Labovë, alternatively Labova e Madhe (Great Labova) or Labova e Zhapës ( Zappa's Labova), is a village in the former Odrie municipality,

Gjirokastër County Gjirokastër County () is one of the 12 counties of Albania. The total population in 2023 was 60,013, in an area of 2884 km2. Its capital is the city Gjirokastër. Administrative divisions Until 2000, Gjirokastër County was subdivided into thre ...

, Southern

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 ...

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

Gjirokastër Gjirokastër (, sq-definite, Gjirokastra) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in Southern Albania, southern Albania and the seat of Gjirokastër County and Gjirokastër Municipality. It is located in a valley between the Gjerë moun ...

. It is situated roughly 650m above the

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

Name

Afanasy Selishchev (1931), derived Labovë from the Slavic ''hleb’'' meaning bread and Xhelal Ylli (1997) states that is not semantically possible. The suffix ''-ov-a'' is a Slavic formation. The root word of the toponym might denote the following: a Lab, an inhabitant of

Labëria Labëria is a historic region that is roughly situated in southwestern Albania. Its inhabitants are known as Labs (referred to as , pl. ''Lebër'', also dial. sing. ''Lap'') and its boundaries reach from Vlorë to Himara in the south, to the Gr ...

, the proto-Slavic ''*lap’'' for "leaf", or Bulgarian words for plants like ''lop'' (

petasites ''Petasites'' is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, Asteraceae, that are commonly referred to as butterburs and coltsfoots.verbascum ''Verbascum'' is a genus of over 450 species of flowering plants, common name mullein (), in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae. They are native to Europe and Asia, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean. Mullein or "mullein le ...

), ''lopuh'' (

arctium tomentosum ''Arctium tomentosum'', commonly known as the woolly burdock or downy burdock, is a species of burdock belonging to the family Asteraceae. The species was described by Philip Miller in 1768. Distribution This species is native to Eurasia from Sp ...

). The proto-Slavic reflex ''a'' in the placename became ''o'' in Slavic, while in Albanian its ''a'', with an Albanian sound change of ''p'' to ''b''. If the toponym is derived from Lab, Ylli suggests it would mean the incoming Slavs encountered the earlier residents there, the Labs. In Greek the village is known as "Mega Labovo" (), meaning "Great Labovo". Mihalis Kokolakis (2003) states that some Greek speaking villages such as Labovë who used characteristic Greek suffixes like ''ovo'' had their endings rendered with ''ova'' based on Albanian pronunciation in the 1895 Ottoman Salname (administration yearbook) containing population statistics. ) "ii) Αλδανισμοί... Συναντάμε επίσης τις χαρακτηριστικές καταλήξεις -όβα και -άτ αντί -οβο και -ατές, ακόμη και σε χωριά ελληνόφωνα που διατήρησαν τις «ελληνικές» καταλήξεις: Λάμποβο"

History

Labovë was one of the Albanian Christian villages in the possession of the House of Muçohysaj the ancestral house of Ali Pasha. The village was home of the Greek entrepreneurs and national benefactors

Evangelos Zappas Evangelos or Evangelis Zappas (23 August 1800 – 19 June 1865) was a Greek philanthropist and businessman who is recognized today as one of the founders of the modern Olympic Games, which were held in 1859, 1870, 1875, and 1888 and preceded t ...

and his cousin,

Konstantinos Zappas Konstantinos Zappas (; 1814–1892) was a Greek entrepreneur and national benefactor who together with his cousin, Evangelos Zappas, played an essential role in the revival of the Olympic Games. Biography Zappas was born in 1814 in the village ...

. Because of their family name the town is alternatively called "Labovë e Zhapës" although officially it is still called Labovë. The Zappas sponsored the foundation of educational facilities known as ''Zappeian School'' (Ζάππεια Διδασκαλεία). In 1875-1876 this consisted of: a primary and a high school, a weaving school for girls, and a library containing 400 volumes from Greek and Latin authors. Evangelis Zappas participated in 1860 in the debate about Albanian being written and held the view that the language could not become a literary one but should not be abandoned and that a Greek-based alphabet be used for Albanian in the Labovë school founded by him. para. 16 "At the same period, two wealthy persons Evangelos Zappas, from Labova e Madhe/Mega Lambovo (with a letter to Elpis), and Hristaki Zografo from Qestorat/Kestorati, another village from Lunxhëri, proposed the use of an alphabet with Greek characters. To understand the mentalities, it wasn’t a problem for Hristaki Zografo to promote the teaching of the Albanian language at elementary or primary schools and at the same time to be the president of the Epirotic Syllogue (Ηπειρωτικός Σύλλογος) in Istanbul for the expansion of the Greek educational network in the Ottoman Empire." p. 201. "Evangelos Zappas (1800-1865) avait participé à la guerre d’indépendence, puis avait fait fortune en Roumanie. Il finança l’ouverture d’écoles, dans son village natal et dans d'autres locatités de l’Epire. En 1860, il participa à ce débat sur la littérarisation de la langue albanaise, qui se déroulait non seulement dans le journal de Pykaios, mais aussi dans l’Elpis, un périodique de la capital grecque. Dans une lettre adressée à ce journal, il estimait que la langue albanaise n’etait pas en mesure de devenir une langue littéraire, mais qu’elle ne devait pas être abandonnée. Il suggérait l’usage de l’alphabet, à base grecque, employeé dans l'ecole de Labovë fondée par ses soins." In 1913, the village was disputed by Greece and newly independent Albania. Greek forces occupied the village and Greece claimed Labovë due to its Orthodox population, and a large part of southern Albania as

North Epirus Northern Epirus (, ; ) is a term used for specific parts of southern Albania which were first claimed by the Kingdom of Greece in the Balkan Wars and later were associated with the Greek minority in Albania and Greece-Albania diplomatic relation ...

. Villagers were divided between two groups, one that supported Albanian independence and the other wanting to become part of Greece. According to a local story this is said that happened due to a marriage that time where Albanian songs were sung despite Greek forces having asked to sing in Greek. As such the International Border Commission allotted Labovë to Albania. At 1929 a proposal to re-establish a school for the Greek-speaking children of Labovë was dismissed by state officials, as according to their report the initiative had not been well received by local Albanian Christians.

Demographics

In the interwar period

Nicholas Hammond Nicholas Hammond (born 15 May 1950) is an American and Australian actor and writer who is best known for his roles as Friedrich von Trapp in the film '' The Sound of Music'' and as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the 1970s television series ''The Am ...

passed through the area and described Labovë as a place of mixed speech (

Albanian 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 ...

and

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 ...

), with Albanian as the

mother tongue A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...

. "Whereas Libohovë and the villages north of it are Albanian in speech, those of the plateau form the most easterly pocket of Greek speech in North Epirus. Between Libohovë and the plateau the two hamlets of Labovë (115 houses) are of mixed speech, the mother tongue being Albanian." In fieldwork done by Leonidas Kallivretakis in 1992, Labovë e Madhe had an Orthodox Albanian population and

Aromanians The Aromanians () are an Ethnic groups in Europe, ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian language, Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgari ...

were as well a community in the village. p. 51. "ΑΧ Αλβανοί Ορθόδοξοι Χριστιανοί, Β Βλάχοι"; p.56. "LABOVA E MADHE ΛΑΜΠΟΒΟ ΜΕΓΑΛΟ/Ζαππαίο 246 ΑΧ + Β" The Aromanian presence in Labovë dates to the 20th century when during the communist era of Albania they settled in the village. p. 133. R. Rrămăn (Aromunen mit der Eigenbezeichnung Rrămăn = Farscheroten, Arvanitovlachen)"; p. 146. "Labovë... hoher Anteil R; zu kommunischtischer Zeit angesiedelte aromunische Bevölkerungsgruppen aus südostalbanischen Gebirgen und aus Greichenland."

Notable people

Kristo Meksi Kristo Meksi (c. 1849–1931) (Kristo Meksi) was an Albanian politician of the early 20th century. He was one of the delegates of Albanian Declaration of Independence and also one of the first diplomats for Albania. Early life Born in Labovë ...

, Albanian politician *

Vangjel Meksi Vangjel Meksi (1770–1823) was an Albanians, Albanian physician, writer, and translator. One-time personal physician to Ali Pasha of Yanina, Ali Pasha, the 19th-century Albanian ruler of the Pashalik of Yanina, Meksi produced the first translatio ...

, translator of the New Testament in Albanian *

Evangelis Zappas Evangelos or Evangelis Zappas (23 August 1800 – 19 June 1865) was a Greek philanthropist and businessman who is recognized today as one of the founders of the modern Olympic Games, which were held in 1859, 1870, 1875, and 1888 and preceded ...

, Greek benefactor *

Petros Zappas Petros Zappas () was an entrepreneur and politician and a member of the Zappas family of national benefactors originally from Labovë of Greek or Aromanian descent. This village would later form part of the short-lived Autonomous Republic of Nort ...

, Greek entrepreneur and politician *

Ghica family The House of Ghica r Ghika(; }; , ''Gikas'') was an Albanian noble family whose members held significant positions in Wallachia, Moldavia and later in the Kingdom of Romania, between the early 17th century and late 19th century. The Ghica famil ...

, Romanian-Albanian noble family *

Meksi family The Meksi were a noble Albanian family. Members of this family are found in Albania, Italy and Greece (especially Spetses), whose members distinguished themselves in shipping and politics.Γαλλέτας Ηλίας, Μπουζουμπάρδη Μ ...

Apostol Meksi Apostol Meksi was an Albanian doctor, folklorist and patriot. He was among the first intellectuals involved in the Albanian National Awakening that sought independence from the Ottoman Empire, and among the first who studied Albanian folklore. Li ...

Albanian folkorist *

Hatzigiannis Mexis Hatzigiannis Mexis (; ) or "Ioannis Mexis" (c. 1754 - 1844) was the first governor of Spetses and shipowner with considerable power and wealth, who played an important role in the Greek revolution of 1821 in which he participated with four of his ...

, (1754 - 1844) was the first governor of

Spetses Spetses (, "Pityussa") is an island in Attica, Greece. It is counted among the Saronic Islands group. Until 1948, it was part of the old prefecture of Argolis and Corinthia Prefecture, which is now split into Argolis and Corinthia. In ancient ...

and shipowner with considerable power and wealth, who played an important role in the Greek revolution of 1821 in which he participated with four of his ships and in the newly formed Greek state. His father was Theodoros Mexis(Meksi in

), an

chieftain of Labovë.

Name

History

Demographics

Notable people

References

Further reading