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actually better like this, more notable as a center of the aromanians than a smal town in a district
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'''Moscopole''' ({{lang-sq|Voskopojë}}, {{lang-rup|Moscopole}}, ''Moscopolea'', {{lang-el|Μοσχόπολις}} ''Moschopolis'') is a municipality and an isolated mountain village in [[Korçë District]], southeastern [[Albania]].<ref name=pope/> It was a cultural and commercial center of the [[Aromanians]] in the mid and the late 18th century.<ref>Förster Horst, Fassel Horst. [http://books.google.com/books?id=VFkUREqRFswC&dq= ''Kulturdialog und akzeptierte Vielfalt?: Rumänien und rumänische Sprachgebiete nach 1918.'']. Franz Steiner Verlag, 1999. ISBN 9783799525084, p. 33: "Moschopolis zwar eine aromunische Stadt ... deren intelektuelle Elite in starken Masse graekophil war."</ref> At its peak, in the mid 18th century, it hosted the first [[printing press]] in the Balkans outside [[Istanbul]], educational institutions and numerous churches and became a leading center of Greek culture.<ref>{{Cite book
'''Moscopole''' ({{lang-sq|Voskopojë}}, {{lang-rup|Moscopole}}, ''Moscopolea'', {{lang-el|Μοσχόπολις}} ''Moschopolis'') was a cultural and commercial center of the [[Aromanians]],<ref>Förster Horst, Fassel Horst. [http://books.google.com/books?id=VFkUREqRFswC&dq= ''Kulturdialog und akzeptierte Vielfalt?: Rumänien und rumänische Sprachgebiete nach 1918.'']. Franz Steiner Verlag, 1999. ISBN 9783799525084, p. 33: "Moschopolis zwar eine aromunische Stadt ... deren intelektuelle Elite in starken Masse graekophil war."</ref> and now a small mountain village in [[Korçë District]], modern southeastern [[Albania]].<ref name=pope/> At its peak, in the mid 18th century, it hosted the first [[printing press]] in the Balkans outside [[Istanbul]], educational institutions and numerous churches and became a leading center of Greek culture.<ref>{{Cite book
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|last1=Cohen
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Revision as of 01:26, 7 November 2010

Voskopojë
Municipality
Church of Saint Nicholas
Church of Saint Nicholas
Country Albania
CountyKorçë County
DistrictKorçë District
Time zoneUTC+1 (Central European Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Car PlatesKO

Moscopole (Albanian: Voskopojë, Aromanian: Moscopole, Moscopolea, Greek: Μοσχόπολις Moschopolis) was a cultural and commercial center of the Aromanians,[1] and now a small mountain village in Korçë District, modern southeastern Albania.[2] At its peak, in the mid 18th century, it hosted the first printing press in the Balkans outside Istanbul, educational institutions and numerous churches and became a leading center of Greek culture.[3][4]

Historians have attributed the decline of the city to a series of raids by Muslim Albanian bands, who destroyed the town in 1769 following the participation of the residents in the preparations for the Orlov Revolt in 1770,[5] which culminated with the complete destruction of Moscopole by Ali Pasha in 1788.[6][7] According to another opinion, the city's decline was mainly due to the relocation of the trade routes in central and eastern Europe following the aforementioned raids.[5] Today Moscopole, known as Voskopojë, is a small mountain village and, with Vithkuq, is considered the homeland of the Aromanian diaspora in the Balkans.[8]

Geography

Moscopole is located at a distance of 21 km from Korçë, in the mountains of southeastern Albania, at an altitude of 1160 meters. The village has a population of about 500. Because of its high altitude Moscopole is a ski resort.

History

Prosperity

Murals of St. Nicholas church, painted by David Selenica.

Although located in a rather isolated place in the mountains of southern Albania, the city rose to become the most important center of the Aromanians. Moscopole was a small settlement until the end of the 17th century, but afterwards showed a remarkable financial and cultural development.[5] Some writers have claimed that Moschopolis in its glory days (1730–1760) had as many as 70,000 inhabitants, but other estimates placed its population closer to 35,000.[9][10] According to the Swedish historian Johann Thunmann who visited Moscopole and wrote a history of the Aromanians in 1774, everyone in the city spoke Aromanian; many also spoke Greek, which was used for writing contracts. The city is also said to have been mostly populated by Vlachs/Aromanians. A 1935 analysis of the family names shows that the majority of the population were indeed Vlachs. There were also Albanians and Greeks.

The extensive livestock farming of the surrounding region led to the establishment of wool processing and carpet manufacturing units and the development of tanneries, while other locals became metal workers, silver and cooper smiths using materials.[5] Toward the end of the 18th century, the city flourished due to commerce with Germany, Venice and Constantinople and it had various manufacturing plants, around 70 churches, banks, a printing press (the only other press of Ottoman Europe was in Istanbul), and even a prestigious educational institution, known as New Academy or Hellenikon Frontistirion, founded at 1744. Moreover the city hosted an orphanage, known as Orphanodioiketerion, possible the first in post-Byzantine Orthodox world,[11] a hospital and a total of 24 churches.[2]

The coat of arms of Moscopole.

A cultural effervescence arose in Moscopole, and many authors published their works in both the Greek language (which was the language of culture of the Balkans at the time) and Aromanian written in the Greek alphabet. In 1770, the first dictionary of four modern Balkan languages (Greek, Albanian, Vlach/Aromanian and Bulgarian) was published here. Daniel Mоscopolites a Vlach-speaking native priest of Moscopole, compiled a quadrilingual lexicon of Greek, Vlach, Bulgarian and Albanian, that aimed at the Hellenization of the non-Greek-speaking Christian communities in the Balkans.[12][13] Due to the high level of intellectual activity and Greek education Moscopole was nicknamed as New Athens or New Mystra.[14][15]

Decline

Dictionary of four Balkan languages (Greek, Albanian, Aromanian and Bulgarian) created from Daniel Mоscopolites, an Aromanian from Moscopole, probably in 1770 and published in 1794 in the Greek language.[16][17][18][19]

The 1769 sacking and pillaging by Muslim Albanian[20] troops was just the first of a series of attacks, which culminated with the razing of 1788 by the troops of Ali Pasha.[21] Moscopole was practically destroyed by this attack, while some of its commerce shifted to nearby Korçë and Berat.[22]

St. Nicholas church built in 1721.

The survivors were thus forced to flee, most of them emigrating mainly to Thessaly and Macedonia (where they returned to their ancestral occupation of animal husbandry). Some of the commercial elite moved to Austria-Hungary, especially to the two capitals Vienna and Budapest, but also in Transylvania, where they had an important role in the early National awakening of Romania. The city never rose to its earlier status. However, a new school was established at the end of the 18th century whose headmaster at 1802 was Daniel Moscopolites. This school functioned the following decades, thanks to donations and bequests by baron Simon Sinas, a member of the diaspora.[23]

In 1914 Moscopole was part of the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus. It was destroyed again in 1916 during World War I by the marauding Albanian bands of Sali Butka.[24] The remaining buildings were razed three times during the partisan warfare of World War II: once by Italian troops and twice by the Albanian collaborationist Balli Kombëtar organization.[25] Of the old city, six Orthodox churches (one in a very ruined state), a bridge and a monastery survive. In 2002, the five standing churches were put on the World Monuments Fund's Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites.

Today, Moscopole is just a small mountain village in the Albanian District of Korçë. Memories of the city of Moscopole still remain an important part of the culture of Vlachs.

Population

  • 18th century: estimates range from 35,000 to 70,000.[5] After surveying the sources, Peyfuss puts its population closer to 40,000.[26]
  • 2000: 700

Remaining monuments

The following churches remain in Moscopole:

Climate

There is a combination of mild valley climate in the lower parts and true Alpine climate in the higher regions. Favorable climate conditions make this center ideal for winter, summer, sport, recreation tourism, so there are tourists during whole year.[citation needed]

Notable Moscopolites

See also

Gallery

  • Tourist center
    Tourist center
  • Mountains near Moscopole
    Mountains near Moscopole
  • Aromanian/Macedonian festival in Moscopole
    Aromanian/Macedonian festival in Moscopole
  • View of the village
    View of the village

References

  1. ^ Förster Horst, Fassel Horst. Kulturdialog und akzeptierte Vielfalt?: Rumänien und rumänische Sprachgebiete nach 1918.. Franz Steiner Verlag, 1999. ISBN 9783799525084, p. 33: "Moschopolis zwar eine aromunische Stadt ... deren intelektuelle Elite in starken Masse graekophil war."
  2. ^ a b Marcel Cornis-Pope, John Neubauer. History of the literary cultures of East-Central Europe: junctures and disjunctures in the 19th and 20th centuries. John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2006 ISBN 9789027234537, p. 288
  3. ^ Cohen, Mark (2003). Last century of a Sephardic community: the Jews of Monastir, 1839-1943. Foundation for the Advancement of Sephardic Studies and Culture. p. 13. ISBN 9781886857063. Moschopolis emerged as the leading center of Greek intellectual activity in the 18th
  4. ^ Winnifrith, Tom (2002). Badlands, borderlands: a history of Northern Epirus/Southern Albania. Duckworth. p. 109. ISBN 9780715632017.
  5. ^ a b c d e Mikropoulos, Tassos A. (2008). Elevating and Safeguarding Culture Using Tools of the Information Society: Dusty traces of the Muslim culture. Earthlab. p. 316. ISBN 9789602331873. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |unused_data= ignored (help)
  6. ^ Hermine G. De Soto, Nora Dudwick. Fieldwork dilemmas: anthropologists in postsocialist states. Univ of Wisconsin Press, 2000. ISBN 9780299163747, p. 45.
  7. ^ Mackridge, Peter. Language and National Identity in Greece, 1766-1976. Oxford University Press, USA. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-19-921442-6.
  8. ^ Gilles de Rapper. Religion on the border: Sanctuaries and festivals in post-communist Albania. Religion on the Boundary and the Politics of Divine Interventions. Proceedings of the International Conference, Sofia 14–18 April 2006. Istanbul, Isis Press, p. 5.
  9. ^ Peyfuss, p. 35-36 snippet view
  10. ^ Robert Elsie's review on Peyfuss"Peyfuß, Max Demeter: Die Druckerei von Moschopolis, 1731-1769. Buchdruck und Heiligenverehrung im Erzbistum Achrida" (PDF). Elsie.
  11. ^ Anthony L. Scott. Good and faithful servant: stewardship in the Orthodox Church. St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2003. ISBN 9780881412550, p. 112
  12. ^ Friedman A. Victor. After 170 years of Balkan linguistics. Wither the Millennuim? University of Chicago. p. 2: "...given the intent of these comparative lexicons was the Hellenization of non-Greek-speaking Balkan Christians...
  13. ^ Horst Förster, Horst Fassel. Kulturdialog und akzeptierte Vielfalt?: Rumänien und rumänische Sprachgebiete nach 1918. Franz Steiner Verlag, 1999. ISBN 9783799525084. p. 35, 45.
  14. ^ Greek, Roman and Byzantine studies. 1981
  15. ^ Asterios I. Koukoudēs. The Vlachs: Metropolis and Diaspora. 2003.
  16. ^ Multiculturalism, alteritate, istoricitate «Multiculturalism, Historicity and “The image of the Other”» by Alexandru Niculescu, Literary Romania (România literară), issue: 32 / 2002, pages: 22,23,
  17. ^ Angeliki Konstantakopoulou, Η ελληνική γλώσσα στα Βαλκάνια 1750-1850. Το τετράγλωσσο λεξικό του Δανιήλ Μοσχοπολίτη [The Greek language in the Balkans 1750-1850. The dictionary in four languages of Daniel Moschopolite]. Ioannina 1988, 11.
  18. ^ Peyfuss, Max Demeter: Die Druckerei von Moschopolis, 1731-1769. Buchdruck und Heiligenverehrung im Erzbistum Achrida. Wien - Köln 1989. (= Wiener Archiv f. Geschichte des Slawentums u. Osteuropas. 13), ISBN 3-205-98571-0.
  19. ^ Kahl, Thede: Wurde in Moschopolis auch Bulgarisch gesprochen? In: Probleme de filologie slavă XV, Editura Universităţii de Vest, Timişoara 2007, S. 484-494, ISSN 1453-763X.
  20. ^ Stavrianos Leften Stavros, Stoianovich Traian. The Balkans since 1453. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 2000. ISBN 9781850655510, p. 278.
  21. ^ a b Katherine Elizabeth Fleming. The Muslim Bonaparte: diplomacy and orientalism in Ali Pasha's Greece. Princeton University Press, 1999. ISBN 9780691001944, p. 36 "...destroyed by resentful Muslim Albanians in 1788"
  22. ^ Princeton University. Dept. of Near Eastern Studies. Princeton papers: interdisciplinary journal of Middle Eastern studies. Markus Wiener Publishers, 2002. ISSN 1084-5666, p. 100.
  23. ^ Sakellariou, M. V. (1997). Epirus, 4000 years of Greek history and civilization. Ekdotikē Athēnōn. p. 308. ISBN 9789602133712.
  24. ^ Badlands, borderlands: a history of Northern Epirus/Southern Albania. Tom Winnifrith. Duckworth, 2002. ISBN 9780715632017, p. 61.
  25. ^ Pyrrhus J., Ruches (1965). "Albania's Captives" (Document). Chicago: Argonaut. p. 213. {{cite document}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |isbn= (help); More than one of |location= and |place= specified (help); Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help)
  26. ^ Max Demeter Peyfuss. Die Druckerei von Moschopolis, 1731-1769: Buchdruck und Heiligenverehrung im Erzbistum Achrida. Böhlau, 1989, ISBN 9783205052937, p. 35-36

Sources

External links

  • Adhami, Stilian (1989). Voskopoja: në shekullin e lulëzimit të saj (in Albanian). Tirana, Albania: 8 Nentori. p. 222.
  • Falo, Dhari (2002), Trayedia ali Muscopuli (in Aromanian), Cartea aromână
  • Γεωργιάδης, Θεόφραστος (1975). Μοσχόπολις (in Greek). Έκδοσις Συλλόγου προς Διάδοση των Ελληνικών Γραμμάτων.
  • Plasari, Aurel (2000). "Fenomeni Voskopoje". Mendimi shqiptar (in Albanian) (6). Phoenix: 100.
  • Robert Elsie, Eifel Olzheim. Review: Peyfuß, Max Demeter: Die Druckerei von Moschopolis, 1731-1769. Buchdruck und Heiligenverehrung im Erzbistum Achrida.
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