If you’re interested in learning something of the turbulent history of this area, join us today on a walk – definitely a walk and not the train – around Korçe. We started early in the morning because of the heat – 31 by midday. Korçe is a charming city with tree-lined boulevards and green parks interspersing cobbled streets and pedestrianised zones. It was one of the main centres of the nineteenth century Albanian cultural renaissance creating a sense of national identity (traces of which you have seen already – alphabet man, the book fountain) and the site of the first school taught in the Albanian language established in 1887 (more of which in a separate post, alongside a post about Korçe‘s mosque).
In 1913, Korçe and much of southern Albania was raided by Greek ’irridentists’ (my guidebook) who wanted it incorporated into Greece, and its schools closed until the troops were ordered home by the Greek government in 1914. But this was short-lived – a Greek army returned in 1915, driving streams of refugees across the country and laying waste to Muslim villages. Then the French occupied Korçe in 2016 and set up the ‘Autonomous Albanian Republic of Korçe‘.
This hero – Themistokli Gërmanji was appointed as leader, with French and Albanian as the official language, and Albanian schools were restarted.
However, he was accused of collaborating with the Axis Powers, sentenced to death by a French military court and executed in 2017.
Understandably many people emigrated – mainly to the USA – and there is a shrine – the Meadow of Tears -where nineteenth and early twentieth century families would say goodbye to their emigrating men – or wait for them to return:
As if this wasn’t enough, Enver Hoxha went to school and was later a teacher at the French Lycée (NB not mentioned on the plaque):
In Hoxha’s purge to make the country atheist (late 1960s and early 1970s), the cathedral was pulled down to make way for the public library:
Korçe built a new cathedral to take the place of the old – it’s a bit of a statement of a building!
And, of course, some interesting old and contemporary buildings.
And finally, a sign of the times: unlike anywhere else in Albania so far, solar panels have reached Korçe big time! We saw these on the top of all modern houses:
Fascinating. I didn’t know about the French occupation, among other things. Any tributes to women’s roles in this difficult history?
Not that we’ve seen but women do figure clearly in the first Albanian school – the Museum of Education in Korce was very moving. I think M has a blog planned.
Maintenant le lien fraincais est claire!! I think you mean the years 1914 instead of 2014 etc.
Mais le lien francais- Pas bon, je crois? Colonialisme, comme d’ habitude? You can’t imagine how difficult it is to attempt to write in French with predictive text…
Yor are right! Thanks a lot!