Tirana

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 90 meters (295.3 ft) above sea level. It lies on the Ishm River, about 20 miles (32 km) inland.

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. The rule of Esat Toptani was so harmful to the city that little or no industrial development occurred until the 20th century.

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 Germans eventually withdrew and the communists seized power.