Gramsh
Municipality
Sotira Waterfall from a distance
Flag Emblem
Gramsh
Coordinates:40°52′N20°11′E / 40.867°N 20.183°E /40.867; 20.183
Country	Albania
County	Elbasan
Government
• Mayor	Besion Ajazi (PS)
Area
• Municipality	739.75 km2 (285.62 sq mi)
Population  (2023[1])
• Municipality	16,533
• Municipality density	22.349/km2 (57.885/sq mi)
• Administrative unit	6,786
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal Code	3301
Area Code	(0)513
Website	bashkiagramsh.gov.al

Gramsh (Albaniandefinite form:Gramshi) is a town and a municipality inElbasan County, centralAlbania. The municipality was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Gramsh,Kodovjat,Kukur,Kushovë,Lenie,Pishaj,Poroçan,Skënderbegas,Sult andTunjë, that became municipal units. The seat of the municipality is the town Gramsh.^[2] The total population is 16,533 as of the 2011 census,^[1] in a total area of 739.75 km².^[3] The population of the former municipality as of the 2023 census is 6,786.^[1]

The town is connected withElbasan,Korça,Pogradec,Skrapar,Librazhd andBerat. The town is crossed by theriver Devoll.

During theOttoman period and before theAlbanian Declaration of Independence in 1912, it was known asGrameç inTurkish.^[7]

Gramsh has been inhabited since ancient times, as is confirmed by archaeological findings in theTumulus of Cëruja. In the Middle Ages, the area was under the possession of PrinceGeorge Arianiti. DuringOttoman rule, it was akaza administrative division within theSanjak of Elbasan of theMonastir Vilayet.^[7]
In the 16th century it was reported as having 400 houses and 18 shops, the area also had around 500 active rebels who attacked the Ottomans from time to time. From 1912 until 1947, this was the center of the Gramsh area. With the new administrative division, it became the center ofGramsh District, in which were placed various state institutions. Gramsh was declared a city on July 10, 1960. Since 1965, it has been a municipality.

Historically the southern part of the district was part of the ethnographic region of Tomorrica, and its population was primarilyBektashi, a Sufi order linked to both Sunnism and Shiism, while the northern part of the district was more heavilySunni,^[8] but there is also a Bektashitekke in the town of Dushk, in the Sult municipality. There are also Orthodox Christians in addition to Muslims in the southeastern region of Lenie, especially in historicallyAromanian towns such asGrabovë.^[8] There were ethnically Albanian Orthodox Christians from in the nearby Shpat region of the former Elbasan district, which borders Gramsh. Many of Gramsh's municipalities saw less than 50% of the population declare themselves for any religion, including Tunjë, Sult, Poroçan, Gramsh the city itself, and Kodovjat, as well as the neighboring Mollas region which is historically linked to Gramsh although it wasn't part of the municipality recently.^[9]

On 20 August 2022, Gramsh’s weapons factory was attacked by two Russians and one Ukrainian. The Albanian Police arrested the three suspects after.^[10]

The city was home of one of the main military weaponry factories during thecommunist era. Devolli Hydro Power started in 1980, but was left between work due to the death of communist leaderEnver Hoxha, and the beginning of a Transitional period until the 1990s that culminated in theoverthrow of that system.

In October 2013, it was reported that the municipality debt was high and the municipality was close to bankruptcy due to poor management of funds by former mayor, Dritan Bici.^[11]

Thefootball (soccer) club isKF Gramshi that is in theAlbanian Second Division.

• Adriatik Llalla, General Prosecutor of Albania,^[12][13] Inspector General of HIDAA^[14]
• Architect Kasemi, architect of the 16th century
• Ismail Qemali Gramshi, signatory of theAlbanian Declaration of Independence
• Lorenc Trashi, footballer
• Erblira Bici, volleyball player
• Hamza Bey Gramshi, Led a major revolt inTomorricë in 1570 against the Ottoman Empire. His grandson Ajaz Bey was also a notable from this region. They are the ancestors of the Frashëri Brothers,Abdyl Frashëri,Naim Frashëri andSami Frashëri.
• Antonio Gramsci was an ItalianMarxist philosopher,linguist, journalist, writer, and politician. His origin was Albanian from Gramsh town. He wrote onphilosophy,political theory,sociology,history, andlinguistics. He was a founding member and one-time leader of theItalian Communist Party. A vocal critic ofBenito Mussolini andfascism, he was imprisoned in 1926, where he remained until his death in 1937.
• Kamber Dërmyshi was a patriotic figure in Albania ,was born in Posnovisht village ofGramsh was a member and one of commanders ofAlbanian National Awakening.
• Çetiri brothers were a group of icon and fresco painters who for about 100 years (1762-1853) painted churches and houses of archons. Their work, from a quantitative point of view, is magnificent, and includes ecclesiastical icons, temple decorations and painted wooden iconostasis. The portraits they have created are over 3,000 throughoutSouth Albania. In this period, the Çetiri family decorated more than 12churches. Their work with painted pictures over the area of 2500 m2. This is all artistic creation is of great value for recording the folk culture ofMyzeqe during the 18th and 19th centuries. Çetiri masters paint many churches and iconostases inBerat andMyzeqe, as well as in their hometownGrabovë,Gramsh.

Gramsh istwinned with:

• Plataci, Italy^[15]

• Gramsh, Elbasan
• Municipalities in Elbasan County
• Administrative units of Gramsh, Elbasan
• Towns in Albania

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• CS1 Albanian-language sources (sq)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Coordinates on Wikidata