Municipality Gjirokastër | ||
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Lunxhëri (Albanian: Lunxhëri; Greek: Λιούντζη) is a region in the Gjirokastër County, Albania.
Contents
Map of Lunxh%C3%ABri, Albania
It is considered an ethnographic region along with neighboring regions such as Kurvelesh, Zagoria, and so on, considered part of the much larger ethnographic region of Labëria. Its population is sometimes said to not be completely "Lab" however, by some, because the core area of Lab identity is the area around Kurvelesh and Tepelena.
Geohistory
Apart from the Lunxhëri municipality, Lunxhëri traditionally incorporates a wider region that extends from Hormovë west, Gryka e Suhës south, the crest of Mount Lunxhëri east, and the valley of the Drino west. It includes the villages of Lunxhëri municipality, Odrie municipality, Antigonë municipality, Selckë from the Pogon municipality, Labovë e Kryqit which administratively belongs to Libohovë municipality, and villages of Lekël and Hormovë which administratively belong to Tepelenë District. The region has some rivers and streams: Përroi i Dhoksatit, Perroi i Mingulit, Përroi i Qestoratit, and the river of Nimica. Additionally there are archeological sites near Këllez, Dhoksat, Erind as well the ancient Greek city, of Antigonia, today a National Park.
Lunxhëri has a very complex social history. The area has been characterized by frequent immigration during the late centuries. Its inhabitants have always thrived as politicians, merchants, doctors, benefactors, scholars, etc., giving immense contributions to the history of Albania and Greece. Although most of the locals that migrated to other regions declared themselves as Greeks, at the same time, the majority of the population in the end of the 19th century spoke Albanian. In the same context, people like Koto Hoxhi and Pandeli Sotiri were pro-Albanian and part of the elite of Rilindas, while Christakis Zografos, Evangelos Zappas and especially Georgios Zografos (head of the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus), supported the Greek national ideas. However, the majority of the locals where between this two extreme points. There is also a Vlach minority which was brought by the communist regime after the World War II. During World War I and the interwar period, many families, both of pro-Albanian and pro-Greek left the area. After Lunxhëria's firm incorporation into the Albanian state and the departure or marginalization of many of the strongest pro-Greek ("filogrek") families, a strong Albanian national feeling paired with a strong regional identity took hold. Lunxhots express their pride to be Albanian by asserting that they are the truest Albanians of the area, as opposed to on one hand to members of the Greek and Vlach ethnic minorities who are of non-Albanian ethnicity and suspicious loyalties, and on the other to the ethnically Albanian Muslim migrants from Kurvelesh, who are asserted to have abandoned their Orthodox faith and therefore become "Turks", as opposed to the Albanian Orthodox who are said to have better preserved their Albanian culture.
The region was very active during World War II by joining mainly the communist partisan forces. Misto Mame and Mihal Duri are the most known heroes of that period.
Many families have emigrated after 1990, leading to a decrease in population.
Today, the population of Lunxhëri is perceived as three main groups:
Marriages between all local groups are fairly common, as well as between the Christian local communities and Greek villagers of Gjirokastër areas.
Religion
The population is of Orthodox religion majority, with Lab families being a Muslim minority. The so-called "autoktonë" families are completely Orthodox, beside Erind.