The Acroceraunian School ( el, Ακροκεραύνιος Σχολή, ''Akrokeravnios Scholi'') is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

elementary school in the town of Himara, Albania. It was founded in 1779 by Cosmas the Aetolian and throughout its history has been associated with the Greek culture of the area. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

it was forcibly closed by the

communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

of Albania, but it reopened in 2006 after almost 60 years.

Background

The first school in Himara, a Greek language school, was founded in 1627 by the Catholic missionary Neophytos Rodinos. During the following years Greek schools opened in the nearby villages,

Dhërmi Dhërmi ( sq-definite, Dhërmiu; el, Δρυμάδες, ''Drymádes'') is a village in Vlorë County, Albania. It is part of the municipality of Himarë. The village lies 42 kilometers south of the city of Vlorë and about the same distance north ...

and

Palasa Palasa is a town in Srikakulam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality and the mandal headquarters of Palasa mandal. It is located near to the National Highway 16 between Srikakulam and Berhampur. Along with its ...

Foundation

The foundation of the school is associated with the travels of the Greek-Orthodox monk and missionary Cosmas the Aetolian. During his trips in the Ottoman-ruled Balkans, he founded some 200 Greek-language schools in what is now southern Albania . When he visited Himara in 1779, legend says that he told the locals to destroy part of the nearby All Saints Church in order to build the school with this material.

Prohibition of Education

In 1945, the totalitarian leadership of the

People's Socialist Republic of Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...

under Enver Hoxha declared that Greek language education would be allowed only in the officially recognized the "minority zones" which consisted of 99 villages. The Himara region was not included in this zone and as a result the use of Greek language was forbidden in school and other public places.

Modern era

After many years of efforts, following a decision of the

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

, a private Greek school was opened in Himara on May 5, 2006. The school operates as part of the ''Omiros'' ("Homer") network of educational institutions, in the same building it operated in the pre-1945 period, inside the Castle of Himara (locally called ''Kastro''). Although the region of Himara still is not part of the recognized Greek minority area, the curriculum follows the program of a minority school. The language of instruction is predominantly Greek, while Albanian is also taught. Moreover, the schools offers to non-pupils lessons in Greek language and culture.

References

{{coord missing, Albania Education in the Ottoman Empire Buildings and structures in Himara 1779 establishments in Europe Elementary and primary schools in Albania Educational institutions established in 1779