Northern Albania by the Turks led to the fact that many residents of the coastal plain fled to the mountains and settled there. The event must have fundamentally changed society, as there are no known tribal ancestors among the inhabitants before 1500.
The modern age is primarily characterized by the more or less successful defensive struggle of the Catholic mountain people against the Ottomans . The Ottoman army conquered the area in bloody battles in the 15th century and the mountain dwellers were supposed to pay taxes, but could never win complete control over the mountains. Only a loose supremacy was recognized. The residents repeatedly resisted the rising state power in uprisings and withdrew more strongly to the mountains, also to avoid Islamization , which at least affected the peripheral areas and the less inaccessible valleys in the east. Later on, Catholicism returned from the mountains to individual cities on the plain, such as Shkodra. In times of war, the residents often left their villages and hid in the mountains or holed up on impregnable ridges.
Disintegration of the Ottoman Empire
With the gradual dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the Albanian inhabitants of the mountains began a struggle against the division of their settlement area over several states. Violent resistance arose under the leadership of the League of Prizren against the peace of San Stefano (1877) and the decision of the Berlin Congress (1878) to cede the area around Plav and Gusinje belonging to the Ottoman state to Montenegro . After fighting in the winter of 1879/80 - including the Battle of Nokšić - Montenegro had to give up its claims to Plav and Gusinje after defeats. Instead of this area, Montenegro was given a strip of land on the Cijevna, which, however, was also occupied by Albanians after the withdrawal of the Turks. After about 10,000 Albanians had gathered in the area, the great powers asked the Turkish government either to enforce the cession of the Cijevna area or to cede the city of Ulcinj with a coastal strip to Montenegro. After international pressure, the Turkish government decided to cede Ulcinj and captured the city in November against the resistance of the League.
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire brought with it an independent Albanian state , which was proclaimed in 1912. Since then, however, the boundaries set in the 1913 Treaty of London have also stretched across the mountains. However, these borders were still very permeable for the next 41 years: As before, the mountain people sold their products in the nearby towns in Kosovo, exchanged with relatives and drove their herds from the winter pastures in Montenegro to the Albanian mountains. Nevertheless, old caravan routes such as the one over the Qafa e Pejës or from Plav through the Vermosh valley to Podgorica lost their meaning due to the demarcation .
The entire northern part of the Prokletije including the parts of Metochia around the cities of Peja and Gjakova was assigned to the Kingdom of Montenegro after the First Balkan War . The struggle for the rights of the Albanians was supported in particular by Albanians from Kosovo. Some of these Kosovars, such as Bajram Curri from Gjakova, were also politically active in independent Albania. As an opponent of the future King Ahmet Zogu , who was temporarily allied with Yugoslavia, Bajram Curri was pursued by government troops and then also encircled in a cave in the Valbona Valley, where he shot himself to avoid capture on March 29, 1925. The communists named the capital of Tropoja, Bajram Curr , after him.
Northern European explorers and mountaineers
The Albanian mountainous country remained terra incognita for a long time , which was passed only marginally, for example by travelers on the caravan route from Shkodra to Prizren . After 1900, the first foreigners came to the interior of the mountains, for example the surgeon Erich Liebert and Karl Steinmetz, Austrian engineer, explorer and travel book author, who wrote two books about his travels in 1903 and 1904 in addition to a German-Albanian dictionary. Steinmetz also climbed a mountain in the Jezerca massif - probably the Maja e Alisë ( 2474 m above sea level ). In addition to the many peaks in the mountains, which can be climbed on a flatter side without any problems and therefore were in part probably visited by hunters and shepherds, this is the first documented mountain ascent. Various mountains, including the Radohima , were climbed by Franz Baron Nopcsa from Hungary, who geologically explored the mountains in 1907 after trying unsuccessfully in 1901 to penetrate the mountains. Nopcsa soon became one of the best experts in the country and published the works The Catholic Northern Albania (1907) and Aus Shala and Klementi. Albanian migrations (1910), house and household effects in Catholic Northern Albania (1912), contributions to the prehistory and ethnology of Northern Albania (1912) and buildings, costumes and equipment of Northern Albania (1925) as well as a comprehensive geographical and geological book about Northern Albania (1929). Around the same time as Nopcsa, Edith Durham was in the area, which in 1909, in her book High Albania, represented the north Albanian tribal society. The English woman was treated like a man by the Albanians in a male-dominated society. Durham, who was committed to the cause of the Albanians all her life, gave a lot of help and was therefore also referred to as Queen of the Highlands (Mbretëresha e Malësoreve) , was honored with a memorial at Qafa e Thorës . In 1910 Paul Siebertz (1877–1954) toured the northern Albanian mountains. The editor-in-chief of the Viennese newspaper “Das Vaterland” then wrote the book Albania and the Albanians . After 1910, more and more foreigners came to the area, first soldiers from various foreign armies and later several mountaineers. Edith Durham was not the only woman who was traveling in northern Albania's mountains, in whose society women traditionally had few rights: In the 1920s, the American Rose Wilder Lane toured the mountains and also published a book about her trip.
As part of the establishment of the border in the 1910s, some of the mountains north of the Valbona valley were climbed. In the late 1920s, Italian surveyors completely mapped the Albanian Prokletije. In this context, they were also able to record many first ascents , which Austrian mountaineers also managed in 1930 and 1931. Apart from the Italian surveyors, the Jezerca was first climbed by three British mountaineers in September 1929.
"Incidentally we learned that a party if Italians had been in the district a few weeks previously for the purpose of surveying the mountains, and we could see the cairns they had built on most of the heights round the valley [of Theth]."
"By chance we learned that a few weeks earlier a group of Italians had been in the district to survey the mountains, and we could see the cairns who had built them at most of the heights around the valley [of Theth]."
Like the Italians, the Austrian expeditions of the German and Austrian Alpine Club, along with alpine successes, had the goal of clearing up the last blank spots . The Italian surveys in this border area were seen by observers to be justified by military interests, since the young Albanian state was still very weak and Italian interest in areas beyond the Adriatic was always great.
Even in the new Albanian state, the area barely developed during the interwar period. There was no developed economic system until the end of World War II . Only natural products were traded. There was no industry or mining, no health care, no judiciary and hardly any police, and only a few schools.
Socialism and insurmountable borders
After the Second World War, foreign rule again spread across the mountainous region. The communists , who had taken power in Albania, encountered armed resistance here, which they quickly suppressed with great severity. The previously strong economic and social ties between Tropoja and Kosovo were broken by the tightly locked and closely guarded borders.
As a result, society changed dramatically: the traditional tribal structures with a council of elders were dissolved, and many tribal elders and clerics were persecuted. In 1957 the first cooperative was established in Theth , until 1967 all farmers in Albania were collectivized . The women, who also worked in the cooperative, became more part of public life. The transhumance of the wandering shepherds was made impossible by the closure of the borders and the policies of Albania, which isolated itself from its neighbors. Freedom of movement was also restricted within Albania so that people could not migrate from the mountains.
On the other hand, schools were built, basic health care was set up, and the villages were supplied with electricity. Isolated small centers emerged like in Tamara or Breglumi in the Shala valley. There were also industrial operations in forestry and energy production as well as a small mine in Shosh.
Years of transformation
At the beginning of the 1990s, the communist system in Albania collapsed , while the Yugoslav multi-ethnic state fell apart on the north and east . The borders remained closed until further notice, as economic embargo due to the Bosnian war and political tensions due to the unsolved Kosovo issue prevented exchanges between the neighbors.
In Albania, the land of the cooperatives was redistributed to the farmers and the people resumed their old-fashioned life, which had been greatly changed by collectivization. The stables and stores of the cooperatives were destroyed in many places or fell into disrepair over time. A strong migration due to poverty changed the society in the mountain villages as described above. And many of the old traditions were no longer lived as before.
The Kosovo war in 1999 also affected the Prokletije in its northeast. Residents had to leave their villages and many fled across the borders to Albania and Montenegro. The UÇK used Albania as a retreat zone. After the war, a new state system emerged in Kosovo. The war also had an impact on the environment: illegal activities such as logging and hunting increased, the laying of mines and the subsequent clearance led to damage, and the depopulation of entire mountain regions brought about the abandonment of traditional land management.
The road over the Čakorpass ( 1849 m. I. J. ) between Andrijevica in Montenegro and Peja in Kosovo has been closed since the war . With the impending statehood of Montenegro, on the other hand, relations with Albania improved, so that a border crossing between Vermosh and Plav could be opened after the turn of the millennium. Today there are cross-border projects to promote tourism.
Cultural history
Mountain farming and remote pasture farming
Agriculture is only possible to a very limited extent in the Prokletije and is practiced in some central valleys up to an altitude of over 1,000 meters. In particular, cereals, potatoes and vegetables are grown. There are also grapes up to an altitude of 900 meters. The mostly small fields usually have to be watered, for which terraces were created according to old tradition.
Cattle breeding is predominant , as the fields were never able to feed the inhabitants. Mainly sheep , a few goats and cows and some poultry are kept. Also beekeeping is widespread. For the local population, livestock farming is mostly limited to the valley floor and nearby slopes, as the population pressure has decreased significantly. Alpine farming or Koliba farming is mostly run by farmers from the plains around Lake Shkodra. The summer pastures are characterized by so-called katune - these are simple wooden huts standing together in several groups - into which the shepherds move up at the beginning of summer, so that some Alps are then heavily populated at an altitude of up to 1700 meters. The central karst areas are much less populated. In these arid areas, the sheep herds often only use snow as a source of water; the alpine meadows are mostly aperous due to the drought. It is still unclear what impact the population decline in many areas and the associated lower number of grazing sheep will have on the environment and the local economy.
Traditionally, transhumance in Albania was more widespread among many tribes than it is today. Even then, some of the mountain areas were only inhabited in summer, while in winter the cattle were driven into the snow-free coastal plains. The insurmountable state borders that were drawn in the Balkans in the 20th century made this remote grazing largely impossible and in some cases separated families and tribes for decades. The introduction of agricultural cooperatives in Northern Albania in the 1960s brought major changes in everyday life . At that time, the mountain farmers had to cede land and cattle to the state.
Forestry was traditionally practiced little or not at all, probably due to the lack of traffic routes. Today many forests are being destroyed by mostly illegal logging and a lack of forest management.
Today it can be observed again that large flocks of sheep from the plains are herded over long distances on mountain pastures in Prokletije in summer. As in earlier times, when the dwellings in the Alps consisted only of stacked stones, small boards and twigs, today they are still very simple and often just little huts made of plastic, branches and twigs.
Religions, ethnicities and languages
Like so many areas in the Balkans, the Prokletije is also a cultural interface. This is where Catholics, Muslims and Orthodox of different peoples - Albanians, Serbs, Montenegrins, Turks, Roma and Bosniaks - meet.
The western part of the Prokletije is traditionally Catholic. In Kelmend, for example, only a few Muslim families live in Nikç. In Tropoja, in the plains around Shkodra and Koplik and in a few villages on the western edge of the mountains, however, the majority of the population is Muslim. One exception is the village of Rragam in the farthest Valbona valley, which was settled by Catholics from Theth.
Only Albanians live in the Albanian part of the Prokletije.
Some Slavs also live in the northern and eastern Prokletije. A prominent witness of the Serbian settlement on the eastern foothills of the Prokletije is the Serbian Orthodox monastery Visoki Dečani , which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is located at the foot of the Gjeravica / Djeravica. The majority of the Albanians in the Kosovar Prokletije are Muslim. Most of the population of Plav Municipality in Montenegro is Muslim. There are still old mosques with wooden minarets here.
There are no significant tensions between religions and ethnic groups today - with the possible exception of Kosovo.
"The local population of all ethnic groups are willing to communicate and cooperate."
"The local population - regardless of ethnicity - is willing to socialize and work together."
regional customs
An essential feature of the Prokletije is a patrilineal tribal society that is lived across all nationalities, religions and languages. The basis was a mentality in which honor, fight and masculinity were very important. The people lived in large families according to strict rules. The extended family (familja) belonged to a brotherhood (vllazni) that was part of a tribe (fis) . Several tribes formed a banner (flamnur) . The totality of the banners was the nation (com) . A special case of the patrilear tribal society are the sworn virgins who were observed in the Albanian clans of the Bjeshket Namuna until the 21st century, but were also known to the Montenegrins earlier.
In the Prokletije, the transition from custom to lived tradition is often very fluid. Large families under one roof consisting of the head of the family, his sons with wives and children also existed in communist Albania. Even if the communists promoted the small families, the structures were often retained. Only post-communist migration led to a widespread breakup of these residential structures. In Boga, however, not even a quarter of the people lived in large families by the mid-1990s. The folk costumes are still worn regularly in the mountains still more common than in most other regions of the country and in particular by the ancients on holidays or when driving in the city. The old clothes made of wool and felt are no longer part of everyday life. Even the rifle, without which hardly an Albanian went out of the house in the past, can no longer be seen today.
“In the eyes of the malessors, only a man is a man who knows how to wield his weapon. Tamam shqiptar 'just like an Albanian', that is the highest praise that one then receives. "
The typical stone houses ( kulla ) , which resemble small fortresses and often only had window openings on the upper floor, which were more loopholes, are also falling into disrepair or are being replaced by modern houses.
Life in the mountains was a scriptless culture shaped by oral traditions. In addition to epics and a diverse world of legends, this also included customary law , which is called Kanun and which still influences everyday life today. The Kanun regulates everyday life in the mountains without a state, including family law, inheritance, trade, public law and criminal norms. The blood feud , which is also strictly regulated in the Kanun, is no longer a ubiquitous problem as it was in the 1990s, but it still occurs, whereby the strict rules are hardly observed. A survey in Boga in the mid-1990s showed that in more than 90 percent the spouses did not find each other through love , but the marriage was arranged by the families . Traditionally, the spouses were not allowed to come from the same F sharp (tribe). Even in modern times, hardly a married woman has been born in the same village.
The traditional mourning rituals are pronounced, including common roars and painful moans in the men and cooing and loud crying in the women. The men also hit their chests.
The books by Edith Durham provide an insight into life in the Prokletije at the beginning of the 20th century, when modernity had barely found its way into the mountainous region . Durham had toured the patriarchal mountains without a male company. It describes, for example, a festival on the day of a saint of a tribe, to which the guests appeared dressed up in festive costume and were constantly shot in the air for amusement. A few museums in the region are also dedicated to cultural heritage, such as those in Rožaje, Berane , Bajram Curr, Theth, Shkodra and Peja.
Mournful, epic singing, accompanied where possible by simple lute instruments such as the Çiftelia or the gusle , was practiced around campfires or long winter evenings. The singers, who, like everyone else, were mostly ignorant of reading, knew thousands of lines by heart. The priest Gjergj Fishta created a real monument in the tradition of the heroic epics at the beginning of the 20th century: The Lahute e Malcís describes the struggle of the Albanians for independence and freedom in the years 1862 to 1913, in particular numerous fights and battles, but also the patriarchal one Life, the social values and the mythology of the northern Albanian mountains.
"On some peaks, the ascent of which had nothing to do with pastoral duties, we saw Malissors sitting and playing the flute or conversing from peak to peak with the help of their yodel-like mountain phone."
The widespread mythology is also recorded in fairy tales, legends and sagas with fairies , nature spirits ( Zanen , Vilen ) , demons ( kore ), giants ( xhudhi ) and shadows as well as souls of the deceased ( jinn ). The Austrian Maximilian Lambertz collected various of these fairy tales during his stays in Albania during the First World War, others were later published by Martin Camaj and Uta Schier-Oberdorffer.
An important festival is that of the patron saint, which takes place on July 13th. Although it is an important Christian festival, it has its roots in pre-Christian ancestor worship. The mixing of pre-Christian and Catholic customs is common. In Kelmend, for example, the child-eating demon Kore was symbolically burned during the Easter procession. Even superstition is besides the pagan customs common.
A significant folklore festival is the Logu i Bjeshkëve , which takes place every year in August in Kelmend at the Qafa e Bordolecit . There is food, dancing and music made, with all visitors wearing traditional folk costumes. One young woman is elected Miss Bjeshkëve .
literature
- Bernhard Bauer, Ludwig Obersteiner, Rolf Richer: For the development of the North Albanian Alps . Yearbook. In: Journal of the German and Austrian Alpine Association . tape 67 . Publishing house of the German and Austrian Alpine Club, Stuttgart 1936, p. 216-229 .
- Federico Boenzi, Giovanni Palmentola: Glacial features and snow-line trend during the last glacial age in the Southern Apennines (Italy) and on Albanian and Greek mountains . In: Journal of Geomorphology . No. 41 . Berlin 1997, p. 21-29 .
- Jovan Cvijić : Ledeno doba u Prokletijama i okolnim planinama. [The Ice Age in Prokletije and the surrounding mountains] . In: Glas SKAN . XCI. Belgrade 1913.
- Jovan Cvijić: Ice Age glaciation of the mountain groups from Prokletije to Durmitor (scale 1: 200,000) . In: Kuk Military Geographic Institute Vienna . Vienna 1914.
- Jovan Cvijić: L'époque glaciaires de la Péninsule Balcanique . In: Annales de Geographie . tape 26 . Paris 1917, p. 189-218 .
- Jovan Cvijić: Geomorfologija . Volume I-II, 1924/1926. Belgrade.
- Edith Durham : High Albania . London 1909 ( library.upenn.edu ).
- Helmut Eberhart, Karl Kaser (ed.): Albania - tribal life between tradition and modernity . Böhlau, Vienna 1995, ISBN 3-205-98378-5 .
- Emil Gachev, Krasimir Stoyanov, Alexander Gikov: Small glaciers on the Balkan Peninsula: State and changes in the last several years . In: Quaternary International . tape 415 , no. 1 , 2016, p. 33-54 .
- Zef Gjeta: Dukagjini - Historiku, Gjeografia, Kultura, Burimet Njerëzore, Materiale, Aktiviteti Ekonomik dhe Mundësitë e Zhvillimit . Hokatari, Tirana 2008.
- Milovan Milivojevića, Ljubomir Menkovića, Jelena Ćalić: Pleistocene glacial relief of the central part of Mt. Prokletije (Albanian Alps) . In: Quaternary International . tape 190 , no. 1 , November 1, 2008, p. 112-122 , doi : 10.1016 / j.quaint.2008.04.006 .
- Franz Nopcsa : Geography and Geology of Northern Albania . Institutum Regni Hungariae Geologicum, Budapest 1929.
- SNV Netherlands Development Organization (Ed.): Prokletije ~ Bjeshkët e Nëmuna. Biodiversity and Cultural Heritage . Expeditio, Kotor 2012, ISBN 978-9940-621-00-1 ( academia.edu [accessed on September 22, 2013]).
- SNV Netherlands Development Organization (Ed.): Prokletije | Bjeshkët e Nëmuna - priroda i turizam | natyra dhe turizmi | nature and tourism. Brochure, onA ( bjelasica-komovi.me (PDF) on bjelasica-komovi.me).
- Christian Zindel, Barbara Hausamman: Hiking Guide Northern Albania - Thethi and Kelmend . Huber, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-940686-19-0 .
Web links
- Albanian-Alps.al (tourist information in Albanian and English)
- Summitpost.org (English)
- International project Balkans Peace Park (English)
- Komuna Kelmend (Albanian, English)
- Peter-Hugo Scholz : Discovery tours in the Albanian Alps , Bergauf-Bergab magazine (2011), Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), accessed on September 30, 2019
Remarks
- ↑ name according Gjeografia fizike e Shqipërisë (Tirana 1990); there are also the names Biga e Gimajt , which usually stands at an altitude of 2231 m above sea level. A. is recorded, as well as on Albanian maps Biga e Shalës with 2230 m above sea level. A.
- ↑ Chamois ( Rupicapra rupicapra ) are often referred to as "Wild Goat", as in Fremuth - not to be confused with the wild goat ( Capra aegagrus ).
- ↑ According to Bernhard Bauer (1930), Rudolf Leutelt (1932) and Tone Wraber ( Planinec botanik na Maji e Jezercës . In: Planinski vestnik . Planinska zveza Slovenije, 2000), no report was ever published on the Italian expeditions.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Akademia e Shkencave e RPSSH (ed.): Fjalor enciklopedik shqiptar . Tirana 1985 .; Akademia e Shkencave e RPSSH (ed.): Gjeografia fizike e Shqipërisë . Tirana 1990.
- ^ Tietze, Wolf (ed., Advised by Ernst Weigt) 1968 ff .: Westermann Lexikon der Geographie. 4 volumes and 1 register volume. Braunschweig: Georg Westermann.
- ↑ Jovan Cvijić : Ledeno doba u i Prokletijama okolnim planinama . Glas SKA XCI, Belgrade 1913 (In German: The Ice Age in Prokletije and neighboring mountains . Vienna 1921).
- ↑ a b Jovan Cvijić : Geomorfologija I . Belgrade 1924.
- ^ Gerhard Gesemann : Heroic way of life: On the literature and essence of the Balkan patriarchalism . Wiking Verlag, Berlin 1943.
- ^ Edith Durham : High Albania . London 1909 ( library.upenn.edu ).
- ↑ Jovan Cvijić 1924 Gemorfologija IS 381
- ↑ Tone Wraber: Sopek cvetja Miri Marko Debelak - Deržajevi. In: Planinski vestnik. 2004, No. 12. pp. 17-19.
- ↑ John Lemprière, Lorenzo L. Da Ponte, John David Ogilby: Bibliotheca classica: or, a dictionary of all the principal names and terms relating to the geography, topography, history, literature and mythology of antiquity and of the ancients with a chronological table . New York 1838.
- ^ Friedrich Sickler: Handbook of old geography for high schools . Vol. 2. Kassel 1833.
- ↑ Karl Heinz Rechinger : Results of a botanical journey in the Bertiscus (Northern Albanian Alps) . In: Repertorium Specierum Novarum Regni Vegetabilis . tape 38 , 1935, pp. 138-152, 319-389 .
- ^ August Grisebach: Journey through Rumelia and to Brussa in 1839 . Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 1841, p. 114 ( [1] ).
- ↑ Josi Pančić: Elechnus Plantarum Vascularium quas Aestat a. 1873 in Crna Gora leg . Dr. J. Pančić, Belgrade 1875. S. VII.
- ↑ Ami Boué: La Turquie d'Europe; observations on geography, geology, history of naturelle . tape 2 . Paris 1840, p. 25 .
- ↑ Both as a footnote in Grisebach: Journey through Rumelia and to Brussa in 1839 . Volume 2. Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 1841. Chapter 13, p. 115 ( digitized version of the book ).
- ↑ Jovan Cvijić 1924 Gemorfologija IS 381
- ↑ Kurt Hassert 1893: Journey through Montenegro with remarks about the country and its people. Vienna.
- ^ Marion Isabel Newbigin: Geographical aspects of Balkan problems in their prospect to the great European war . Putman and Sons, University of California 1915.
- ^ Kurt Hassert : Montenegro and Upper Albania as a theater of war. Geographic journal. Here pp. 203–206. [2]
- ↑ a b Georg Heinsheimer, Egon Hofmann , Heinrich Schatz: A mountain trip into the north Albanian mountains . In: Journal of the German and Austrian Alpine Club . tape 62 . Verlag des DÖAV, Innsbruck 1931, p. 158-178 ( literature.at ).
- ↑ a b c Werner Lattmann: Forgotten mountain country . In: Swiss Alpine Club (ed.): The Alps. Les Alpes. Le Alpi . 12th year. Bern 1936, p. 137-142 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Rudolf Leutelt: The Radohines group in the northern Albanian Alps . In: Swiss Alpine Club (ed.): The Alps. Les Alpes. Le Alpi . 8th year. Bern 1932, p. 179-185 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac United Nations Environment Program Vienna - Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention [ISCC] (Ed.): Feasibility Study on establishing a transboundary protected area Prokletije / Bjeshkët e Nemuna Mountains . Vienna 2010 ( unep.at [PDF; accessed on September 22, 2013]). unep.at ( Memento from September 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Jetona Myteveli, Mark Rupa, Aleksandra Kapetanović (editors): Prokletije ~ Bjeshkët e Nëmuna . Biodiversity and Cultural Heritage. Ed .: SNV Netherlands Development Organization. Expeditio, Kotor 2012, ISBN 978-9940-621-00-1 ( academia.edu [accessed on September 22, 2013]).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Bernhard Bauer, Ludwig Obersteiner, Rolf Richer: For the development of the North Albanian Alps . Yearbook. In: Journal of the German and Austrian Alpine Association . tape 67 . Publishing house of the German and Austrian Alpine Club, Stuttgart 1936, p. 216-229 .
- ^ Jovan Cvijić : Geomorphology . Volume I-II, 1924/1926. Belgrade.
- ↑ Borivoje Ž. Milojević: Visoke planine u našoj Kraljevini . Belgrade 1937.
- ↑ a b c Herbert Louis : Albania. A knowledge of the country mainly because of my own travels . Published by J. Engelhorn's successors in Stuttgart, Berlin 1927.
- ↑ Gerald Krug: Albania Geoquest climbing guide. (PDF; 3.9 MB) In: Geoquest Verlag. August 2010, accessed October 5, 2012 .
- ↑ Pashko Baku (ed.): Enciklopedia Universale e illustruar . Bacchus, Tirana 2011.
- ↑ a b c d e brochure for the Kelmendi Geopark Natyror
- ^ Relief and Ground. In: Komuna Kelmend. Retrieved February 6, 2011 .
- ↑ a b ATA: Liqenet akullnajore të Bjeshkëve si atraksion turistik gjatë gjithë vitit. (No longer available online.) In: Gazeta Tema. October 7, 2015, archived from the original on December 29, 2015 ; Retrieved December 29, 2015 (Albanian).
- ↑ a b c d Ines Nurja: Censusi i popullsisë dhe banesave / Population and Housing Census - Shkodër 2011 . Results Kryesore / Main Results. Ed .: INSTAT . Pjesa / Part 1. Adel Print, Tirana 2013 ( instat.gov.al [PDF; accessed April 14, 2019]).
- ^ A b Robert Elsie (ed.): The Kanun . Dukagjini Publishing House, Peja 2001.
- ^ A b Franz Nopcsa : Geography and Geology of Northern Albania . Institutum Regni Hungariae Geologicum, Budapest 1929.
- ↑ Ines Nurja: Censusi i popullsisë dhe banesave / Population and Housing Census - Kukës 2011 . Results Kryesore / Main Results. Ed .: INSTAT . Pjesa / Part 1. Adel Print, Tirana 2013 ( instat.gov.al [PDF; accessed April 14, 2019]).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Helmut Eberhart, Karl Kaser (ed.): Albania - Tribal life between tradition and modernity . Böhlau Verlag, Vienna 1995, ISBN 3-205-98378-5 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Karl Kaser: Shepherds, fighters, tribal life: origins and present of the Balkan patriarchate . Böhlau, Vienna 1992, ISBN 3-205-05545-4 .
- ↑ a b c d e Zef Gjeta: Dukagjini - Historiku, Gjeografia, Kultura, Burimet Njerëzore, Materiale, Aktiviteti Ekonomik dhe Mundësitë e Zhvillimit . Hokatari, Tirana 2008.
- ↑ Lawrence Marzouk: Kosovo's Alternative Outdoor Sport Destination - Boge. In: Balkan Insight . February 12, 2010, accessed on August 25, 2013 (English): “Nestled between the mountains of the Rugova Valley at 1,400 meters above sea level, the village of Boge is one of the best places in Kosovo to enjoy the snow… Boge has a friendlier feel and almost all its facilities are handily gathered around the ski lifts. "
- ↑ Kucke planine (kući Mountains; Žijovo). In: SummitPost. April 3, 2010, accessed February 11, 2013 .
- ↑ Rosemarie Stöckl, Marcus Stöckl: Montenegro: The most beautiful coastal and mountain hikes; 50 tours . Bergverlag Rother, 2008, ISBN 3-7633-4358-X .
- ↑ Komovi. In: SummitPost. October 22, 2009, accessed February 11, 2013 .
- ↑ Emil Gachev: The Unknown Southernmost Glaciers of Europe . In: Danilo Godone (Ed.): Glacier Evolution in a Changing World (= Earth and Planetary Sciences ). InTechOpen, 2017, ISBN 978-953-513-543-2 , pp. 77-102 , doi : 10.5772 / intechopen.68899 .
- ^ Phil Hughes: Twenty-first Century Glaciers and Climate in the Prokletije Mountains, Albania . In: Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research . Vol. 41, No. 4 , 2009, p. 455-459 , doi : 10.1657 / 1938-4246-41.4.455 .
- ↑ a b c Milovan Milivojevića, Ljubomir Menkovića, Jelena Ćalić: Pleistocene glacial relief of the central part of Mt. Prokletije (Albanian Alps) . In: Quaternary International . tape 190 , no. 1 , November 1, 2008, p. 112-122 , doi : 10.1016 / j.quaint.2008.04.006 .
- ↑ Alexey Zhalov: Results of Bulgarian-Albanian Speleological Researches in Albania (1991-2005). (PDF; 2.0 MB) Retrieved September 4, 2010 (English).
- ↑ a b c Angjelin Curraj, Adriatik Lleshi: Linja e Gjelbër Shqiptare . Ed .: Florian Baba. 3. Edition. Blue Agency, Tirana 2009.
- ↑ a b c Helga Liebricht: The climate of Albania as reflected in the new climate atlas . Recent advances in regional geographic knowledge of Albania. Contributions from the Herbert Louis Memorial Symposium. In: Hans Becker (Ed.): Bamberger Geographische Schriften . Issue 10. Geography at the University of Bamberg, 1991, ISSN 0344-6557 , p. 31-46 .
- ↑ a b c d e Michael Galaty: Dr. Michael Galaty in Northern Albania. (No longer available online.) In: Millsaps College - News & Events. January 1, 2008, archived from the original on November 21, 2015 ; accessed on December 29, 2015 .
- ^ Glaciers discovered in "cursed" mountains of Albania. University of Manchester, January 27, 2010, accessed February 13, 2013 .
- ^ Russell Jenkins: British geographers find uncharted glaciers in Albania. In: The Times. January 29, 2010, accessed February 13, 2013 .
- ^ Kraig Becker: New glaciers discovered in European mountains. January 31, 2010, accessed February 13, 2013 .
- ^ Jeff Taylor: The environment - what do we really know. In: The Economic Voice. January 31, 2010, accessed February 13, 2013 .
- ↑ Marash Rakaj: Floristic and chorological news from north Albania . In: Institute of Botany and Botanical Garden Jevremovac (Ed.): Botanica Serbica . tape 33 (2) . Belgrade 2009, p. 177-183 ( botanicaserbica.bio.bg.ac.rs [PDF; 662 kB ; accessed on February 13, 2013]).
- ↑ a b c Petrit Imeraj, Joost Smets: Albania Bradt Travel Guide . Ed .: Gilian Gloyer. 2nd Edition. Bucks, 2006, ISBN 978-1-84162-149-4 .
- ↑ Vladimir Stevanović, Snežana Vukojičić, Jasmina Šinžar-Sekulić, Maja Lazarević, Gordana Tomović, Kit Tan: Distribution and diversity of Arctic-Alpine species in the Balkans . In: Plant Systematics and Evolution . Volume 283, November 2009, pp. 219-235 , doi : 10.1007 / s00606-009-0230-4 .
- ↑ a b c d Wolfgang Fremuth (Ed.): Albania - Guide to it's Natural Treasures . Herwig Klemp Publishing House, Tirana 2000, ISBN 3-931323-06-4 .
- ^ Ivo Horvat , Vjekoslav Glavač , Heinz Ellenberg : Vegetation Southeast Europe . Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart 1974, ISBN 3-437-30168-3 .
- ^ Stan Sherer, Marjorie Senechal: Long Life to Your Children! A Portrait of High Albania . The University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst 1997, ISBN 1-55849-096-5 , pp. 64 f .
- ↑ a b c d e f Jelena Marojević, Valbona Karakaçi: Održivi razvoj basena rijeke Cijevne / Zhvillimi i qëndrueshëm i basenit të lumit Cem . Podgorica 2008 ( greenhome.co.me [PDF; 749 kB ; accessed on February 13, 2013]).
-
↑ Gilian Gloyer: Albania Bradt Travel Guide . 2nd Edition. Bucks, 2006, ISBN 978-1-84162-149-4 . ;
Renate Ndarurinze: Discover Albania . Trescher Verlag, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-89794-091-4 . - ↑ a b c d e f g h i Christian Zindel, Barbara Hausamman: Hiking Guide Northern Albania - Thethi and Kelmend . Huber Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-940686-19-0 .
- ↑ Rupicapra rupicapra in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . Retrieved July 27, 2009.
- ^ Journey to Valbona: Camera Trapping. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 6, 2015 ; accessed on November 15, 2012 (English).
- ↑ Lynx lynx ssp. balcanicus in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015.4. Posted by: D. Melovski, U. Breitenmoser, M. von Arx, C. Breitenmoser-Würsten, T. Lanz, 2015. Accessed November 20, 2015.
- ↑ Gjorge Ivanov, Aleksandar Stojanov, Dime Melovski, Vasko Avukatov, Erjola Keçi, Aleksandër Trajçe, Spase Shumka, Gabriel Schwaderer, Annette Spangenberg, John DC Linnell, Manuela von Arx, Urs Breitenmoser: Conservation Status of the critically Endangered Balkan and Lynx in Albania Macedonia . In: Macedonian Ecological Society (Ed.): Proceedings of the III Congress of Ecologists of Macedonia. Struga, 6-9 October 2007 . Skopje 2008, p. 249-256 ( PDF ).
- ↑ Camera traps reveal presence of rare Balkan Lynx in Albanian Alps. In: Tirana Times. November 15, 2017, accessed November 22, 2017 .
- ↑ BirdLife International: Important Bird Area Factsheet. Retrieved June 19, 2009.
- ↑ Katarina Ljubisavljević, Oscar Arribas, Georg Djukić, Salvado Carranza: Genetic and morphological differentiation of Mosor rock lizards, Dinarolacerta mosorensis (Kolombatovic, 1886), with the description of a new species from the Prokletije Mountain Massif (Montenegro) (Squamata: Lacertidae) . In: Zootaxa . tape 1613 , 2007, p. 1–22 ( abstract [PDF; accessed February 6, 2016]).
- ↑ Dinarolacerta montenegrina in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015.4. Posted by: J. Crnobrnja-Isailovic, P. Bowles, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
- ↑ Ruža Ćirović: Herpetofauna Prokletija . In: Nacionalni parkovi Crne Gore . 6 (January / February). Podgorica 2010, p. 34 f . ( toplav.me [PDF; accessed on February 6, 2016]). toplav.me ( Memento from February 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
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- ↑ Rregullore per Ruajtjen, administrimin dhe funksionimin e Parkut Natyror Rajonal "Nikaj-Mertur". (PDF) Komuna Lekbibaj, 2014, accessed on May 31, 2020 (Albanian).
- ↑ Republički Závodu za zaštitu prirode Crne Gore: Feasibility Stdy, NP Prokletije (2006). (DOC; 875 kB) Accessed February 13, 2013 (Serbian).
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↑ a b c d e f Steve Cook, Marash Rakaj: Social Changes in the Albanian Alps During Communism . In: Middle States Division of the Association of American Geographers (Ed.): Middle States Geographer . Volume 28. New Brunswick 1995, pp. 84–90 ( article as PDF ). Article as PDF ( Memento from August 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Steve Cook, Marash Rakaj: Village and Regional Exogamy in Bogë, a Village in the Malësia e Madhe Rreth (Great Highlands Administrative Area) of northern Albania . University of Pittsburgh, Johnstown 1995 (unpublished research paper).
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↑ Maximilian Lambertz : Albanian fairy tales and other texts on Albanian folklore . Vienna 1922. Maximilian Lambertz : Between Drin and Vojusa: fairy tales from Albania . Leipzig 1922.
- ^ Martin Camaj , Uta Schier-Oberdorffer: Albanische Märchen . Diederichs, Düsseldorf 1974, ISBN 3-424-00516-9 .
- ↑ Shpresa Musaj: Albania's Religiosity: Constant in the Change of Times . Interchurch and interreligious tolerance in the Balkans. In: Scientific articles from the Tectum Verlag, History Science series . tape 18 . Tectum Verlag, Marburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-8288-2693-9 .
- ^ Cultural Identity - Day of Logu. In: Komuna Kelmend. Retrieved February 20, 2013 .
- ↑ Logu i Bjeshkeve. (No longer available online.) In: Website for the promotion of tourism in the communes of Shkrel and Kelmend. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016 ; Retrieved February 20, 2013 (Italian).