Rubik (Albania)
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Rubik Rubiku |
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Coordinates: 41 ° 46 ' N , 19 ° 47' E |
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| Basic data | |||
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| Qark : | Lezha | ||
| Municipality : | Mirdita | ||
| Height : | 80 m above sea level A. | ||
| Area : | 140.5 km² | ||
| Residents : | 4454 (2011) | ||
| Population density : | 32 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Telephone code : | (+355) 0284 | ||
| Postal code : | 4603 | ||
Rubik ( Albanian also Rubiku ) is a small town in northern Albania in the mountainous region of Mirdita . The place with around 2000 inhabitants belongs to the municipality of Mirdita . The town is located on a narrow point in the valley of the Fan River below a rock that is the site of a famous medieval church. The earth around Rubik is not very fertile, but rich in soil metals. Even in the recent past, the river has repeatedly overflowed its banks after heavy rainfall and has partially flooded the city .
Until 2015 Rubik formed an independent municipality ( bashkia ), which had 4,454 inhabitants in 2011, of which around half of the families lived in the village itself. There were also eleven other villages in the municipality.
On the rock of Rubik there is a church that is one of the most historically important religious buildings in the country. As one of the few places of worship in the region, it was not completely destroyed by the communists . The small Kisha se Shëlbuemit (Church of the Ascension of Christ ) was built in the 12th and 13th centuries as a simple, Byzantine building. The frescoes in the apse were dated to 1272. The Church on the Strategic Rock was badly damaged during fighting in World War II and subsequent local rebellions. As a result, she was hardly entertained. It was not until the 1990s that the church was renovated again with foreign support. Austrians restored the frescoes. A Franciscan monastery, which has now been destroyed , and a chapel dedicated to St. Anthony ( Shën Nou ) belong to the church .
Until World War II, Rubik was little more than a few houses around the church. In the interwar period, copper was found nearby . As part of the country's industrialization, the communists built a small town and a metallurgical factory that smelted gold , silver, and copper. The factory has stopped working since the collapse of communism. The closure of the only major local employer resulted in unemployment for most residents . Since then, the only significant sources of income have come from emigrants .
The townscape is characterized by numerous apartment blocks. The town stretches along the main road, wedged between the hillside and the wide river bed . On the other side of the valley is the copper factory, which used to pollute the environment . As a result of heavy rainfall, there were repeated floods that caused considerable damage to houses, roads, bridges and other infrastructure in Rubik and the surrounding area. The fan last stepped over the bank in 2002.
The railway line from Milot to Rrëshen on the other bank of the river was closed in the late 1990s; the tracks have been removed.
Rubik is conveniently located on the road from Durrës to Kosovo . The traffic axis was expanded into an expressway in the year, which is part of the A1 motorway . From Milot to Rrëshen the line is only two-lane and runs on the eastern bank of the river on the former route of the railway.
Web links
- Njesia administrative Rubik (PDF, Albanian)
- Bashkia Rubik on the website of Këshilli i Qarkut Lezhë (PDF)
- Photo report by Danish photographer Lars Bertelsen (1997)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Ines Nurja: Censusi i popullsisë dhe banesave / Population and Housing Census - Lezhë 2011 . Results Kryesore / Main Results. Ed .: INSTAT . Pjesa / Part 1. Adel Print, Tirana 2013 ( instat.gov.al [PDF; accessed April 14, 2019]).
- ↑ Njesia administrative Rubik. (PDF) In: Këshilli i Qarkut Lezhë. Retrieved April 29, 2019 (Albanian).