Milot is a town and a former municipality in the

Lezhë County Lezhë County ( sq, Qarku i Lezhës) is one of the 12 counties of Albania. The population as of 2021 was 120,678, in an area of 1620 km².

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 shares ...

. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality

Kurbin Kurbin is a municipality in Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Fushë Kuqe, Laç, Mamurras and Milot. The seat of the municipality is the town Laç. The total population is 46,291 ...

. The population at the 2011 census was 8,461.2011 census results
The municipal unit of Milot is composed of the town Milot and 14 villages, including Fushë Milot, Mal i Bardhë, Vinjoll, Shkopet, Ferr-Shkopet and Skuraj. The town stands on the southern bank of the

Mat River The Mat ( sq-definite, Mati) is a river in north-central Albania. Its overall length is , while its catchment surface is . Its average discharge is . The main tributary is Fan, flowing from the northeast, while the Mat flows from the southwest d ...

. Nearby is the well-known Zogu Bridge named after the leader

Zog I of Albania Zog I ( sq, Naltmadhnija e tij Zogu I, Mbreti i Shqiptarëve, ; 8 October 18959 April 1961), born Ahmed Muhtar bey Zogolli, taking the name Ahmet Zogu in 1922, was the leader of Albania from 1922 to 1939. At age 27, he first served as Albania's ...

. The bridge was built in 1927 to cross the Mat river and improve access to the north-west of the country.

History

On 7 September 1457, the

Battle of Ujëbardha The Battle of Albulena, also known as the Battle of Ujëbardha, was fought on 2 September 1457 between Albanian forces led by Skanderbeg and an Ottoman army under Isak bey Evrenoz and Skanderbeg's nephew, Hamza Kastrioti. Skanderbeg had be ...

occurred in Milot. It was the

Second Siege of Krujë The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

when an Albanian army led by

Skanderbeg , reign = 28 November 1443 – 17 January 1468 , predecessor = Gjon Kastrioti , successor = Gjon Kastrioti II , spouse = Donika Arianiti , issue = Gjon Kastrioti II , royal house = Kastrioti , father ...

broke the surrounding Ottoman army. The defeat was chronicled in considerable detail by Ottoman chronicler

Evliya Çelebi Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years, recording ...

. The Battle of Ujëbardha was one of the greatest victories for Skanderbeg. Milot declared its independence in 1912 almost at the same time as all the other Albanian cities did.

Notable people

Prenk Pervizi Prenk Pervizi (4 May 1897 – 6 September 1977) was an Albanian military figure, General of the Albanian army, who also served as Minister of Defence for a short period during World War II. Pervizi attended the Military Academy in Vienna, Austr ...

, general of the Zogist army, from Skuraj

References

Former municipalities in Lezhë County Administrative units of Kurbin Towns in Albania {{Lezhë-geo-stub ro:Milot