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 232,580 (as of 2023), in an area of 3199 km2. Its capital is the city Elbasan. Administrative divisions Until 2000, Elbasan County was subdivided into four districts: ...

, southeast

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 ...

. The municipality was reformed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities

Hotolisht Hotolisht is a village and a former municipality in the Elbasan County, eastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Librazhd. The population at the 2011 census was 5,706.

, 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 l ...

Orenjë Orenjë is a village and a former municipality in the Elbasan County, eastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Librazhd. The population at the 2011 census was 3,883.

Polis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...

Qendër Librazhd Qendër Librazhd is a former municipality in the Elbasan County, eastern 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 Ion ...

and

Stëblevë Stëblevë ( Bulgarian and ) is a village and a former municipality in the Elbasan County in eastern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Librazhd. The population at the 2011 census was 809.

, that became municipal units. The seat of the municipality is the town Librazhd. The total population is 23,312, in a total area of . The population of the municipal unit as of the 2023 census is 6,787. Librazhd is the nearest town to the

Shebenik National Park Shebenik National Park () is a national park in eastern Albania adjacent to the border with North Macedonia. It encompasses and is specifically marked by a mountainous landscape supplied with glacial lakes, valleys, dense coniferous and deciduous ...

History

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

defter A ''defter'' was a type of tax register and land cadastre in the Ottoman Empire. Etymology The term is derived from Greek , literally 'processed animal skin, leather, fur', meaning a book, having pages of goat parchment used along with papyrus ...

'' 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. A ...

'' of Karagöz in the

vilayet A vilayet (, "province"), also known by #Names, various other names, was a first-order administrative division of the later Ottoman Empire. It was introduced in the Vilayet Law of 21 January 1867, part of the Tanzimat reform movement initiated b ...

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 * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

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 newest cities in Albania and was proclaimed as such on 18 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 contin ...

road that stretched from

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

all the way on to

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

. The people of Librazhd also participated in the

Albanian Declaration of Independence The Albanian Declaration of Independence (Albanian language, 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 da ...

in the 28 of November 1912. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, two battalions of the National Liberation Movement ambushed defeated

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

troops near Librazhd, killing over 200 German soldiers.

Transportation

Trains

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

Highways

The only main road in Librazhd is the SH 3 (, ) that starts in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, 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 ov ...

and ends in

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 ...

and passes by Librazhd.

Sports

The

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club

KF Sopoti Klubi i Futbollit Sopoti Librazhd is an Albanian sports club based in Librazhd. The club currently competes in the Kategoria e Dytë, the third tier of football in Albania. History They were founded in 1948 under the name ''KS Albania Tabak ...

, a team founded in 1948, is based in Librazhd. The team plays its home matches at

Sopoti Stadium Sopoti Stadium () is a multi-use stadium in Librazhd, Albania which is used as the home ground of local football club Sopoti Librazhd. It was built in 1964 and the 3,000 seater stadium has been Sopoti Librazhd's home ground ever since. The stadiu ...

, built in 1964 and capable of accommodating 3,000 spectators. While participating 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 faced challenges with the outdated stadium during the 2017-18 season. However, the stadium has undergone renovations since then.

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 has held the offices of General Secretary and Parliamentary group ...

(born 1979), 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