Durrës
Durrës | |
|---|---|
Municipality and city | |
Port of Durrës Mosaics at a Basilica within the Amphitheatre Venetian Tower Albanian College Church of Saint Asti and Apostle Paul Ancient walls Amphitheatre Iliria Square | |
|
Flag Seal | |
Durrës Location of Durrës Durrës Durrës (Europe) | |
| Coordinates: 41°18′48″N 19°26′45″E / 41.31333°N 19.44583°E | |
| Country | Albania |
| Region | Northern Albania |
| County | Durrës |
| Founded | 7th century BC |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor–council |
| • Body | Durrës Municipal Council |
| • Mayor[1] | Emiriana Sako (PS) |
| Area | |
| • Municipality[2][3] | 338.30 km2 (130.62 sq mi) |
| • Administrative unit | 39.81 km2 (15.37 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2023)[9] | |
| • Urban | 195,920[4] |
| • Metro | 265,330[5] |
| • Municipality | 153,614[a] |
| • Municipality density | 454/km2 (1,180/sq mi) |
| • Administrative unit | 101,728 |
| • Administrative unit density | 2,555/km2 (6,620/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Albanian: Durrsak (m), Durrsake (f) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 2000 |
| Area code | +355 (0) 52 |
| Seaport | Port of Durrës |
| Motorways | |
| Highways | |
| Vehicle registration | DR |
| Website | durres |
Durrës (/ˈdʊrəs/ DUURR-əs,[10][11] Albanian: [ˈdurəs]; Albanian definite form: Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest continuously inhabited cities,[12] with roughly 2,500 years of recorded history. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of the Erzen and Ishëm at the southeastern corner of the Adriatic Sea. Durrës's climate is profoundly influenced by a seasonal Mediterranean climate.
Durrës was founded under the name of Epidamnos around the 7th century BC, by ancient Greek colonists from Corinth and Corcyra in cooperation with the Taulantii, a local Illyrian tribe.[13][14] Also known as Dyrrachium, Durrës developed as it became an integral part of the Roman Empire and its successor the Byzantine Empire. The Via Egnatia started in the city and led east across the fields, lowlands and highlands of the Balkan Peninsula to Constantinople.
In the Middle Ages, Durrës was contested between Bulgarians, Venetians, local Albanian noble families, and the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans ultimately prevailed, ruling the city for more than 400 years from 1501 until 1912. Following the Albanian Declaration of Independence, the city served as the capital of the Principality of Albania for a short period of time. Subsequently, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Italy in the interwar period and was occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II. Durrës experienced a strong expansion in its demography and economic activity under the People's Socialist Republic of Albania.
The transport connections, concentration of economic institutions and industrial tradition underlie Durrës's leading economic position in Albania. It is served by the Port of Durrës, one of the largest on the Adriatic Sea, which connects the city to other neighbouring countries. Its most considerable attraction is the Amphitheatre of Durrës that is included on the Albanian tentative list for designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Once having a capacity for 20,000 people, it is the largest amphitheatre in the Balkan Peninsula.
- ^ "Historiku i Kryetareve" (in Albanian). Bashkia Durrës. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ a b c "Pasaporta e Bashkisë Durrës" (in Albanian). Porta Vendore. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ "Bashkia Durrës" (in Albanian). Albanian Association of Municipalities (AAM). Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ "The urban population of Durrës – 2011 Census Data (Knoema)". Knoema. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
- ^ "The metro population of Durrës". Invest in Albania. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
- ^ "A new Urban–Rural Classification of Albanian Population" (PDF). Instituti i Statistikës (INSTAT). May 2014. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Law 2014was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Nurja, Ines. "Censusi i popullsisë dhe banesave/ Population and Housing Census–Durrës (2011)" (PDF). Tirana: Institute of Statistics (INSTAT). p. 85. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2021.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Institute of Statistics Albania.
- ^ "Durrës". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 6 July 2020.
- ^ "Durrës". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
- ^ Sedlar 2013, p. 111.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Grote2013was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Stallo 2007, p. 29.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).