Vithkuq is a municipality in the Korçë District

Korçë District

The District of Korçë , is one of the thirty-six districts of Albania. According estimates, as of January 1, 2010, 138,898 people lived in the Korce District...

, Korçë County

Korçë County

The County of Korçë is one of the 12 counties of Albania, located in the eastern part of the country. It is the largest county of Albania and consists of the districts Devoll, Kolonjë, Korçë and Pogradec and its capital is Korçë....

, southeastern Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

. The municipality consists of the villages Vithkuq, Leshnje, Gjanc, Lubonjë, Rehovë, Roshanj, Trebickë, Grabockë, Treskë, Stratobërdh, Panarit

Panarit

Panarit is a community in the Korçë District, Korçë County, southeastern Albania.-Notable people:#Iljaz Hoxha, famous janissary and founder of the first mosque in Korçë...

, Shtyllë and Cemericë.

History

The town's history started in the post-Byzantine period. During the 17th-18th centuries Vithkuq became a local center of culture and trade, being on a strategic location on the Berat

Berat

Berat is a town located in south-central Albania. As of 2009, the town has an estimated population of around 71,000 people. It is the capital of both the District of Berat and the larger County of Berat...

-Korçë

Korçë

Korçë is a city in southeastern Albania and the capital of the Korçë District. It has a population of around 105,000 people , making it the sixth largest city in Albania...

 road. In 1792, Vithkuq was composed of the following neighborhoods: Borisha, Tataçi, Llas, Qyrsa, Syrbashi, Krekasi, Palasi, Kolaqerkasi, Kovaçasi, Saraçi, Rusasi and Dukasi. From the end of 18th century, various factors turned Vithkuq into a small mountain village. Vithkuq hosts several churches and monasteries that were built during its period of prosperity.

World War II

On August 15, 1943, during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the first storm brigade of the Albanian National Liberation Army was formed near Vithkuq under the command of Mehmet Shehu

Mehmet Shehu

Mehmet Ismail Shehu was an Albanian communist politician who served as premier of Albania from 1954 to 1981...

. Around 800 partisans took part in the following parade, which was attended by important members of the Albanian Communist party like Enver Hoxha

Enver Hoxha

Enver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...

 and Mehmet Shehu

Mehmet Shehu

Mehmet Ismail Shehu was an Albanian communist politician who served as premier of Albania from 1954 to 1981...

.

Notable people

• Spiro Dine
  Spiro Dine
  Spiro Risto Dine was an Albanian rilindas, writer and playwright. His most known work "Waves of the Sea" was at the time of its publication the longest book printed in Albanian.- Life :...
  
  , rilindas and writer.
• Naum Veqilharxhi
  Naum Veqilharxhi
  Naum Veqilharxhi born Naum Bredhi was an Albanian lawyer and scholar. In 1844, he created a unique alphabet for the Albanian language using characters he had created himself, the Vithkuqi script...
  
  , rilindas, lawyer and writer.
• Jani Evstrat Vithkuqari, scholar and writer.
• Nikodemus, Orthodox New Martyr
  New Martyr
  The title of New Martyr or Neomartyr of the Eastern Orthodox Church was originally given to martyrs who died under heretical rulers . Later the Church added to the list those martyred under Islam and various modern regimes, especially Communist ones, which espoused state atheism...
  
  .

Further Reading

• Kurtiqi, Gjikë. Vithkuqi i 24 Kishave dhe 100 Krojeve, Libri i Parë, Tirana 2008.
• Kurtiqi, Gjikë. Vithkuqi: Larg dhe Afër, Libri i Dytë, Tirana 2009.