Lushnjë

Lushnjë
Municipality
Lushnjë
Coordinates: 40°56′N 19°42′E / 40.933°N 19.700°ECoordinates: 40°56′N 19°42′E / 40.933°N 19.700°E
Country  Albania
County Fier
Government
 • Mayor Fatos Tushe
Elevation 9 m (30 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Total 31,105
Time zone CET/CEST (UTC+1/+2)
Postal code 9001
Area code 035
Car plates LU
Website www.bashkialushnje.gov.al

Lushnjë (Albanian pronunciation: [ˈluʃɲə]) (Lushnje (ˈluʃɲe) in Lushnjë's own dialect) is a city in Central-West Albania. It is located in the County of Fier.[1] The population at the 2011 census was 31,105.[2] The town was founded in late medieval times by a widow called Salushe. She built a rest stop called Hani i Salushes on the road from Durrës to Berat and Fier, giving birth to the town. As of 2000, old men still called the town Salushe. Lushnjë is the only town in Albania founded by a woman.

In January 1920, Lushnjë was a provisional capital of Albania and the place of the Congress of Lushnjë. Chieftains of Albania assembled in the town and declared Tirana first a provisional and then the definitive capital of Albania.

The Lushnjë region is known as a main provider of agricultural products to the rest of the country. It is one of very few field districts of mountainous Albania.

During the Communist Regime the town had a number of factories: among them food processing and building materials, which were closed down for one reason or another in the aftermath of the fall of Communism. Stadium of Lushnjë Abdurrahman Roza Haxhiu was the only stadium in the country where women were soccer fans as much as men were, and attended the soccer matches. This shows that the town was exceptionally liberal, peaceful and emancipated. Unfortunately that tradition has expired, and now Lushnjë resembles all the neighboring towns.

3 km away from Lushnjë is the Savra Field. This field is on the Lushnjë-Fier road. Here the first battle between Principality of Zeta and Ottoman Empire occurred in 1385 (the Battle of Savra). In this battle Balsha II was killed. Along with Fier, Lushnjë was the main district of the concentration camps during the Communist Regime; some of the camps included the villages of Savër, Gradishtë, Bedat, Gjazë, Rrapëz, Plug, etc.

Data from the 1918 census shows that the population of Lushnjë was split almost evenly between Muslims and Christians at the time of independence from the Ottoman Empire. [3] The Christians are mostly Orthodox, but there is a Catholic minority, while similarly the Muslims are mostly Sunni with a Bektashi minority. In modern days, like elsewhere in Albania, people in Lushnja tend not to be very religious if religious at all, regardless of whatever religion their ancestors professed.

Notable landmarks

Notable landmarks include Abdurrahman Roza Haxhiu Stadium, Vaçe Zela theater, Lushnjë Catholic Church, Lushnjë Mosque, Congress of Lushnjë Museum, Lushnjë History Museum.

Notable people

Twin towns - Sister cities

Mayors of Lushnjë

References

  1. ↑ Municipality of Lushnjë (2010). "Plani rregullues" (in Albanian). Retrieved 3 September 2010.
  2. ↑ 2011 census results
  3. ↑ Siegfried Gruber. "Regional variation in marriage patterns in Albania at the beginning of the 20th century". www-gewi.uni-graz.at. Retrieved 2014-06-11., Seiner's 1918 data mapped here: http://www-gewi.uni-graz.at/seiner/density.html

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lushnjë.