Vermosh

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Scattered houses in the Vermosh Valley - Velipoja district

Vermosh ( Albanian  also  Vermoshi ) is the northernmost village in Albania , part of the Kelmend region in the municipality of Malësia e Madhe in Shkodra Qark .

geography

The village is secluded in the mountains of northern Albania, separated by two mountain passes from the rest of the country, to around 1050- 1100  m above sea level. A. on the northern edge of the Prokletijes . The area is surrounded on three sides by Montenegro. Across the border in the east are the places Plav and Gusinje, some of which are also largely inhabited by Albanians .

The wide valley floor of the Vermosh Valley

The Vermosh River ( Albanian  Lumi i Vermoshit ) flows through the valley from west to east. It rises west of the village in an uninhabited valley section on Montenegrin territory and shortly afterwards crosses the border with Albania. After about eleven kilometers, it reaches Montenegro again. Across the border, after flowing through Lake Plav , it becomes Lim . The Vermosh area is the only region in Albania that is drained towards the Black Sea .

The village is a scattered settlement that stretches for many kilometers along the flat bed of the Vermosh River. The different districts are called Pjetroja (also called Qendra , the center ), Velan , Bashkim , Velipoja and Maliaj . The village of Lepusha ( 1260  m above sea level ) on the Qafa e Bordolecit , located more than seven kilometers southeast in a side valley, is also often counted as Vermosh.

Another valley north of Vermosh, which also belongs to Albania, is uninhabited apart from a few summer pastures. In the past, the valley of Seferça and Smutiroga was cordoned off; only military moved here. The northern end of this valley, the Maja e Zhihovës ( 2174  m above sea level. A. ), is the most northerly point of Albania at 42 ° 39 '43.6 "  N , 19 ° 43' 22.7"  O . Other high mountains are the Maja Jezhidalit a little to the west ( 2183  m above sea level ), the Maja e Marlulës ( 2186  m above sea level ) and the Maja e Madhe ( 2195  m above sea level ), which together with the Maja e Bojës ( 1934  m above sea level ) form the northern end of the Valbona valley in the western extension of the Visitor . On the south side of the Valbona, the Greben ( 1840  m above sea level ) forms the end of the valley. The Lepusha valley rises steeply on the east side to the Trojan ( 2194  m above sea level ). South of Lepusha are the highest peaks of Bjeshkët e Namuna , which are over 2500 meters high.

Hay harvest

The Vermosh Valley is characterized by a lot of forest, especially at altitudes between 1500 and 1800 meters. Of the approximately 36 square kilometers, around 26 square kilometers are forest, including mainly beech and pine trees - and not quite seven square kilometers are pastures. There are 30 different, endemic medicinal plants and herbs in the region.

The Vermosh and Lepusha valleys were glacial-shaped. A narrow valley cut between the mountains Trojan and Greben lies at the end of the Lepusha valley, which flows into the eastern part of the Vermosh valley from the south. The Vermosh River forms another small gorge just before the border. At the border crossing, Vermosh's lowest point is 940  m above sea level. A.

The climate is strongly alpine. The average temperature in January is -3 ° C. Around 100 days of snow are recorded. In July the average temperature rises to 16.1 ° C. At 2012 millimeters, Vermosh is one of the more rainy regions in Albania.

traffic

River crossing due to lack of a bridge in the upper part of the village

The border to Montenegro, the natural valley exit, was closed for decades from 1948. A small border crossing only opened in the summer of 2003. Today the residents of Vermosh are again in lively exchange with the residents of Montenegro, as was the case in the past.

For a long time, Vermosh was very difficult to reach on the Albanian side. The approximately 70 kilometer long road from Han i Hotit on Lake Shkodra climbs a first pass and then winds down in many switchbacks into the gorge of the Cem valley. It then passes Tamara, the capital of the Kelmend region, and the village of Selca, and follows the course of the valley to the Qafa e Bordolecit pass ( 1355  m above sea level ). Shortly before Vermosh, the road leads through another gorge and then up the Vermosh valley to the village. In winter, the road is often impassable for months because of the large amount of snow.

The road to Vermosh has only been paved since 2016.

In summer, shared taxis ensure that residents are transported to Shkodra, around 100 kilometers away.

Economy and Infrastructure

The majority of the Vermosh residents live as farmers. The cattle, in addition to cows especially sheep, are partly herded to alpine pastures in summer. Agriculture is practiced on just over 100 hectares of land. Forestry is also practiced - often illegally.

For several years now, many of the houses have provided guest rooms for tourists who want to explore the remote mountain world as hikers, by car or by bike.

There is a primary school, a small health center, a few bars and shops and a church in the village.

History and culture

Church and surrounding houses

Vermosh did not become more densely populated until the 19th century. The inhabitants came from Selca in the valley of the Cem or even from the coastal areas of Lezha . The village of Lepusha, which is higher up, was settled later.

The residents are traditionally Catholic . Franciscans took care of pastoral care for a long time and are still active in the valley today. On June 29th, John the Baptist is commemorated as an important festival .

The state affiliation of the region north of the Prokletijes was long disputed when the Ottoman Empire began to break up from the middle of the 19th century. As early as 1878 at the Berlin Congress , Plav and the surrounding area were awarded to Montenegro. The resistance of the local population and the League of Prizren prevented this. In the Peace of London , which ended the Balkan Wars in 1913 , Plav and Gusinje finally went to Montenegro. After the founding of the Albanian state in 1912, Vermosh's membership remained controversial for a long time. The region drills itself like a point deep into the Montenegrin area. During and after the First World War , the valley was repeatedly occupied by Montenegrin and Serbian and later Yugoslav troops. When the border was finally determined in 1926, Albania and Yugoslavia agreed that the residents of Plav and Podgorica would have the right to use the direct route between these places via Vermosh.

In 1932 the first Kelmend school was opened in Vermosh.

When the German occupation left Albania in 1944, the people of Kelmend fought against the communists. In socialist Albania, Kelmend was a neglected, very secluded area. The borders were closed. A road connection over the Rapsh Pass to Kelmend has only existed since 1968; Vermosh was first hit by a bus in 1973. Many people were murdered, others tried to flee, which not all succeeded. After the security authorities killed 17-year-old Pëllumb Pëllumbaj from Vermosh, who had tried to flee Albania, on June 16, this triggered the first anti-communist demonstrations in Shkodra.

In 1998 there were 1,430 people in Vermosh and 495 in Lepusha.

literature

  • Christian Zindel, Barbara Hausamman: Hiking Guide Northern Albania - Thethi and Kelmend . Huber Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-940686-19-0 .

Web links

Commons : Vermosh  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Christian Zindel, Barbara Hausamman: Hiking Guide Northern Albania - Thethi and Kelmend . Huber Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-940686-19-0 .
  2. ^ Natural Resources - Lands. In: Komuna Kelmend. Retrieved July 24, 2013 .
  3. ^ Natural Resources - Flora. In: Komuna Kelmend. Retrieved July 24, 2013 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g Vermosh. In: Komuna Kelmend. Retrieved July 24, 2013 .
  5. ^ Natural Resources - Relief and Ground. In: Komuna Kelmend. Retrieved July 24, 2013 .
  6. ↑ Fast Eddy: Grlja Gorge at the border. (Picture) In: Panoramio. August 2, 2008, accessed August 1, 2013 .
  7. ↑ Natural Resources - Climate. In: Komuna Kelmend. Retrieved July 24, 2013 .
  8. ↑ James Pettifer, Miranda Vickers: The Albanian Question: Reshaping the Balkans . IB Tauris, London 2007, ISBN 978-1-86064-974-5 ( extracts from the book on Google Books ).
  9. ^ ATA news agency: Albanian, Montenegrin officials inaugurate new border crossing. In: AccessMyLibrary.com. Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, August 4, 2003, accessed July 26, 2013 .
  10. ↑ Renate Ndarurinze: Albania. With Tirana, the Adriatic coast and the Albanian Alps . 4th edition. Trescher Verlag, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-89794-223-3 .
  11. ↑ a b Lepusha. In: Komuna Kelmend. Retrieved July 24, 2013 .
  12. ^ Owen Pearson: Albania in the Twentieth Century, A History . Volume II: Albania in Occupation and War, 1939-45. IB Tauris, London 2006, ISBN 1-84511-104-4 ( online ).
  13. ^ History - Independence. In: Komuna Kelmend. Retrieved on July 24, 2013 (English): “This Albanian-Yugoslavian 'understanding' was approved by the governments and the final protocol about the actual border was signed in Firence (July 26, 1926). The right of Plava-Gucia and Podgorica inhabitants to pass through Vermoshi and vice-versa was conveyed in the protocol. Unfortunately, this right is not yet realized. "
  14. ^ Life in Kelmend - Education. In: Komuna Kelmend. Retrieved July 24, 2013 .
  15. ^ History - Against communism. (No longer available online.) In: Komuna Kelmend. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013 ; accessed on July 24, 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. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kelmend.info
  16. ↑ Life in Kelmend - Transport. In: Komuna Kelmend. Retrieved July 24, 2013 .
  17. ^ History - Supporting democracy. In: Komuna Kelmend. Retrieved on July 24, 2013 : “The 17-year-old boy Pellumb Pellumbaj from Vermoshi was massacred at the border, in June 14, 1990. He became a symbol of the first anticommunist demonstration of Shkodra youth (June 16, 1990). The demonstration was the prologue of people's massive rush in the Embassies (July 2, 1990) and the students movement in Albania. "

Coordinates: 42 ° 36 '  N , 19 ° 41'  E