Everything about Tirana totally explained
Tirana is the
capital and largest city of the Republic of
Albania. It was founded in 1614 by
Sulejman Pasha and became Albania's capital city in 1920.
Tirana is located at (41.33°N, 19.82°E) in the eponymous
district and
county. Its average altitude is above sea level. It lies on the
Ishëm River, about inland.
Population
In 2007, Tirana's population was officially at 607,467.
In 1703, Tirana had 4,000 inhabitants and by 1820 there were approximately 1665
222,000. The city's population rose to 25,079 by 1930 and near 70,000 in 1945, despite the intervening years of foreign occupation and
war. During the 1950s, Tirana experienced rapid industrial growth, and the population rose to about 137,000 by 1960.
After the end of
communist rule in 1991, Tirana experienced its fastest population growth as people from rural areas moved to the capital in finding a better life. In 1990, Tirana had 300,000 inhabitants, but the large-scale influx since then from other parts of the country has increased the population to well over 800,000.
Etymology
There are a number of theories concerning the origin of the name:
- from the word "Theranda", used by Greek and Latin sources to refer to the area, after the local term "te ranat", meaning fallen material, in reference to the composition of the terrain from hard earth carried down by water from the nearby mountains.
- from "Tirkan", the name used by the sixth century Byzantine historian Procopius to refer to a castle, first built in the first century BC, on Mount Dajti, the ruins of which still stand.
- from "tyros", the old Greek word for dairy, reflecting the fact that local shepherds gathered here to trade dairy products.
- from "Tiras" whom the ancient Thracians worshipped. They named many places in the Thracian area after this god.
- an often-repeated explanation, though ultimately fallacious, is that Tirana was so named by Sulejman Pasha after the Persian capital Tehran, to mark his conquest of Persia in the 17th century. This seems to be contradicted by the use of Tirana's name in its current form (il borgo di Tirana) appearing in a Venetian document of 1572.
- When Sulejman Pasha was at the location of what would become Tirana, he came across an elderly woman and asked her what she was doing. She replied, "Po tir an" (spinning silk).
- from regional dialect of central Albania, the first version for Tiranë origin name is true, but not referring to fallen material, but to peoples. If we analyze the demographic movements of the population of the surrounding are, we'll observe that the first inhabitants of the town (village at that time) are from the mountains around. In regional dialect always the displaced peoples from the mountains to the plain are called “Të rânë. That means peoples who have come down from the mountains. Still today the pronunciation “Tiranë” in the regional dialect is “Tirônë”.
- there's another theory for the origin of name that's "tri ane". It means the three ways because the most important commercial ways, the ones that come from Shkodër, Berat and Durrës, of the time passed through the modern center of Tirana. That's why Sulejman Pasha built a moschea, a popular Turkish bathroom and a kind of hotel "han" for the caravans to rest.
History
The area now occupied by the city of Tirana has been populated since
Neolithic times, as evidenced by various remains discovered there. A castle, possibly called
Tirkan, was built by Emperor
Justinian in 520
AD and restored by
Ahmed Pasha Toptani in the 18th century. The area had no especial importance in
Illyrian and
Classical times. There were medieval settlements in the area at
Preza,
Ndroq,
Lalmi and
Petrela Castle. In 1418,
Marin Barleti, an Albanian
Catholic priest and scholar, the first to write a history of Albania, referred to "
Plenum Tyrenae", a small village. There are references to "
Tirana e Madhe" and "
Tirana e Vogël" (Greater and Lesser Tirana).
The records of the first land registrations under the
Ottomans in 1431-32 show that Tirana consisted of 60 inhabited areas, with nearly 1,000 houses and 7,300 inhabitants. The 1583 registration records that Tirana had 110 inhabited areas, with 2,900 houses and 20,000 inhabitants.
Süleiman Pasha Mulleti (or Sulejman Pasha), a local ruler, established the Ottoman town in 1614 with a
mosque, a commercial centre and a
hammam (Turkish sauna). The town was located along
caravan routes and grew rapidly in importance until the early 19th century. During this period, the
mosque in the centre of Tirana, the
Et'hem Bey Mosque designed by
Molla Bey of
Petrela, began to be constructed. It employed the best artisans in the country and was completed in 1821 by Molla's son, who was also Sulejman Pasha's grand-nephew. After 1816, Tirana languished under the control of the Toptani family of
Kruja.
On
February 8,
1920, Tirana was chosen as the temporary capital of Albania, which had acquired independence in 1912, by the
Congress of Lushnja. The city retained that status permanently on
December 31,
1925. Since 1925, when they were banned in
Turkey, the
Bektashis, an order of
dervishes who take their name from
Haji Bektash, a
Sufi saint of the 13th and 14th centuries, made Tirana their primary settlement. The first regulatory plan of the city was compiled in 1923 by Estef Frashëri. Durrësi Street was opened in 1922 and was called Nana Mbretneshë (Mother Queen). Many houses and surrounding properties were demolished to make way for it. The existing parliamentary building was raised in 1924 and first served as a club for officers. It was there, in September 1928, that
King Zog I was crowned King.
The centre of Tirana was the project of
Florestano de Fausto and
Armando Brasini, well known architects of the
Mussolini period in Italy. The Palace of Brigades, the government ministry buildings, the National Bank and the Municipality are their work. The Dëshmoret e Kombit (National
Martyrs) Boulevard was built in 1930 and named "Zogu I Boulevard." In the communist period, the part from Skënderbeg Square up to the train station was named
Stalin Boulevard. Tirana was occupied until 1944, first by the
Italians, and then by the
Germans. The
Nazis eventually withdrew and the
communists seized power.
A series of explosion at an army depot near Tirana
March 15 2008 killed at least fifteen and injured 243 people, including many children, and damaged the city's nearby
International Airport Nënë Tereza.
(External Link
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Health
The largest hospital in Tirana is Mother Theresa Hospital, which is associated with University of Tirana, Faculty of Medicine. The Hospital is a 1,456 bed facility that offers comprehensive in patient tertiary care to over 12,000 patients annually. The hospital is currently undergoing major changes in infrastructure and equipment.
Climate
Tirana has a generally
Mediterranean climate. The average temperature varies from a low of 5°C in January to a high of 31°C in July. The driest months are July and August, each with less than 1cm of precipitation on average, while the wettest months are October, November and December, averaging over 3cm each.
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
| Avg high (°C) | 12 |
13 |
14 |
18 |
21 |
25 |
28 |
28 |
25 |
22 |
16 |
13
|
| Avg low (°C) | 5 |
6 |
8 |
11 |
15 |
19 |
21 |
21 |
18 |
14 |
12 |
7
|
| Source: MSN Weather |
Districts
The two oldest neighbourhoods are Mujos and Pazari, located between the geographical centre and Elbasani Street on either side of the
Lana River. In 2000, the centre of Tirana, from the central campus of
Tirana University up to Skënderbeg Square, was declared the place of Cultural Assembly and given special claims to state protection. In the same year, the area began a process of restoration under the name ‘Return to Identity’. The area to the west of the university, adjacent to Saint Prokopi park, was formerly reserved for the occupation of important government and party officials. It remains a desirable residential area.
Economy
Tirana is Albania's major
industrial centre. It has experienced rapid growth and established many new industries since the 1920s. The principal industries include
agricultural products and machinery,
textiles,
pharmaceuticals, and metal products.
Tirana began to develop in the beginning of the 16th century, when a bazaar was established, and its craftsmen manufactured silk and cotton fabrics, leather, ceramics and iron, silver, and gold artifacts. Sited in a fertile plain, the Tirana area exported 2,600 barrels of
olive oil and 14,000 packages of
tobacco to
Venice by 1769. In 1901, it had 140,000 olive trees, 400 oil mills, and 700 shops. Tirana is currently trying to develop a
tourist industry, although this effort has been hampered by the lack of
infrastructure and the perception of
political instability in the region.
Education
Tirana hosts the
University of Tirana, founded in 1957, and other governmental and social buildings such as the Albanian Institute of Sciences, the Academy of Arts, the Agricultural University, the Military Academy, the Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the People's Assembly, and the High Court.
In addition to the public universities, Tirana is host to private academic institutions, such as
University of New York, Tirana,
Universiteti Marin Barleti,
Epoka University, etc.
Environment
The city suffers from problems related to
overpopulation, such as
waste management, lack of running water and electricity as well as extremely high levels of
air pollution from the 300,000 cars moving around the city. The problem is exacerbated by aging infrastructure. Despite the problems, Tirana has also experienced a very rapid growth in the construction of new buildings, especially in the suburbs, where many of the new neighbourhoods don't yet have street names.
In recent years pollution has worsened as the number of cars has increased by several orders of magnitude. These are mostly older, diesel cars that pollute much more than the newer models in circulation elsewhere in Europe. Additionally, most of the fuel used in Albania contains larger amounts of
sulphur and
lead than that allowed in
European Union countries. In recent years pollution from construction has become a major concern for the inhabitants of the city. Moreover, green spaces in densely populated areas are scarce. Another peril to the city comes from untreated
solid waste.
Saint Prokopi park, a vast forested park in the outskirts of the city, has some effect on absorbing CO
2 emissions. Tirana is cleaned by governmental workers everyday, and trees have been planted around many sidewalks.
Transport
National and international transport links have developed over recent years as demand has increased. Until recent years, overland connections through
Greece and
Montenegro have had various problems with bureaucracy or security. The following section is liable to change and is only indicative.
Bus
International coach services connect to Greece, via
Korçë and then taxis to the border, to Kosovo, and to
Republic of Macedonia. Coach and minibus services run, according to demand, to the coast and northern and southern Albania from different locations in Tirana. Local transport within Tirana is by bus or taxi.
Rail
There are regular passenger services to Durrës and
Pogradec, via
Elbasan. The railway station is north of Skanderbeg Square, in Boulevard Zogu I. There are no international passenger services, although there's a freight-only railway through
Shkodër to
Montenegro (though this is currently disused).
Air
Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza (
Mother Theresa in Albanian), also known as Rinas Airport, is located 25 kilometres north-west of the city, off the road to Durrës. Airlines using Rinas include
Albanian Airlines and
Ada Air. Flights run to
Athens,
New York,
Rimini,
Bari, Genova,
Rome,
Bologna,
Munich,
Frankfurt,
Istanbul,
Vienna and
Priština, among other places.
Several foreign airlines also serve Rinas Airport:
Alitalia (from Rome and
Milan),
British Airways (from
London Gatwick Airport),
Austrian Airlines (from Vienna),
Adria Airways (
Ljubljana),
Jat Airways (
Belgrade),
Malev (
Budapest),
Olympic Airlines (
Athens),
Hemus Air (
Sofia) and
Turkish Airlines (
Istanbul). Belle Air is set to have direct flights to the US in late 2007. Lufthansa flights via Munich started on
1 May 2007. Each Monday, there's a direct flight from Tirana to J.F.K. Airport,
New York,
USA.
Sea
Tirana doesn't have a port of its own. However, the port city of
Durrës is no more than half an hour away from the capital. Passenger ferries from Durrës sail to
Trieste (Italy),
Koper (Slovenia) and there's a fast catamaran service to
Bari (Italy).
Landmarks
Skanderbeg Square: the central hub of the city, named after the Albanian hero, Skanderbeg.
Et'hem Bey Mosque: at the south east corner of Skanderbeg Square - begun in 1789 by Molla Bey and finished in 1821 by his son, Haxhi Et'hem Bey, great-grandson of Sulejman Pasha.
The Clock Tower (the Sahat-Kulla,) next to the Et'hem Bey Mosque, was started by Haxhi Et’hem Bey around 1821-22 and was finished with the help of the richest families of Tirana. Its installation was the work of the Tufina family. In 1928 the Albanian state bought a modern German clock and the tower was raised to a height of 35 metres. The clock was damaged during World War II and it was repaired in July 1946.
Government buildings: at the south end of Skenderbeg Square
National Museum: north side of Skenderbeg Square
The headquarters of the Bektashi Sufi Order can be found in the eastern edge of the city.
Roman Catholic Church of Saint Paul: completed in 2001, the largest church in Tirana.
Orthodox Church of St Prokop was built in 1780.
Roman Catholic Church of Saint Maria was built in 1865, paid for by Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria.
The Tabakëve and Terzive bridges (respectively in front of the Parliament building and on Elbasani Street) date from the beginning of the 20th century.
The mosque that's also the tomb of Kapllan Hysa (near the monument to Ushtari I Panjohur (‘the unknown soldier’)) was built in 1816.
The National Library was established in 1922, with 5000 volumes.
The Fortress of Petrela, 12 kilometres from Tirana, dates from the fourth century BC. It took its current form in the 13th century, under the rule of Topiaj, and later became the property of the Kastriotis.
The Palace of Culture (Pallati I Kulturës), where the Theatre of Opera and Ballet and the National Library stand, was completed in 1963 on the site of the former Trade of Tirana building, with the first brick being placed by Soviet president Nikita Khruschev in 1959.
The monument to Skënderbeu, raised in 1968, is the work of Odhise Paskali in collaboration with Andrea Mana and Janaq Paço. It commemorated the 500th anniversary of the death of the national hero.
The monument to Mother Albania, 12 metres high, was inaugurated in the Dëshmoret e Kombit cemetery in 1971.
The Academy of Sciences building was completed in April 1972.
The Gallery of Figurative Arts was created in 1976 and includes around 3200 works by Albanian and foreign artists.
The International Cultural Centre, formerly the Enver Hoxha Museum, was inaugurated in 1988. Popularly referred to as ‘the Pyramid’, it was designed by a group of architects under the direction of the dictator's daughter, Pranvera Hoxha, and her husband Klement Kolaneci.
The National Historical Museum was built in 1981. The ornamental mosaic on its facade is called "The Albanians".
The presidential palace, Tirana, also known as the Palace of Brigades, was built by King Zog as his residence in the 1930s.
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