From top to bottom, left to right: Promenade of Vlorë, Muradie Mosque, old house on the Dhimiter Konomi Street, Old Town of Vlorë, Independence Monument and Lungomare
The coastal area of Vlorë was one of those Illyrian sites that had experienced pre-urban activity beginning from the 11th–10th centuries BCE. The area was colonized by Ancient Greeks. A large fortified port-town that was inhabited from the 6th century BCE to the 2nd century AD is placed, now partially submerged, in Triport, northwest of present-day Vlorë. Substantial port activity in this site occurred from at least the archaic period to the medieval period. It has been suggested that a transfer of the ancient city from the site of Triport to the site of modern Vlorë occurred. The center of the modern city features archaeological remains dating from late antiquity. Aulon, from which the modern city took its name, appears in historical sources starting form the 2nd century CE. It was conquered at different periods throughout history by Romans, Byzantines, Normans, Venetians and Ottomans.
Between the 18th and 19th centuries, the Albanians gathered both spiritual and intellectual strength for national consciousness, which conclusively led to the Albanian Renaissance. Vlorë played an instrumental role in Albanian Independence as an epicenter for the founders of modern Albania, who signed the Declaration of Independence on 28 November 1912 at the Assembly of Vlorë.
The city took its name from Ancient Greek: Αὐλών, romanized: Aulṓn, meaning "channel, glen" that resembles an aulos instrument. It is a typical toponym in the Greek world.[10] The name of the city was first recorded in the 2nd century AD, by two Ancient Greek authors, Lucian and Ptolemy, the latter calling it "town and sea-port", which confirms that it was founded much earlier. However, Aulon has not been mentioned by earlier Ancient Greek and Roman authors, who on the other hand recorded the nearby town and seaport of Oricum. But in later sources Oricum is less encountered, while the toponym Aulon is more frequently mentioned.[11]
Vlorë developed from the ancient Aulon-a through the evolution of the phonetic system of the Albanian language with the rhotacismVlonë > Vlorë,[12][11] which is a pre-Slavic phenomenon in Albanian. The intervocalic /n/ has regularly evolved to /r/ in Tosk Albanian, while the initial /v/ has evolved from unstressed /u/ after the disappearance of the initial unstressed /a/. The evolution /u/ > /v/ should be relatively ancient, preventing the evolution of the following intervocalic /l/ to /lː/. In Geg Albanian the toponym is pronounced Vlonë, indicating that it has been in use among northern Albanians before the appearance of rhotacism in Tosk Albanian.[11] Also the accent pattern of the name observes Albanian accent rules.[13] The name itself of the inhabitants (sing. vlonjat, pl. vlonjatë) has not undergone the rhotacism affecting the toponym (if it had, it would look something like vlorat or vlorjat).
The medieval and modern Greek name is Avlónas (ΑυλώναςAulṓnas[avˈlonas], accusative ΑυλώναAulṓna[avˈlona]), and is the source of the LatinAulona, the ItalianValona (also used in other languages) and of the obsolete English Avlona.[14][15] During the Ottoman era the city of Vlorë was known in Turkish as Avlonya.[16] In Medieval Latin sources and in Old Italian records it is mentioned with the forms Avalona, Avelona, Lavalona, Lavellona; and in Old Serbian sources as Avlona or Vavlona, the latter containing the Slavic preposition v "in".[11] In Aromanian, the city is known as Avlona.[17]
The coastal area of Vlorë was one of those Illyrian sites that had experienced pre-urban activity beginning from the 11th–10th centuries BCE.[18] During the period of Euboean colonization of the area (early 8th century BC) the bay of Vlorë was associated with several Heroic traditions and the foundation of several settlements there,[19] as the toponym Aulon suggest which is also known in local Eubean toponimity.[20]
Due to its strategic position on the Adriatic Sea, especially the Bay of Vlorë, which forms a natural harbor, Vlorë occupied a significant place in classical antiquity as a base for trade by many peoples. Vlorë is considered one of the oldest cities in Albania and the region.[d] In the Archaic era, the area was colonized by Ancient Greeks, who are traditionally believed to have founded Orikos, Thronion and Aulon on these shores.[21] A large fortified port-town that was inhabited from the 6th century BCE to the 2nd century AD is placed, now partially submerged, in Triport, northwest of present-day Vlorë. It was delimited by three walls, the first of which dating back to the late 6th century BCE.[22] The port activity in this site lasted from at least the archaic period to the medieval period.[23] It has been suggested that a transfer of the ancient city from the site of Triport to the site of modern Vlorë occurred. The center of the modern city features walls dating from the 4th to the 10th centuries CE, as well as a wall, a quadrangular tower and ruins of a huse with ceramics dating back to the 3rd–4th centuries and to the 6th-7th centuries CE.[24]
The archaeological site of Triport has been identified with ancient Thronion or Aulon.[25]Thronion was attested by Pausanias (2nd century CE) as a Locrian–Euboean colony, but also by a dedication on a monument erected in Olympia, both accounts reporting that Apollonia conquered the city around 450 BCE. Aulon, from which Vlorë took its name, was mentioned for the first time by Ptolemy (2nd century CE) among the towns of the IllyrianTaulantii.[26]Carl Patsch proposed the first location of Aulon in Triport being then transferred to the current location of Vlora, and Pierre Cabanes proposed the location of Thronion in Triport; those identifications are not in contradiction with each other.[27] Other geographical documents, such as the Tabula Peutingeriana and Hierocles' Synecdemus, also mention Aulon. The city served as an important port of the Roman Empire, when it was part of Epirus Nova.[28][29]
Aulon (Avlona) became an episcopal see in the 5th century. Among the known bishops are Nazarius in 458 and Soter in 553 (Daniele Farlati, Illyricum sacrum, VII, 397–401). The diocese at that time belonged to the papal Pentarchy. In 733, it was annexed with the eastern Illyricum, to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and yet it is not mentioned in any Notitiae Episcopatuum of that Church. The bishopric had probably been suppressed for though the Bulgarians had been in possession of this country for some time, Avlona is not mentioned in the "Notitiae episcopatuum" of the Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid.
During the Roman period, a Latin see was established and Eubel (Hierarchia catholica medii aevi, I, 124) mentions several of its bishops.[28]
Drawings of the fortifications of Vlorë fortresses and Kaninë fortress
Aulon, no longer being a residential bishopric, is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see, a suffragan bishop of Durrës, being distinguished from a Greek titular see called Aulon by the use for it of the adjective Aulonitanus, while the adjective regarding the Aulon in Euboea (Ionian Greece) is Aulonensis.[30] The diocese was nominally restored as Latin titular bishopric Aulon, or Valona in Curiate Italian; from 1925 it was (als) named Aulona in Latin and/or Italian, since 1933 it's only Aulon in Latin, Aulona in Italian. It was a bishopric from the fifth century until Bulgarian rule.
In the 11th and 12th century, Vlorë played an instrumental role in the conflicts between the Byzantine Empire and Norman Kingdom of Sicily.[15] Following Norman occupation, they ruled for only four years and established a Latin church episcopal see in Vlorë.[15][31] In 1321 the city being under Byzantine control was attacked by a Venetian fleet under Giovanni Michiel as a result costing the lives of many of its Greek inhabitants.[32] Vlorë served as capital of the Principality of Valona, initially a Serbian vassal state and later, independent Christian state from 1346 to 1417.[33][34]
The Ottoman Empire captured the city in 1417, while in 1432, Albanian rebels freed Vlorë and expelled the Ottomans from the area.[35][36] As part of the Ottoman Empire, Vlorë became a sanjak centre in Rumelia Eyalet under the name Avlonya.[when?] Later it become a Venetian possession in 1690 and the city was restored to the Ottomans in 1691, becoming a kaza of the Sanjak of Avlona in the vilayet (province) of Janina. At the time the city had about 10,000 inhabitants; there was a Catholic parish, which belonged to the Archdiocese of Durrës. During the early period of Ottoman rule, Vlorë became an international port centered on a high volume of trade between western Europe and the Ottoman state.[37]
In 1426, the Ottomans supported the settlement of a Jewish community involved in mercantile activities.[35] The community underwent population growth in subsequent decades with Jews migrating from Corfu, Venetian ruled lands, Naples, France, and the Iberian Peninsula.[35] Around seventy Jewish families from Valencia, including former conversos, settled in Vlorë between 1391 and 1492.[38] Following the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, the Ottoman state resettled additional Jewish exiles in Vlorë toward the end of the fifteenth century.[35] Ottoman censuses for 1506 and 1520 recorded the Jewish population as consisting of 528 families and some 2,600 people in Vlorë.[35] The Jews of Vlorë were involved in trade and the city imported items from Europe and exported spices, leather, cotton fabrics, velvets, brocades, and mohair from the Ottoman cities of Istanbul and Bursa.[35] The Vlorë Jewish community took an active role in the welfare of other Jews such as managing to attain the release of war related captives present in Durrës in 1596.[35] After the Battle of Lepanto (1571) and the deterioration of security along the Ottoman controlled Adriatic and Ionian coasts, the numbers of Jews within Vlorë decreased.[35]
Albanian Renaissance
Between the 18th and 19th centuries, cultural developments, widely attributed to Albanians having gathered both spiritual and intellectual strength, conclusively led to the Albanian Renaissance with Vlorë becoming an epicenter of the movement in 1912. In 1833, Vlorë was captured by Albanian rebels forcing the Ottoman government to abolish taxes and comply to rebel requests.[39]
In 1851 it suffered severely from an earthquake.[15] The Jewish community of Yanina renewed the Jewish community of Vlorë in the nineteenth century.[35]
After World War II, with Albania ruled by a Communist Party, the port was leased out to the Soviet Union for use as a submarine base. During 1960 and 1961 it served as a theater in the aftermath of the decision of Enver Hoxha to denounce Nikita Khrushchev's reforms.[41][page needed] In April 1961 the Soviet Union, resenting being pushed out after considerable investment in the naval facilities at nearby Pasha Liman Base, threatened to occupy Vlora with Soviet troops, and cut off all Soviet economic, military and technical aid to Albania. The threat was not carried out, as a result of the simultaneous international developments; most notably the Cuban Missile Crisis. Hoxha, realizing the vulnerability of Albania after the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, ordered the construction of hundreds of thousands of concrete bunkers.[42] Under Hoxha, Vlorë served as an important recruiting centre for the Sigurimi; the Albanian state security, intelligence and secret police service.[43]
In 1997, Vlorë was the center of the 1997 Albanian civil unrest after the collapse of several fraudulent investment schemes that led to the downfall of the Sali Berisha administration.
According to the Köppen climate classification, Vlorë falls under the periphery of the hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) zone with an average annual temperature of 16.9 °C (62.4 °F).[45] Summers in Vlorë are dry and hot while winters experience moderate temperatures and changeable, rainy weather.[46] The warmest month is August with an average temperature rising to 26.8 °C (80.2 °F). By contrast, the coldest month is January with an average temperature falling to 7.9 °C (46.2 °F).[45] Vlorë has a sunny climate with an average of 2,745.2 hours of sunshine annually, making it one of the sunniest areas in the Eastern Mediterranean.[47][48][49] July is the sunniest month of the year with an average of about 12 hours of sunshine a day.[45] By contrast, the average hours of sunshine are less than 7 hours per day in January.[45]
During the 1961–1990 period, on average per year, there were 82 days with more than 1 mm (0.039 in) of rainfall, 26 days with thunders, five days with hail, and one day of snowfall.[47]
The city of Vlorë remains a major seaport and commercial centre, with a significant fishing and industrial sector. The surrounding region produces petroleum, natural gas, bitumen and salt. The city is also the location of important installations of the Albanian Navy. It has grown in importance as an agricultural center with a very large-scale planting of olive and fruit trees, and as a center of the food processing, oil, and bitumen export industries. Historically, the surrounding district was mainly agricultural and pastoral, producing oats, maize, cotton, olive oil, cattle, sheep, skins, hides, and butter.[15] These commodities are exported.
Vlorë is a vibrant coastal city with a well-developed and modern housing infrastructure. The city offers a variety of residential areas ranging from the coast and going inland. Vlorë is divided into three economic zones.[51] The Free Economic Zone TEDA Vlorë has a strategic location, some 151 kilometres (94 miles) away from the capital Tirana. The Land and Environmental Information is located in a flat, saline land, partially covered by Soda Forest. The area is suitable for industrial and environmentally friendly development. The Industrial development inside the zone eligible activities that can be developed in TEDA are: industrial, processing, commercial, goods storage, light industry, electronics, auto parts manufacturing, and port related activities. The Labor market: Official data from 2014 reported the employable labor force in Vlora at 125,954, of which 84,836 are currently employed. 35% of the labor force in Vlora has a high school degree, while 17% has a university degree.
Tourism which has always been a driving force for the city's economy has become a major industry in recent years, with many hotels, recreational centers, and vast beaches. The city has a good view over the Bay of Vlorë, which is considered the frontier between the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea. The Island of Sazan is in front of the city, at the entrance of the bay. Italy is just 80 kilometres (50 miles) away. Beaches close to the city include Palasë, Dhermi, Vuno, Himara, Qeparo, and Borsh. In 2019, Vlorë was cited in Financial Times' 'Five destinations to watch' article that listed new and exciting holiday destinations from around the world.[53]
In April 2024, it was reported that Jared Kushner, son-in-law and former aide to US President Donald Trump, planned to build a resort in the city as part of plans of his company, Affinity Partners, to invest in the Balkans.[54]
Infrastructure
Transport
Vlorë lies on the north–south transportation corridor of Albania and is served by a network of motorways and highways connecting the city to other parts of Albania. The preceding SH8 highway, beginning from Fier, links the northern districts of Vlorë with the central and southern districts, continuing along the Albanian Riviera to Sarandë. The A2 motorway parallelly runs along the SH8 from Fier to Vlorë and terminates after entering the city in the north. Upon completion, the bypass of Vlorë will link the A2 motorway through the suburbs of Vlorë with the SH8 highway.[55][56]
Vlorë is served by the Port of Vlorë, the second busiest port in Albania, located in the northern part of the city's coast.
The Vlorë International Airport is a proposed airport development project currently under construction as part of Albania's plan to increase transportation links to destinations in southern Albania.[61][62] The proposed location for the airport lies at the village of Akërni within the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape in the north of Vlorë, which was met with widespread criticism.[63] The construction was officially launched on 28 November 2021, and has a completion target date of April 2024.[64][65] The airport also has plans to include a marina and an agritourism site.[citation needed]
Landfill
During the period 2020–2024, the city periodically suffered from fires at the local landfill. The landfill, which is considered dangerous by the local authorities, was due to close by June 2021, as a new landfill was expected to begin operations. The deadline for the opening of the latter has been postponed repeatedly, and its further construction has stopped.[66][67]
Education
Vlora is home to the second largest university in Albania. The University of Vlora was founded in 1994 as a technological university. It retains a focus on technology, but has expanded in the areas of economics and finance, education, medicine, and law.
There are three journals based in the University of Vlora. There is also a scientific journal published quarterly in Albanian: Buletini Shkencor i Universitetit te Vlorës. Since 2008 it is home to the Academicus International Scientific Journal,[68] a peer-reviewed scientific publication in the English language founded by Arta Musaraj.[69]
Besides the state university there are two private universities, namely Universiteti Pavarësia Vlorë and Akademia e Studimeve të Aplikuara "Reald", which started as primary school and high school, and since 2011 operates also as a university.[70]
As per the Institute of Statistics estimate from the 2011 census, there were 79,513 people residing in Vlorë and 104,827 in the municipality of Vlorë, constituting the third most populous city and fifth most populous municipality of Albania.[1][6] The estimated population density of Vlorë Municipality was at 169.9 inhabitants per square kilometre.[1] The population of Vlorë had increased from 71,662 in 1989 to 79,513 in 2011, while a decline of the population of Vlorë Municipality from 114,497 to 104,827 was highlighted.[44]
The constitution defines Albania as a secular country with no official religion.[72] It guarantees the freedom of religion, belief and conscience and prohibits discrimination on grounds of religious beliefs or practice.[72][73] Vlorë is religiously diverse and possesses many places of worship catering to its religious population, who are traditionally adherents of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. During the 19th and early 20th century, Albanian-speaking Muslims were the majority population of Vlorë while there was a small number of Greek-speaking families, Albanian Orthodox, Jews, and an even smaller number of Catholics.[74] In 1994 the ethnic Greek community of the city numbered 8,000 people.[75] A Greek school was operating in the city in 1741.[76]
Vlorë is home to many cultural and historical sites that also relate to the founding of Albania. The Monument of Independence is located on the Flag's Square and commemorates the Albanian independence from the Ottoman Empire.[80] Museum of Independence is housed in a 19th-century building, where the founding fathers of Albania signed the Declaration of Independence.[81] Its balcony is considered a symbol of freedom, victory and resilience of the Albanians to prevent the occupation of their motherland.[81]
Located in a 19th-century mansion, the Ethnographic Museum close to the Museum of Independence displays the ethnographic heritage of Vlorë and its surrounding region.[81] The History Museum at the Perlat Rexhepi Street is another museum exhibiting among others artefacts from the nearby archaeological sites of the Illyrians and Ancient Greeks.[81] A museum dedicated to the historical Jewish population of Vlorë is planned to open in the historical center of Vlorë.[82][83]
The oldest and most popular first division team based in Vlorë is the football club KS Flamurtari Vlorë. Flamurtari plays at Flamurtari Stadium in the center of Vlorë near the Independence Square.
^"town that is the second seaport of Albania. It was strategically important during the Roman period and in the 11th to the 12th-century wars between Normans and the Byzantine Empire" (EB editors 2016) harv error: no target: CITEREFEB_editors2016 (help).
^"Bashkia Vlorë" (in Albanian). Albanian Association of Municipalities (AAM). Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
^Babiniotis, Georgios (2019). Dictionary of the Modern Greek Language. Kéntro Lexikologías. p. 315. ISBN978-9609582148. ηκαν το αρχ. δίαυλος «πέρασμα, δίοδος» και το νεότ. πύραυλος. Η κοιλάδα που μοιάζει με αυλό λέγεται αυλών (αυλώνας). από όπου το συχνό τοπωνύμιο Αυλών | Αυλώνα, ... Αυλώνας (ο) πόλη και λιμάνι τής Ν. Αλβανίας
^Huld, Martin E. (1986). "Accentual Stratification of Ancient Greek Loanwords in Albanian". Zeitschrift für vergleichende Sprachforschung. 99 (2). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (GmbH & Co. KG): 248–249. JSTOR40848841.
^"Baynes, T. S., ed. (1875–1889). "Avlona" . Encyclopædia Britannica (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons." in the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed. 1878.
^"Apollonia and Aulon in Epirus Nova" (Bowden 2003, p. 14)
^Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ISBN978-88-209-9070-1), p. 842
^Vlora, Eqrem bej; Von Godin, Marie Amelie von Godin (2010) [1956]. Contributions to the history of Turkish rule in Albania: a Historical Outline v. I . Tirana: Publishing House "55". f. 47. ISBN978-99943-56-83-6.
^Nicol, Donald M. (1984). The Despotate of Epiros 1267-1479: A Contribution to the History of Greece in the Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press. p. 92. ISBN978-0-521-26190-6. Nicholas Orsini... He stepped up his invasion of Byzantine territory... The Venetians too seem to have decided that the moment was now ripe to help him. They sent a fleet led by Giovanni Michiel to attack Valona. Many of its Greek inhabitants were killed on the spot, including the son of its admiral Gantzas
^Mandeville, John (2012). The Book of Marvels and Travels. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. p. 153. ISBN978-0-19-960060-1.
^Van Antwerp Fine, John (1994). The Late Medieval Balkans - A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. United States of America: University of Michigan Press. p. 357. ISBN0-472-10079-3.
^Ray, Jonathan Stewart (2013). After expulsion: 1492 and the making of Sephardic Jewry. New York: New York University Press. p. 60. ISBN978-0-8147-2911-3.
^Pollo, Stefanaq (1984). Historia e Shqipërisë: Vitet 30 të shek. XIX-1912 (in Albanian). Akademia e Shkencave e RPS të Shqipërisë, Instituti i Historisë. OCLC165705732.
^Polemio, M.; CNR-IRPI Pambuku, A.; Servizio Geologico di Albania Petrucci, O.; CNR-IRPI. The coastal karstic aquifer of Vlora (Albania). OCLC697554091.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Kokolakis, Mihalis (2003). Το ύστερο Γιαννιώτικο Πασαλίκι: χώρος, διοίκηση και πληθυσμός στην τουρκοκρατούμενη Ηπειρο (1820–1913) [The late Pashalik of Ioannina: Space, administration and population in Ottoman ruled Epirus (1820–1913)]. EIE-ΚΝΕ. p.52. "β. Ο διεσπαρμένος ελληνόφωνος πληθυσμός περιλάμβανε... και μικρό αριθμό οικογενειών στα αστικά κέντρα του Αργυροκάστρου και της Αυλώνας. [b. The scattered Greek-speaking population included ... and a small number of families in the cities of Gjirokastra and Vlora.]"; p. 53. "και την ακόμη ολιγομελέστερη ομάδα των Καθολικών της Αυλώνας [and even group of Catholics in Vlora]"; p. 54. "Η μουσουλμανική κοινότητα της Ηπείρου, με εξαίρεση τους μικρούς αστικούς πληθυσμούς των νότιων ελληνόφωνων περιοχών, τους οποίους προαναφέραμε, και τις δύο με τρεις χιλιάδες διεσπαρμένους «Τουρκόγυφτους», απαρτιζόταν ολοκληρωτικά από αλβανόφωνους, και στα τέλη της Τουρκοκρατίας κάλυπτε τα ¾ περίπου του πληθυσμού των αλβανόφωνων περιοχών και περισσότερο από το 40% του συνόλου. [The Muslim community in Epirus, with the exception of small urban populations of the southern Greek-speaking areas, which we mentioned, and 2-3000 dispersed "Muslim Romani", consisted entirely of Albanian speakers, and in the late Ottoman period covered approximately ¾ of population ethnic Albanian speaking areas and more than 40% of the total area."; pp. 370, 374.
Bereti, Vasil (1993). "Gjurmë të fortifikimeve në vendbanimin në Treport / Traces de fortifications dans l'habitat à Treport". Iliria (in Albanian). 23: 143–159. doi:10.3406/iliri.1993.1622.
Bereti, Vasil; Quantin, François; Cabanes, Pierre (2011). "Histoire et épigraphie dans la région de Vlora (Albanie)". REA (in French). 113 (1).
Volpe, Giuliano; Disantarosa, Giacomo; Leone, Danilo; Turchiano, Maria (2014). "Porti, approdi e itinerari dell'Albania meridionale dall'Antichità al Medioevo. Il 'Progetto Liburna'". Ricerche Archeologiche in Albania. Aracne: 287–326. doi:10.4399/978885487245516 (inactive 2024-09-12). ISBN978-88-548-7245-5.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of September 2024 (link)
"Vlorë or Vlora, Ital. Valona, ancient Aulon". Crystal Reference Encyclopedia. 2001.
Bowden, William (2003). Epirus Vetus: The Archaeology of a Late Antique Province (Duckworth Archaeology). Bloomsbury Academic. p. 14. ISBN0-7156-3116-0.
1 Includes localities with a substantial ethnic Greek population, or otherwise with any kind of cultural or other type of significance, historical or current, for the Greek minority in Albania. 2 Includes individuals not necessarily of Greek ethnicity but with important contributions to Greek civilization.