Elbasan, Albania

Elbasan Castle, Albania
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elbasan_Castle_1.JPG
Author: Brams


Elbasan is one of the major cities of Albania. It is located on the Shkumbin river in Central Albania. The city covers 1,290 sq km (498 sq mi) and has a population of around 90,000 people (2011 estimate). It observes the Central European Time, which is an hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+1) and two hours ahead during Daylight Saving Time in summer.

As with many of the cities in Albania, Elbasan has a history going back thousands of years. The medieval part of the city has narrow, cobbled streets, medieval buildings and a large bazaar. Within the castle walls are Christian settlements while in the outskirts of the city are a number of fine mosques.

Elbasan has been settled during the Roman period, when it was known as Mario Scampa. Under the Romans, the city was fortified with a fortress. At that time, it was a trading post on the crossroad of ancient trade routes.

There are a number of churches in the heart of Elbasan. Perhaps the most prominent is the Saint Mary Orthodox Church, built in 1830. It has been a center for religious studies and a cultural center for the Albanian language.

Some 7 km from Elbasan is the old monastery which held the remains of Saint Jovan Vladimir until 1995, when it was transferred to the Orthodox Cathedral in Tirana, and returned to this monastery only during his feast days.

Visiting Elbasan

Take a bus or minivan from Tirana to reach Elbasan.

Places of Interest in Elbasan

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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.

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