Vlorë is one of the biggest towns and the second largest port city

City

A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...

 of 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...

, after Durrës

Durrës

Durrës is the second largest city of Albania located on the central Albanian coast, about west of the capital Tirana. It is one of the most ancient and economically important cities of Albania. Durres is situated at one of the narrower points of the Adriatic Sea, opposite the Italian ports of Bari...

, with a population of about 94,000 (2008 estimate). It is the city where the Albanian Declaration of Independence

Albanian Declaration of Independence

The Albanian Declaration of Independence is the declaration of independence of the Albanian Vilayet from the Ottoman Empire. Albania was proclaimed independent in Vlorë on November 28, 1912.-Background:...

 was proclaimed on November 28, 1912. The city was for a short time the capital of Albania.

Founded as an ancient Greek

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...

 colony in the 6th century BC by the name of Aulon and continuously inhabited for about 26 centuries, Vlorë is home to the Port of Vlorë

Port of Vlorë

The Port of Vlorë or Vlora Harbor is a port of Albania in the city of Vlorë, Albania....

 and University of Vlorë as the most important economical and cultural city of southwestern Albania.
The modern name for the city is the Albanian

Albanian language

Albanian is an Indo-European language spoken by approximately 7.6 million people, primarily in Albania and Kosovo but also in other areas of the Balkans in which there is an Albanian population, including western Macedonia, southern Montenegro, southern Serbia and northwestern Greece...

 form Vlorë or Vlora, both pronounced ˈvlɔɾə, while in the Gheg

Gheg Albanian

Gheg is one of the two major varieties of Albanian. The other one is Tosk, on which standard Albanian is based. The dividing line between these two varieties is the Shkumbin River, which winds its way through central Albania....

 dialect it is known as Vlonë.