Librazhd ( sq-definite, Librazhdi) is a town and a municipality in

Elbasan County Elbasan County () is one of the 12 counties of Albania. The population is 266,245 (2021), in an area of 3199 km². Its capital is the city Elbasan. Administrative divisions Until 2000, Elbasan County was subdivided into four districts: Elbas ...

, eastern

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

. The municipality was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Hotolisht, Librazhd,

Lunik Lunik () is a band from Switzerland. There are currently three members. Lunik started in 1997 with Adi Amstutz, Luk Zimmermann, Mats Marti, Walo Müller and Anton Höglhammer. Singer Jaël joined the band in 1998 and Anton Höglhammer left the ...

, Orenjë,

Polis ''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...

, Qendër Librazhd and Stëblevë, that became municipal units. The seat of the municipality is the town Librazhd. The total population is 31,892 (2011 census), in a total area of . The population of the former municipality at the 2011 census was 6,937. Librazhd is the nearest town to the Shebenik-Jabllanice National Park.

History

Librazhd (''Liburazhda'') is attested in the Ottoman ''

defter A ''defter'' (plural: ''defterler'') was a type of tax register and land cadastre in the Ottoman Empire. Description The information collected could vary, but ''tahrir defterleri'' typically included details of villages, dwellings, household ...

'' of 1467 as a village belonging to the ''

timar A timar was a land grant by the sultans of the Ottoman Empire between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, with an annual tax revenue of less than 20,000 akçes. The revenues produced from the land acted as compensation for military service ...

'' of Karagöz in the vilayet of Çermeniça. The settlement had a total of 33 households, represented by the following household heads: ''Ilia Berishi'', ''

Pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

Mihali'', ''Gjergj Vaskuqi'', ''Ivo Stajo'', ''Nikolla Todini'', ''Miho Gjirgashi'', ''Todor Sqavi'', ''Mihal Arassi'' (''Arrasi''), ''Gjurko Papa Sedani'' (possibly, ''Papasdani''), ''Gjergj Arassi'', ''Gjergj Gjonjo'' (possibly, ''Gjonevi''), ''Miladin Simko'', ''Dimitri Gjinko'', ''Todor Kalini'', ''Petër Simko'', ''Ivo Nikoto'', ''Pop Nikolla'', ''Todorec Nikoto'', ''Stan Mali'', ''Dimitri Kozmo'', ''Petko Stajko'', ''Stajo'' son of ''Semini'', ''Gjin Franku'', ''Bogdo Kalini'', ''Frank Radoslani'', ''Gjon Prokopi'', ''Petër Rado'', ''Gjon Birko'', ''Simo Birko'', ''Stan Kaliqi'', ''Pejko Stajo'', ''Miho Makini'' (possibly, ''Magjini''), ''Gjergj Budisha'', ''Manec Berishi'', ''Dimitri Kostovi'', ''Gjoni'' son of ''Rado'', ''Dimitri'' son of ''Miho'', ''Dimitri'' son of ''Aleko'', and ''Nenada'' son of ''Niko''. Librazhd was one of the youngest cities in Albania and was proclaimed on the 18th of February 1960. Librazhd is also famous for being connected to the

Via Egnatia The Via Egnatia was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It crossed Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thracia, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, and European Turkey as a con ...

road that stretched from

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

all the way on to

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the second most populous city of the Republic of Albania and seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is located on a flat plain along the Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast between the mouths of ...

. The people of Librazhd also participated in the

Albanian Declaration of Independence The Albanian Declaration of Independence ( Albanian: ''Deklarata e Pavarësisë'') was the declaration of independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. Independent Albania was proclaimed in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. Six days later the Ass ...

in the 28 of November 1912.

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

two battalions of the National Liberation Movement ambushed defeated

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

troops near Librazhd killing over 200 German soldiers.

Historical Places

*WWII Memorial

Points of Interest

* Shebenik-Jabllanice National Park * Shkumbin *World War II Memorial

Transportation

Bus

There are buses in Librazhd that can take you in other cities in

and other countries.

Trains

There is no train line that can goes to or from Librazhd. Elbasan-Pogradec extension has been closed

Highways

The only main road in Librazhd is the SH3 (State Road 3) that starts in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

and ends in

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the eighth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population is 75,994 (2011 census), in a total area of . It stands on a plateau som ...

and passes by Librazhd.

Sports

Librazhd favourite city sport is

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

. Its main soccer team is Sopoti Librazhd founded 1948. Its home stadium is Sopoti Stadium created in 1964 with a capacity of 3,000 spectators. The team is now in the

Albanian Second Division Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

group A. The team has had some problems with the stadium being outdated during the 2017-18 Albanian Second Division. Now it is a renovated stadium.

Notable residents

Taulant Balla Taulant Balla (born 12 August 1977) is an Albanian Socialist Party politician and Member of Parliament (MP) for Librazhd. He was first elected MP in the 2005 general election. He is the General Secretary of the Socialist Party. Political caree ...

(born 1977), politician

References

External links

Municipality of Librazhd Official Website

Librazhd tourist guide

{{Librazhd div Municipalities in Elbasan County Administrative units of Librazhd Towns in Albania