Tirana

Tirana (Albanian: Tiranë or Tirana) is the capital and largest city of Albania. Its population is estimated officially at 353,400 in 2003, though other estimates put the figure as high as 1,000,000. Founded in 1614, it became Albania's capital city in 1920.

History

Tirana was founded in 1614 by the Ottoman general Sulejman Pasha, who built a mosque, a bakery and a Turkish sauna, and named it "Tehran", as a tribute to his military victory at Tehran in Persia (now Iran). Although this is controversial as there was prior mentions of a castle in Mount Dajti called Tirkan by a sixth century Byzantine Historian. Tirkan is said to have been there since the first century BC. Another mention of the area was found in Venetian records, which showed the area under the same name as the city today. The mention is dated around 1412. The small town was selected as the temporary capital of Albania (as a compromise between South and North Albania) by the provisional government established at the Congress of Lushnjë (January 1920). In November 1944 the communist government of Enver Hoxha was established there after the liberation of the city from German occupation on November 17, 1944.

Related Topics:
1614 - Ottoman - Sulejman Pasha - Sauna - Tehran - Persia - Mount Dajt - Congress of Lushnjë - 1920 - 1944 - Communist - Enver Hoxha - November 17

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The city's population, estimated at only 12,000 in 1910, rose to 30,000 at the 1930 census and 60,000 in 1945 despite the intervening years of foreign occupation and war. During the 1950s Tirana experienced a period of rapid industrial growth, raising the population to 137,000 in 1960. In the late 1990s Tirana experienced its fastest population upsurge as Albanians from the north moved to the capital in hopes of a better life.

Related Topics:
1910 - 1930 - 1945 - 1950s - 1960 - 1990s

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Currently, the city suffers from the problems of overpopulation such as waste management, lack of running water and electricity as well as extrimely high levels of pollution from the 300 000 cars moving in the city (The Guardian March 27 2004). The problem is exacerbated by an aging infrastructure. Despite the problems, Tirana has also experienced a very rapid growth in the construction of new buildings, especially in the suburbs of Tirana, where many of the new neighbourhoods do not have yet street names. (BBC) It is alleged that many of these buildings are the result of money laundering operations.

Related Topics:
The Guardian - March 27 - Money laundering

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During the recent years pollution has also become a very big problem for Tirana as the number of cars has increased to several orders of magnitude. These are mostly older, diesel cars that pollute much more than the newer models in circulation elsewhere in Europe. Additionally, the fuel used in Albania contains larger amounts of sulphur and lead than is allowed in the EU countries.

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It is worth mentioning that there is a unique trait to the city, that effectively moderates the impact of air pollution: The Saint Prokopi park- a very vast forested park in the outskirts of the city, that absorbs and purifies much of the polluted air.

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The current mayor of Tirana, Edi Rama, has tried to beautify the city scape by cleaning up the banks of the Lana and painting old buildings.

Related Topics:
Edi Rama - Lana

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During the late 1980s and early 1990s Tirana was the focal point of violent demonstrations which ultimately led to the collapse of the communist government.

Related Topics:
1980s - 1990s

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