Devoll District() was one of the thirty-six

districts of Albania Districts ( or ) were first and second-level administrative subdivisions of Albania, administrative divisions of Albania from 19132000. Their number, size, and status changed over time. From 1991 to 2000, the 36 districts were organized into 12 ...

(which were dissolved in 2000) that is now part of

Korçë County Korçë County (), officially the County of Korçë (), is a Counties of Albania, county in the Southern Albania, Southern Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the largest by area and the List of counties of Albania by population, fifth most p ...

. It derives its name from the Devoll river flowing through the valley. It had a population of 33,785, and an area of 429 km². It is in the southeastern corner of the country, and its capital is

Bilisht Bilisht () is a town and a former municipality in Korçë County, south-eastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision and the seat of the municipality Devoll, Korçë, Devoll. It was the seat of the former Devoll Dist ...

. Its busy border point Kapshticë/

Krystallopigi Krystallopigi () or Kroustallopigi (Κρουσταλλοπηγή), before 1926: Smardesi (Σμαρδέσι) is a former Communities and Municipalities of Greece, community in Florina (regional unit), Florina regional unit, West Macedonia, Greece. ...

connects the district with the

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

regional units of

Florina Florina (, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. The town of Florina is the capital of the Florina regional uni ...

and

Kastoria Kastoria (, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria (regional unit), Kastoria regional unit, in the Geographic regions of Greece, geographic region ...

to the east and southeast. Devoll borders the district of

Kolonjë Kolonjë is a municipality in Korçë County, southeastern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Barmash, Çlirim, Ersekë, Leskovik, Mollas, Novoselë, Qendër Ersekë and Qendër Leskovik. The seat of ...

to the southwest and

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eighth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population of the city is 51,152 and 75,994 of Korçë municipal ...

to the west and north. Devoll is also considered a traditional or "ethnographic" region with borders similar to the former district.

History

Excavations at Tren cave unearthed

Mycenaean Greek Mycenaean Greek is the earliest attested form of the Greek language. It was spoken on the Greek mainland and Crete in Mycenaean Greece (16th to 12th centuries BC). The language is preserved in inscriptions in Linear B, a script first atteste ...

pottery of the

Late Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

. This appears to be of possible local manufacture. The district is known in history for the Devol fortress, where the Treaty of Devol between

Bohemond I of Antioch Bohemond I of Antioch ( 1054 – 5 or 7 March 1111), also known as Bohemond of Taranto or Bohemond of Hauteville, was the prince of Taranto from 1089 to 1111 and the prince of Antioch from 1098 to 1111. He was a leader of the First Crusade, leadi ...

and Byzantine Emperor

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos (, – 15 August 1118), Latinization of names, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine Emperor, Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. After usurper, usurping the throne, he was faced with a collapsing empire and ...

was held in 1108. Its site became forgotten in modern times, however it has been tentatively identified with the site

Zvezdë Zvezda or Zvezdë is a village in the municipality of Pojan, a subdivision of the municipality of Maliq, in the Korçë County of Albania. Located in south-east Albania, it is within close range of Lake Prespa, which is shared between Albania, Nort ...

(located at ), a conjecture already proposed by the 19th century British traveller

William Martin Leake William Martin Leake FRS (14 January 17776 January 1860) was an English soldier, spy, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society. He served in the British Army, spending much of his career in the Mediterrane ...

in 1835. It was in Devoll, while the region was within the

Serbian Empire The Serbian Empire ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српско царство, Srpsko carstvo, separator=" / ", ) was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expande ...

, that Emperor

Stefan Dušan Stephen (honorific), Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан), also known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr-Cyrl, Душан Силни; – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Emperor of th ...

died in 1355. In late Ottoman times and early Independence era, much of the Christian population emigrated abroad and then returned, and later a part of the Muslim population did the same. Today, there is again mass emigration, although this time the local Muslim population is emigrating in larger numbers and higher proportions than the Christian population, a reverse of the "Kurbet" of the previous century.

Population

The population is overwhelmingly ethnically Albanian, with the majority of Albanians there having been Muslim (many of these belonging to the Halveti Order) at the end of the Ottoman era, while a minority of the Albanians, especially those that resided especially in high altitude areas, remained Orthodox Christian. The Albanian Christian population lives mostly in the upper valley of the Devoll river, in the town of Hoçisht, in

and in the village of Tren, and insist on being called only Albanian and not Greek. Additionally, a part of the original post-Ottoman Albanian Muslim population has converted to Orthodoxy as part of emigration to Greece. There are also Roma present as well as Slavic Macedonian speakers in the village of Vërnik. The Slavs of Vernik identify as Aegean Macedonians and refuse any Bulgarian or other identity, however their Albanian neighbors often casually refer to them as ''bullgare'' (Bulgarians). The Roma are mainly Muslim while the Macedonian Slavs are Orthodox Christians. In modern times, among the Albanian population, there has been extensive intermarriage between the Muslim and Christian populations, with the result being that many of the ethnically Albanian youth in the area identity with both traditions, as "half-Muslim, half-Christian". Like elsewhere in Albania, actual religious observance is typically lax although due to Ottoman history even among some non-practicers, religious identity may still plays a role in social relations, being more significant among the older generations. The Albanian population speaks with a Tosk dialect, while the Macedonian Slavic population speaks the Kostur dialect. The entire Slavic Macedonian population is also bilingual in Albanian nowadays.De Rapper. 27 June 2008. "'The son of three fathers has no hat on his head'. Life and social representations in a Macedonian village of Albania". Page 2-3

Administrative divisions

The district consisted of the following municipalities:

Devoll Municipality

* Hoçisht *

Miras Miras is a village and a former municipality in the Korçë County, southeastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Devoll, Korçë, Devoll. The population at the 2011 census was 6,577.

Progër Progër is a village and a former municipality in the Korçë County, south-eastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform, it became a subdivision of the municipality of Devoll, Korçë, Devoll. The population at the 2011 census was 3,988.

* Qendër Bilisht Note: - urban municipalities in bold

Communities and subdivisions

* Arrëz *

* Bitinckë *

Braçanj Braçanj is a small village located in the Korçë County, Albania. It is part of the former municipality Miras. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Devoll, Korçë, Devoll. Agriculture The sole employment in ...

* Bradvicë * Cangonji * Çetë * Çipan * Dobranj * Ecmenik * Fitore * Gjurëz * Grapsh * Koshnicë * Kurilë * Menkulas *

* Poloskë * Kuç * Perparimaj * Ponçare *

* Qytezë * Sinice * Shuec * Sul * Tren * Trestenik * Vernik * Vishoshicë * Vidohovë * Ziçisht *Baban *

Notable people

* Dritëro Agolli, Albanian writer. * Eulogios Kourilas, Christian Orthodox Bishop of Korçë and author. * Nikolaos Dailakis, Greek revolutionary of the

Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts that were mainly fought between Greek and Bulgarian subjects who lived in Ottoman Macedonia between 1893 and 1912. From 1904 to 1908 the conflict was p ...

* Costa Chekrezi, Albanian publicist and historian * Bashkim M. Gjoza, Albanian poet and writer * Petraq Zoto, Albanian writer

References

External links

Visit Devoll Tourist Guide
{{Korçë County Districts of Albania Geography of Korçë County Albanian ethnographic regions