District of Devoll Rrethi i Devollit | |
|---|---|
 Map showing the district within Albania | |
| Country |  Albania |
| County | Korçë County |
| Capital | Bilisht |
| Area | |
• Total | 429 km2 (166 sq mi) |
| Population (2010)[1] | |
• Total | 33,785 |
| • Density | 78.8/km2 (204/sq mi) |
Devoll District(Rrethi i Devollit) was one of the thirty-sixdistricts of Albania (which were dissolved in 2000) that is now part ofKorçë County. It derives its name from theDevoll river flowing through the valley. It had a population of 33,785,[2] and an area of 429 km². It is in the southeastern corner of the country, and its capital isBilisht.[3] Its busy border pointKapshticë/Krystallopigi connects the district with theGreek regional units ofFlorina andKastoria to the east and southeast. Devoll borders the district ofKolonjë to the southwest andKorçë to the west and north. Devoll is also considered a traditional or "ethnographic" region with borders similar to the former district.
Excavations at Tren cave unearthedMycenaean Greek pottery of theLate Bronze Age. This appears to be of possible local manufacture.[4]
The district is known in history for theDevol fortress, where theTreaty of Devol betweenBohemond I of Antioch and Byzantine EmperorAlexios I Komnenos was held in 1108. Its site became forgotten in modern times, however it has been tentatively identified with the siteZvezdë[5] (located at40°43′N020°51′E / 40.717°N 20.850°E /40.717; 20.850[6]), a conjecture already proposed by the 19th century British travellerWilliam Martin Leake in 1835.[7]
It was in Devoll, while the region was within theSerbian Empire, that EmperorStefan Dušan 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.
The population is overwhelmingly ethnically Albanian, with the majority of Albanians there having been Muslim (many of these belonging to theHalveti Order) at the end of the Ottoman era, while a minority of the Albanians, especially those that resided especially in high altitude areas, remainedOrthodox Christian. The Albanian Christian population lives mostly in the upper valley of the Devoll river, in the town ofHoçisht,[8] inBilisht and in the village of Tren, and insist on being called only Albanian and not Greek.[9] Additionally, a part of the original post-Ottoman Albanian Muslim population has converted to Orthodoxy as part of emigration to Greece.[10] There are alsoRoma present as well as Slavic Macedonian speakers in the village ofVërnik. The Slavs of Vernik identify as Aegean Macedonians and refuse any Bulgarian or other identity, however their Albanian neighbors often casually refer to them asbullgare (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 toOttoman 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 aTosk dialect, while the Macedonian Slavic population speaks theKostur dialect. The entire Slavic Macedonian population is also bilingual in Albanian nowadays.[11]
The district consisted of the following municipalities:
Note: - urban municipalities inbold
Albania too has recently been the focus of increasing archaeological activity with excavations at sites such as the Tren cave and the Barc cemetery in the Koritsa basin, which indicate that Mycenaean pottery (when it is found) is sometimes of crude and possibly local manufacture.
40°35′N20°56′E / 40.583°N 20.933°E /40.583; 20.933
Districts in Albania were geographic divisions made up of cities, towns and villages. They were abolished in 2000. | |
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