The castle was built by the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire Anastasius I who originated from Durrës. At the time, Anastasius made the city one of the most fortified cities on the Adriatic. Repairs to the walls have been carried out since the devastating earthquake of 1273. Currently medieval walls nearly 15 feet (4.6 meters) in height and the three entrances of some of the fortification towers are preserved in nearly one-third of the initial length of the city castle walls.. The castle was reinforced with several guard towers by the Republic of Venice and during the occupation of Albania by Ottoman Empire the wall was reinforced.
On 7 April 1939, Albanian patriots fought the fascist Italians who invaded Albania. In Durrës, a force of only 360 Albanians, mostly gendarmes and townspeople, led by Abaz Kupi, the commander of the gendarmerie in Durrës, and Mujo Ulqinaku, a marine official, tried to halt the Italian advance. Armed only with small arms and three machine guns, they succeeded in keeping the Italians at bay for several hours until a large number of light tanks disembarked from the latter's naval vessels. After that, resistance diminished and within five hours Italy had captured the entire city. |
Durrës is the second largest city and a municipality of Albania. It is central on the coast, about 33 km (21 mi) west of the capitalTirana. It is one of the most ancient and economically significant cities of Albania. Durrës is at one of the narrower points of theAdriatic Sea, opposite the Italian ports of Bari (300 km or 186 mi away) and Brindisi (200 km or 124 mi away). Durrës is home to Albania's main port, the Port of Durrës, and to the newest public university, the Aleksandër Moisiu University.
The municipality was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Durrës, Ishëm,Katund i Ri, Manëz, Rrashbull and Sukth, that became municipal units. The seat of the municipality is the city Durrës. The total population is 175,110 (2011 census), in a total area of 338.30 km2. The population of the former municipality at the 2011 census was 113,249. The metropolitan area has a population of 265,330. Moreover, it is the starting point of Pan-European Corridor VIII and national roads SH2 and SH4. Founded in the 7th century BC by Greek colonists from Corinth and Corcyra under the name Epidamnos, it has been continuously inhabited for 2,700 years and is one of the oldest cities in Albania. Durrës served as Albania's national capital from 7 March 1914 until 11 February 1920 during the reign of William of Albania in Principality of Albania |
Durresi at nightDurrës was an active city in the Albanian national liberation movement in the periods 1878-1881 and 1910-1912. Ismail Qemali raised theAlbanian flag on November 26, 1912 but the city was occupied by the Kingdom of Serbia three days later during the First Balkan War. On November 29, 1912, Durrës became the county town of the Durrës County (Serbian: Драчки округ) one of the counties of the Kingdom of Serbia established on the part of the territory of Albania occupied from Ottoman Empire.Following the collapse of communist rule in 1990, Durrës became the focus of mass emigrations from Albania with ships being hijacked in the harbour and sailed at gunpoint to Italy. In one month alone, August 1991, over 20,000 people migrated to Italy in this fashion. Italy intervened militarily, putting the port area under its control, and the city became the center of the European Community's "Operation Pelican", a food-aid program.In 1997, Albania slid into anarchy following the collapse of a massive pyramid scheme which devastated the national economy. An Italian-led peacekeeping force was controversially deployed to Durrës and other Albanian cities to restore order, although there were widespread suggestions that the real purpose of "Operation Alba" was to prevent economic refugees continuing to use Albania's ports as a route to migrate to Italy.
Following the start of the 21st century, Durrës has been revitalized as many streets were repaved, while parks and façades experienced a face lift. |
Durresi Amphitheater
The Durrës Amphitheatre (Albanian: Amfiteatri i Durrësit) is a large Roman amphitheatre in the city of Durrës, Albania. Built in the 2nd century AD during Roman Emperor Trajan's rule, it is located in the centre of the city and is only half unearthed. The Durrës Amphitheatre is one of the largest amphitheatres in the Balkan peninsula, once having a capacity of 20,000 people, and has no analogs in Albania. It was discovered in the late 1900s and today has become a popular tourist attraction. Durrës Amphitheatre is a World Heritage candidate.The amphitheatre has an elliptical shape with the axes of 132.4 metres (434 ft) and 113.2 metres (371 ft). The arena is 61.4 metres (201 ft) by 42.2 metres (138 ft) and is 20 metres (66 ft) high. It is built on a slope of the hill, and inside the amphitheatre there are staircases and galleries at different levels. The chapel with mosaics is preserved.The site currently functions as a museum.The amphitheatre is surrounded on all sides by the city of Durrës, and a section of the arena itself has been built upon with modern housing.Thus, development pressures threaten the long-term preservation of the site. The municipality of Durrës is now planning to remove the houses.There are structural deficiencies, and mosaics and paintings are slowly decaying.
In 2013, the amphiteatre was shortlisted along with thirteen other sites by Europa Nostra as one of the most endangered cultural heritage sites in Europe. |
Durres Beach
The Beach of Durrës (Albanian: Plazhi i Durrësit) is the biggest and most visited beach in Albania.[1] It lines the seafront of the city ofDurrës and is about 10.5 kilometres (6.5 mi) long. A number of notable Hotels overlook the beach such as the Adriatik Hotel.
This destination is popular with people from Albania (mainly from Middle and North Albania), Kosovo and the Macedonia. It is also a popular summer and weekend destination for the people of Tirana and Durrës. The estimated number of tourists, most of whom frequent the beach during the summer period, is about 600,000 a year The Cape of Rodon or Cape of Skanderbeg (Albanian: Kepi i Rodonit or Kepi i Skenderbeut) is a rocky cape on the Adriatic Sea north of Durrës, Albania.[1] On the Cape is the Rodoni Castle, built by Skanderbeg in 1463.[2] and a Saint Anthony Church. Further south in the bay between the cape and Rrushkull Reserve there exist several beach resorts like Fshati Turistik Lura while Lalzit Bay Resort is under construction. |
Durrës is an important link to Western Europe due to its port and its proximity to the Italian port cities, notably Bari, to which daily ferries run. As well as the dockyard, it also possesses an important shipyard and manufacturing industries, notably producing leather, plastic and tobacco products. The southern coastal stretch of Golem is renowned for its traditional mass beach tourism having experienced uncontrolled urban development. The city's beaches are also a popular destination for many foreign and local tourists, with an estimated 800,000 tourists visiting annually. Many Albanians from Tirana and elsewhere spend their summer vacations on the beaches of Durrës. In 2012, new water sanitation systems are being installed to completely eliminate sea water pollution. In contrast, the northern coastal stretch of Lalzit Bay is mostly unspoiled and set to become an elite tourism destination as a number of beach resorts are being built since 2009. Neighboring districts are known for the production of good wine and a variety of foodstuffs.
The port has experienced major upgrades in recent years culminating with the opening of the new terminal in July 2012. In 2012, The Globe and Mail ranked Durrës at no. 1 among 8 exciting new cruise ports to explore
The port has experienced major upgrades in recent years culminating with the opening of the new terminal in July 2012. In 2012, The Globe and Mail ranked Durrës at no. 1 among 8 exciting new cruise ports to explore