Durrës

Durrës
Durrës
	MunicipalityanCeety
	Seal
	Durrës
	Coordinates:41°19′N19°27′E/ 41.317°N 19.450°E
Kintra	Albanie
Coonty	Durrës Coonty
Destrict	Durrës Destrict
Regions (Rajone)	6
Foondit	627 BC
Govrenment
• Mayor	Vangjush Dako(PS)
Elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population (2011)
•MunicipalityanCeety	115,550
•Metro	265,330
Time zone	UTC+1(Central European Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2(CEST)
Postal code	2001-2009
Area code(s)	052
Website	www.durres.gov.al

Durrësis the seicont lairgest ceety oAlbanie.It is the maist auncient an ane o the maist economically important ceeties o Albanie. It is locatit on the central Albanian coast, aboot 33 km (21 mi) wast o the caipitalTirana.It is situatit at ane o the narrower pynts o theAdriatic Sea,opposite theItalianports oBari(300 km/186 mi away) anBrindisi(200 km/124 mi away). It haes a population o aroond 202,000 (2009). The ceety o Durrës is hame tae Albanie's newest public varsity, theAleksander Moisiu University.In addition, it is the meetin pynt o naitional roads SH2 an SH4.

Names

In the past few decades, theAlbaniename o the ceety,Durrës (Durrësi),haes gradually replaced the widespread uise o theItaliannameDurazzo.

The ceety haes been kent bi mony ither names in different leids due tae its varied colorful history, includin theGreeknamesEpidamnos(Επίδαμνος) anDyrrhachion(Δυρράχιον), the LaitinDyrr(h)achium,the SlavonicDrač(Драч), the Ottoman TurkisDıraçan the ItalianDurazzo.

History

Auncient

Tho survivin remains are minimal, as ane o theauldest ceetiesinEurope,the ceety wis foondit asEpidamnosin the auncient region oIllyriein627 BCbiauncient Greekcolonists fraeCorinthanCorcyra.The general vicinity o Epidamus wis criedEpidamnia.The ceety's geographical poseetion wis heichlie advantageous, as it wis situatit aroond a naitural rocky harbour which wis surroondit bi inland swamps an heich cliffs on the seaward side, makin the ceety vera difficult tae attack frae aither land or sea.

Epidamnos wis notit for bein a poleetically advanced society, promptinAristotletae praise its poleetical seestem in controllin tred atween the Greek colonists an the local barbarians. Housomeivver,CorinthanCorcyra,each wi a claim tae be "mither ceety" (metropolis), quarrelled ower the ceety, helpin tae precipitate thePeloponnesian Warin431 BC.Epidamnos wis seized biGlaukias,anIllyriankeeng, in 312 BC wi the help o the local Greekoligarchy.LaterTeuta o IllyrieQueen Teutaattacked Epidamnos but athdrew when the Romans arrived the same year (229 BC) an expelled the Illyrian garrison frae the ceety, includin it thereefter in thair protectorate. The Romans set up replaced the rule o Teuta wi that oDemetrius o Pharos,ane o her generals. He lost his kinrick, includin Epidamnus, tae the Romans in 219 BC at theSeicont Illyrian War.In theThird Illyrian WarEpidamnus wis attacked biGentiusbut he wis defeatit bi the Romans at the same year.

ForCatullus,the ceety wisDurrachium Hadriae tabernam,"thetabernao the Adriatic ", ane o the stoppin places for a Roman travelin up theAdriatic,as Catullus haed done hissel in the sailin saison o 56.

Roman an Byzantine rule

Efter theIllyrian Warswi theRoman Republicin229 BCendit in a decisive defeat for the Illyrians, the ceety passed tae Roman rule, unner which it wis developed as a major military an naval base. The Romans renamed itDyrrachium(Greek:Δυρράχιον /Dyrrhachion). Thay considered the nameEpidamnostae be inauspicious acause o its wholly coincidental similarities wi the Laitin wirddamnum,meanin "loss" or "harm". The meanin oDyrrachium( "bad spine" or "difficult ridge" in Greek) is unclear, but it haes been suggestit that it refers tae the imposin cliffs near the ceety.Julius Caesar's rivalPompeymade a staund thare in 48 BC afore fleein sooth taeGreece.Unner Roman rule, Dyrrachium prospered; it became the wastren end o theVia Egnatia,the greatRoman roadthat led taeThessalonicaan on taeConstantinople.Anither lesser road led sooth tae the ceety oButhrotum,the modrenButrint.The Roman emperorCaesar Augustusmade the ceety a colony for veterans o hislegionsfollaein theBattle o Actium,proclaimin it acivitas libera(free toun).

In the 4t century AD, Dyrrachium wis made the caipital o theRoman provinceoEpirus nova.It wis the birthplace o the emperorAnastasius Iincirca430. Some time later that century, Dyrrachium wis struck bi a pouerful yirdquauk which destroyed the ceety's defences. Anastasius I rebuilt an strengthened the ceety waws, sicweys creatin the strangest fortifications in the wastren Balkans. The 12 m (36 ft)-heich waws wur sae thick that, accordin tae the Byzantine historianAnna Komnene,fower horsemen coud ride abreast on them. Significant portions o the auncient ceety defences still remain, awtho thay hae been muckle reduced ower the centuries.

Lik muckle o the rest o theBalkans,Dyrrachium an the surroondinDyrraciensis provinciaesuffered considerably fraebarbarianincursions during theMigrations Period.It wis besieged in 481 biTheodoric the Great,keeng of theOstrogoths,an in subsequent centuries haed tae fend off frequent attacks bi theBulgarians.Unaffected bi thefall of the Western Roman Empire,the ceety continued unner theByzantine Empireas an important port an a major link atween the Empire an wastren Europe.

Middle Ages

The ceety an the surroondin coast became a Byzantine province (theTheme o Dyrrhachium) in the early 9t century. Byzantine rule wis contestit bi theBulgariansunnerSimeon the Great,but it remained in Byzantine haunds till the late 10t century, whenSamuel o Bulgarieconquered the ceety an held it till ca. 1005.

Dyrrachium wis lost in Februar 1082 bi the emperorAlexios I Komnenostae theNormansunnerRobert Guiscardan his sonBohemundin theBattle o Dyrrhachium.Byzantine control wis restored a few years later but the ceety wis lost again in 1185, this time tae the Norman KeengWilliam II o Sicily.In 1205, efter theFowert Crusade,the ceety wis transferred tae the rule o theRepublic o Venice.It passed intae the haunds oManfred o Sicilyan thenCharles I o Sicily(Charles o Anjou) in 1268.

Five years later, in ca. 1273, it wis wrecked bi a devastatinyirdquauk(accordin taeGeorge Pachymeres;R. Elsie,Early Albania(2003), p. 12), but suin recovered an became an independentduchyunner the rule o Charles' grandsonJohn o Anjou.It later came unner the rule oPhilip I o Taranto.In 1333 it wis annexed tae the FrankishPrincipality o Achaeaafore fawin tae theSerbianTsarStefan Dušanin 1336. When Dušan dee'd in 1355, the ceety passed intae the haunds o the Albanian faimily o Thopias.

TheRepublic o Veniceregained control in 1392 an retained the ceety, kent asDurazzoin those years, as pairt o theVenetaian Albanie.It fendit aff a siege bi theOttomanSultanMehmed IIin 1466 but fell tae Ottoman forces in 1501.

Durrës became aChristianceety quite early on; itsbishopricwis creatit aroound AD 58 an wis raised tae the status o anairchbishopricin 449. It is an aa the seat o aGreek Orthodox metropolitan bishop.Unner Turkis rule, mony o its indwallers convertit taeIslaman monymosqueswur erectit. This ceety wis renamed as Dıraç, the ceety did no prosper unner the Ottomans an its importance declined greatly. Bi the mid-19t century, its population wis said tae hae been anerlie aboot 1,000 fowk livin in some 200 hoosehaulds. Its decrepitude wis notit bi foreign observers in the early 20t century: "The walls are dilapidated; plane-trees grow on the gigantic ruins of its old Byzantine citadel; and its harbour, ance equally commodious and safe, is gradually becoming silted up." It wis a sanjak centre inİşkodra Vilayetafore 1912.

20t century

Durrës wis an active ceety in the Albanian naitional leeberation movement in the periods 1878-1881 an 1910-1912.Ismail Qemaliraised theAlbanian banneron November 26, 1912. The ceety becameAlbanie's seicont naitional caipital (efter Vlora) on 7 Mairch 1913 unner the brief rule o PrinceWilliam o Wied.

Durin theFirst Warld War,the ceety wis occupee'd biItalyin 1915 an biAustrick-Hungaryin 1916-1918. It wis captured bi theAlliesin October 1918. Restored tae Albanian sovereignty, Durrës became the kintra's temporary caipital atween 1918 an Mairch 1920. It experienced an economic buim due tae Italian investments an developed intae a major seaport unner the rule o KeengZog,wi a modren harbour bein constructit in 1927.

An yirdquauk in 1926 damaged some o the ceety an the rebiggin that follaed gae the ceety its mair modren appearance. Durin the 1930s, theBank of Athenshaed a branch in the ceety.

TheSeicont Warld Warsaw Durrës (criedDurazzoagain in Italian) an the rest o Albanie bein annexed tae theKinrick o Italyatween 1939–1943, then occupee'd biNazi Germanytill 1944. Durrës's strategic value as a seaport made it a heich-profile military target for baith sides. It wis the site o the initial Italian landins on 7 Aprile 1939 as well as the launch pynt for the ill-fatit Italian invasion o Greece. The ceety wis hivily damaged biAlliedbombin durin the war an the port installations wur blown up bi the retreatin Germans in 1944.

TheCommunistregime oEnver Hoxharapidly rebuilt the ceety follaein the war, establishin a variety o hivy industries in the aurie an expandin the port. It became the terminus o Albanie's firstrailwey,begun in 1947. In the late 1980s the ceety wis briefly renamed Durrës-Enver Hoxha.

Follaein the collapse o communist rule in 1990, Durrës became the focus o mass emigrations frae Albanie wi ships bein hijacked in the harbour an sailed at gunpoint tae Italy. In ane month alane, August 1991, ower 20,000 fowk migratit tae Italy in this fashion. Italy intervened militarily, puttin the port aurie unner its control, an the ceety became the centre o theEuropean Community's "Operation Pelican",a fuid-aid programme.

In 1997, Albanie slid intaeanarchyfollaein the collapse o a massivepyramid schemewhich devastatit the naitional economy. An Italian-led peacekeepin force wis controversially deployed tae Durrës an ither Albanian ceeties tae restore order, awtho thare wur widespread suggestions that the real purpose o "Operation Alba"wis tae prevent economic refugees continuin tae uise Albanie's ports as a route tae migrate tae Italy.

Follaein the turn o the 20t tae 21st century, Durres haes been revitalisit as mony streets wur repavit, while pairks an facades experiencit a face lift.

Economy

Durrës is still an important link taeWastren Europedue tae its port an its proximity tae the Italian port ceeties, notably Bari, tae which daily ferries run. As well as the dockyard, it an aa possess an important shipyard an manufacturin industries, notably producin leather, plastic an tobacco products. The neebourin destrict an aa produces wine an a variety o fuidstuffs.

Climate

Durrës haes a teepicalMediterranean climatewi het, dry simmers an ceul winters. The average o watter temperatur in Durrës is frae 14 °C (57 °F) in Februar tae 26 °C (79 °F) in August. The simmer in Durrës stairts frae Mey tae middle o October.

The soothren pairt o the coastal plain is characterisit bi a relatively dry Mediterranean climate, het simmers wi an average temperatur o 26 °C. Winter is mild an wet wi an average temperatur o 9.8 °C. The average annual rainfaw amoonts tae 800-1 300 mm, but anerlie 12 percent o the tot faws in the period Juin–September. In this aurie mony crops are grown (cereals, industrial crops, vegetables, forages etc.), citrus an olive trees an aw.

Climate data for Durrës
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record heich °C (°F)	19 (66)	23 (73)	23 (73)	28 (82)	34 (93)	37 (99)	39 (102)	38 (100)	33 (91)	28 (82)	26 (79)	20 (68)	39 (102)
Average heich °C (°F)	11 (52)	12 (54)	15 (59)	18 (64)	23 (73)	28 (82)	30 (86)	30 (86)	26 (79)	22 (72)	17 (63)	12 (54)	20 (69)
Average law °C (°F)	6 (43)	7 (45)	9 (48)	12 (54)	17 (63)	20 (68)	22 (72)	22 (72)	20 (68)	16 (61)	11 (52)	8 (46)	14 (58)
Record law °C (°F)	−3 (27)	−3 (27)	−3 (27)	2 (36)	7 (45)	12 (54)	15 (59)	15 (59)	10 (50)	0 (32)	−2 (28)	−1 (30)	−3 (27)
Averageprecipitationmm (inches)	91 (3.6)	103 (4.1)	99 (3.9)	83 (3.3)	63 (2.5)	50 (2.0)	31 (1.2)	43 (1.7)	118 (4.6)	80 (3.1)	146 (5.7)	140 (5.5)	1,047 (41.2)
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Sichts

Some important biggins in Durrës include the main leebrar, the cultural centre wi theAleksandër Moisiu Theatre,the Estrada Theatre, the puppet theatre, an the philharmonic orchestra. Thare are several museums sic as theDurrës Archaeological Museum,Ryal Villa o Durrësan the Museum o History (the hoose o Aleksandër Moisiu) an aw.

The ceety hosts the Durres Auncient Ceety Waw criedDurrës Castlean aw while the lairgestamphitheatrein the Balkans is locatit in the ceety close tae the harbour. This first-century construction is currently unner consideration for inscription as aUNESCO Warld Heritage Steid.^[3]^[4]