Elbasan

Elbasan
Elbasan Castle
Official seal of Elbasan Seal
Country	Albania
County	Elbasan County
District	Elbasan District
Founded	15. century
Government
• Mayor	Qazim Sejdini SP
Area
• Total	1,290 km2 (500 sq mi)
Elevation	150 m (490 ft)
Population  (2003)
• Total	100,000
Time zone	UTC+1 (Central European Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	3001-3006
Area code	054
Car Plates	EL
Website	www.elbasani.gov.al

Cityview from hill

Street in Elbasan

Elbasan (Albanian: Elbasan or Elbasani) is a city in central Albania. It is located on the Shkumbin River in the District of Elbasan and the County of Elbasan, at 41°06′N 20°04′E. It is one of the largest cities in Albania, with a population of around 100,000 (2003 estimate) and an area of 1,290 km².

Elbasan was - until the beginning of the Second World War - one of the most pleasant and unspoilt Ottoman cities in Albania, with a mixture of eastern and medieval buildings, narrow cobbled streets and a large bazaar where Turkish could still be heard. There was a clearly defined Christian settlement within the castle walls, a Vlach district on the outskirts of the city and several fine mosques and Islamic buildings. At the time the population was about 15,000 people.

The distinguished English journalist J.D. Bourchier, then the Balkan correspondent of The Times, records that on a visit in 1911 he saw :

"The population celebrating Bairam in central space : wonderful primitive merry-go round with gypsy minstrels (flute and drum), pushed round by the men with poles; also a cartwheel poised on a tree top; pekhilvans wrestling, mostly refugees from Dibra, thus gaining a precarious livelihood."

History

Elbasan came into prominence in the Roman period, when it was known as Masio Scampa. The Romans built a substantial fortress here, about 300 squared meters, protected by towers. In the third and fourth centuries, it became known as Hiskampis. It had developed as an important trade and transport centre near the junction of two branches of the Via Egnatia coming from Apollonia and Dyrrachium.

Ptolemy wrote that it was the town of the Eordaei tribe, who later migrated to Macedonia. It took part in the spread of Christianity along the Via, and had a bishop, cathedral and basilicas as early as the fifth century. But as a town in a wide river valley, it was vulnerable to barbarian attacks once the legions were withdrawn, and despite the efforts of the Emperor Justinian to improve the fortications, Hiskampis was destroyed by the Bulgars and Ostrogoths during the Slav invasions of the Balkans. Although some semblance of urban and military life must have continued for a time, as it is mentioned in the work of Procopius of Cæsarea in the sixth century, it was totally destroyed by the Bulgars in intermittent attacks over the next 200 years.

The site seems to have been abandoned until the Ottoman invaders built a military camp there, followed by urban reconstruction under Sultan Mehmet II in 1467. Mehmet constructed a massive four-sided castle with a deep moat and three gates. He named it Elbasan, meaning 'crushing fist' in Turkish. It became a centre of Ottoman urban civilisation over the next 400 years. By the end of the 17th century it had 2,000 inhabitants. The fortress was dismantled by Reshit Pasha in 1832. In 1864, Elbasan became a sandjak of Manastır vilayet.

In 1909, after the Young Turks revolution in Istanbul, an Albanian National Congress was held in Elbasan to study educational and cultural questions. Elbasan had the first teachers' training college in Albania. The delegates, all from central and southern Albania, endorsed the decision of the Congress of Monastir (modern Bitola, Republic of Macedonia) to use the Latin alphabet rather than the Arabic script in written Albanian.

Catholic Church.

The Muslim majority opposed the installation of Prince William of Weid in 1914. Elbasan was occupied successively by Serbs, Bulgarians, Austrians and Italians between 1915 and 1918. Industrial development began in the Zogist period when tobacco and alcoholic drinks' factories were established.

The city was also noted for its good public buildings, advanced educational provisions, public gardens and timber-built shops. There was much wartime damage, which was followed by an intensive programme of industrial development in the Communist period that boosted the city to around 75,000 inhabitants. The culmination of this process was the construction of the huge 'Steel of the Party' metallurgical complex outside the city, in the valley of the Shkumbini, built with Chinese assistance in 1960s and 1970s. It was called "The Second National Liberation of Albanian" by Enver Hoxha, with its chimneys, the tallest in the Balkans, always belching smoke and emitting a stream of dangerous pollutants - which soon meant that much of the hitherto prosperous agricultural area in the river valley was useless for all crops.

Culture and religion

Elbasan has been occupied by several different groups, including the Serbs, Macedonians, Bulgarians, Austrians and Italians. Elbasan remained a center of Islam in Albania even after the Ottoman occupation. After the 1908 Congress of Manastir (in modern Bitola, Republic of Macedonia) decided to use the Latin alphabet for the written Albanian language, Muslim clerics influenced by the Young Turks held various demonstrations in favor of the Arabic script in Elbasan. The Muslim majority also opposed the installation of Prince William of Wied in 1914.

In the middle of the City there is an Orthodox Church, and about 7 km away from Elbasan there is an old monastery and orthodox church where notably Saint Jovan Vladimir from the early 11th century is buried there.

Economy

Industrial development began during the Zog regime with the production of tobacco and alcoholic beverages, and culminated during the communist regime. The city gained prominence after the Chinese built a steel mill in 1974. There were also other industries operating in the city during the communist regime, and as a result the city now suffers from pollution.

See also

• History of Albania
• List of cities in Albania

External links

• Municipality of Elbasan (official website, in Albanian)
• Photos
• ALBoZONE: Cities of Albania
• Elbasan script
• Elbasan web
• Elbasan's football team