Theme Week Albania – Durrës
Saturday, 26 October 2024 - 12:00 pm (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: European Union / Europäische Union Category/Kategorie: General , UNESCO World Heritage
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Liria Square © GentiBehramaj/cc-by-sa-4.0
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Durrës (
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 , 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’ 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. Also known as Dyrrachium, Durrës essentially 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 .
Roman amphitheatre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site © flickr.com - Jed Horne/cc-by-sa-2.0
In the
Middle Ages , Durrës was contested between
Bulgarians ,
Venetians ,
local Albanian noble families and
Ottoman dominion. 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’ 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 .
Here you can find the complete
Overview of all Theme Weeks .
Read more on
Wikivoyage Durrës and
Wikipedia Durrës . Learn more about the
use of photos . To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facebook pages/Twitter accounts. In addition more and more destinations, tourist organizations and cultural institutions offer Apps for your Smart Phone or Tablet, to provide you with a mobile tourist guide (
Smart Traveler App by U.S. Department of State -
Weather report by weather.com -
Global Passport Power Rank -
Travel Risk Map -
Democracy Index -
GDP according to IMF, UN, and World Bank -
Global Competitiveness Report -
Corruption Perceptions Index -
Press Freedom Index -
World Justice Project - Rule of Law Index -
UN Human Development Index -
Global Peace Index -
Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index ). If you have a suggestion, critique, review or comment to this blog entry, we are looking forward to receive your e-mail at
comment@wingsch.net . Please name the headline of the blog post to which your e-mail refers to in the subject line.
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