EVERYTHING WHAT YOU NEEDTO DREAM...
Albania >
Gjirokaster
KNOWLEDGE OF Gjirokaster
Gjirokastër is an ancient city with traces of human habitation dating back to the 1st century BC. It is located on the slopes of the Mali i Gjerë ("Wide Mountain"). The city was probably founded some time in the 12th century AD around a fortress on the hillside. Under the rule of the Byzantine Empire, it developed into a major commercial centre known as Argyropolis ("Silver City") or Argyrokastron ("Silver Castle"). It was part of the Despotate of Epirus in the 14th century before passing to the Ottoman Empire in 1417. It was captured in 1811 by Ali Pasha and in the late 19th century became a centre of resistance to Turkish rule. The Assembly of Gjirokastër, a key event in the history of the Albanian liberation movement, was held there in 1880.
In 1914 Giorgos Christakis Zografos the Former Foreign Minister of Greece declared the creation of the autonomous state of Northern Epirus from Gjirokaster, which was inhabited by a majority of Greeks. Gjirokaster was proclaimed the capital of the autonomous state, though the advent of the First World War dissolved the state, which was occupied by French forces and later, awarded to Albania in 1918.
During the Balkan Wars, the First World War and the Second World War, Gjirokastër was occupied on various occasions by Italy, Greece and Germany before returning to permanent Albanian control in 1944. The postwar Communist regime developed the city as an industrial and commercial centre, and elevated it to the status of a "museum town" largely due to the fact that it was the birthplace of the dictator Enver Hoxha. Gjirokastër suffered severe economic problems following the end of communist rule in 1991. It was particularly badly affected by the 1997 collapse of a massive pyramid scheme, which destabilised the entire Albanian economy. Violent anti-government protests took place in the town; on December 16, 1997, Hoxha's house was blown up by unknown (but presumably anti-communist) attackers. Its population has fallen since the 1990s, with many ethnic Greeks departing for Greece. However, they still are a sizeable presence in the city and exert a large cultural influence.
In 1914 Giorgos Christakis Zografos the Former Foreign Minister of Greece declared the creation of the autonomous state of Northern Epirus from Gjirokaster, which was inhabited by a majority of Greeks. Gjirokaster was proclaimed the capital of the autonomous state, though the advent of the First World War dissolved the state, which was occupied by French forces and later, awarded to Albania in 1918.
During the Balkan Wars, the First World War and the Second World War, Gjirokastër was occupied on various occasions by Italy, Greece and Germany before returning to permanent Albanian control in 1944. The postwar Communist regime developed the city as an industrial and commercial centre, and elevated it to the status of a "museum town" largely due to the fact that it was the birthplace of the dictator Enver Hoxha. Gjirokastër suffered severe economic problems following the end of communist rule in 1991. It was particularly badly affected by the 1997 collapse of a massive pyramid scheme, which destabilised the entire Albanian economy. Violent anti-government protests took place in the town; on December 16, 1997, Hoxha's house was blown up by unknown (but presumably anti-communist) attackers. Its population has fallen since the 1990s, with many ethnic Greeks departing for Greece. However, they still are a sizeable presence in the city and exert a large cultural influence.
Chapi