Theth () is a small village within

Shkodër County Shkodër County () is a county in northwestern Albania, with the capital in Shkodër. The county spans and had a total population of 154,479 people as of the 2023 census. The county borders on the counties of Lezhë, Kukës and the country of M ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. Following the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra; historically known as Scodra or Scutari) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, fifth-most-populous city of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. Shkodër has been List of o ...

, and has been declared a Protected Historic Center and a National Park by the Albanian Government. The community is at the centre of the

Theth National Park Alps of Albania National Park () is the largest national park in Albania. Established in 2022, the national park is located in northern Albania and covers an area of . The most prominent mountain range are the Albanian Alps (also called the Accurs ...

, an area of outstanding natural beauty. A new official information center on Rruga Fushe near the Thethi bridge is set to open by the Albanian Protected Areas Agency (AKZM), and administered by the Shkoder County Protected Areas Administratio
(ADZM Shkoder
.

History

Local tradition asserts a single common ancestor for the community (one Ded Nika) and suggests that the population moved to Theth some 300 to 350 years ago in order to preserve their (

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

)

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

traditions.Antonia Young
''Ethnographic Report''
(Shala Valley Project, December 2005) Visiting Theth in the early 20th century, the traveller

Edith Durham Edith Durham, (8 December 1863 – 15 November 1944) was a British artist, anthropologist and writer who is best known for her anthropological accounts of life in Albania in the early 20th century. Her advocacy on behalf of the Albanian cause a ...

said:

I think no place where human beings live has given me such an impression of majestic isolation from all the world.Edith Durham, ''High Albania'' (London, Edward Arnold, 1909; republished by the Echo Library, 2009), at page 82

Durham described Theth as a "bariak" of some 180 houses and also observed that it was almost free from the tradition of

blood feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

(known in the Albanian language as

Gjakmarrja In traditional Albanian culture, ( English: "blood-taking", i.e. "blood feud") or ("revenge") is the social obligation to kill an offender or a member of their family in order to salvage one's honor. This practice is generally seen as in line w ...

) which so blighted other parts of the Albanian highlands. Other notable travellers visited Theth in the early 20th century, including

Rose Wilder Lane Rose Wilder Lane (December 5, 1886 – October 30, 1968) was an American writer and daughter of American writer Laura Ingalls Wilder. Along with two other female writers, Ayn Rand and Isabel Paterson, Lane is one of the more influential advoca ...

Franz Nopcsa Franz may refer to: People * Franz (given name) * Franz (surname) Places * Franz (crater), a lunar crater * Franz, Ontario, a railway junction and unorganized town in Canada * Franz Lake, in the state of Washington, United States – see Fran ...

, and others. These travelers often detailed and praised the environment, culture and lifestyles of the locals. Theth - LockInTower

Theth remains remote. The single road leading there from the village of Boga has been recently paved and upgraded but is still mostly impassable during the winter months until April. Although the Kanun (traditional Albanian law) remains influential, Theth has not suffered from the recent (post-Communist) reappearance of the blood feud which has troubled other areas of Northern Albania. Theth boasts one of the very few remaining "lock-in towers", a historical form of protection for families that were "in blood".Gillian Gloyer, ''The Bradt Travel Guide to Albania'' (Bradt Travel Guides, Chalfont St Peter, 3rd edition, 2008), at pages 166-174

Depopulation Population decline, also known as depopulation, is a reduction in a human population size. Throughout history, Earth's total human population has continued to grow but projections suggest this long-term trend may be coming to an end. From ant ...

represents a serious long-term challenge for the community. The population has been greatly reduced over the past few decades and the majority of those remaining occupy Theth only during the summer months. However, the community has a nine-grade school and recent efforts have been made to stimulate tourism. A number of local families offer board and lodging to visitors who come to Theth to hike in the National Park - or merely to admire the mountain scenery. Apart from the lock-in tower, other attractions include spectacular waterfalls, a working

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as mill (grinding), milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in ...

(still used to grind the local inhabitants' corn) and a modest ethnographic museum. There are now two projects working in the vicinity, aiming at improving and helping the tourist infrastructure in the area. A Balkans Peace Park Project is working towards the creation of a park extending across the borders of Albania, and

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

and has taken a lead in recent years in encouraging sustainable and ecologically sensitive tourism in and around Theth (for example by funding the marking of footpaths). Project Albanian Challenge has built a new bridge, which connects Theth to the nearby Grunas waterfalls over river Nanrreth. The project has also improved the marking of the trail to Curraj i Epërm, and has marked another approx. 80 kilometers of brand new trails in the nearby valleys, and created an opensource, free map of the area.

In media

The feature film '' The Forgotten Mountain'' (2018) by Ardit Sadiku was filmed in Theth while the last scene was filmed in Nderlysa.

Burials

During his lifetime, Albanian studies scholar

Robert Elsie Robert Elsie (June 29, 1950 – October 2, 2017) was a Canadian-born German scholar who specialized in Albanian literature and folklore. Elsie was a writer, translator, interpreter, and specialist in Albanian studies, being the author of numero ...

developed a fondness for Theth, seeing it as an Albanian "

Shangri-La Shangri-La is a fictional place in Tibet's Kunlun Mountains, Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel '' Lost Horizon'' by the British author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently ...

". On October 18, 2017, he was buried in Theth Cemetery.

References

{{Authority control Populated places in Shkodër Villages in Shkodër County

History

In media

Burials

See also

References