Korçë

Korçë is n. A town of 75 000 inhabitants in south-eastern Albania, about 40 km from the Macedonian-Greek border. It is set in stunning mountain scenery, surrounded by the Morava Mountains at 850 metres above sea level. Korçëë is about a 3-hour drive along a scenic route from the Albanian capital Tirana. Along the way, you’ll find the interesting mountain-fringed town of Elbasan and the enchanting Lake Ohrid, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Pogradec, it’s definitely worth taking a break and taking a walk along the lake shore and stopping off at a cosy café.

The history of Korçë dates back to the 13th century as a feudal farm. The urban area of Korçë dates back to the late 15th and early 16th centuries, when the local Ottoman Albanian nobleman Ilias Bey Mirahor converted to Muslimism and acquired large land holdings in the area. He also built a mosque there, which bears his name from the French and Greek occupation to the present day. At the time of the French occupation in 1916, Korçë was an autonomous republic.

Korçë is an important and vibrant centre of Albanian history, art and culture. There are beautiful churches and several interesting museums. These include the National Museum of Medieval Art, the Archaeological Museum, the Museum of Oriental Art “Bratko”, the Gjon Mili Museum of Photography. As a teacher myself, I was very interested in the School Museum . It is located in the building that once housed the first school in Albania (Mësonjëtorja). The museum exhibits, among other things, the history of writing and publishing in Albania, including the first Albanian alphabets. These have been drawn up by, for example. Naum Veqilharxhi and Kostandin Kristoforidhi.

Traditional culture in Korçë is also fostered by many craftspeople, whose work can be seen in places such as the Old Bazaar. The bazaar has winding, narrow streets and alleys lined with shops, stalls and traditional houses. It’s worth a stop at a Beatles café and pick up some souvenirs to take home. Parts of this historic marketplace are derived from Roman and Ottoman Ottoman-style architecture from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Korçë is known as the “city of events” and is also famous for its annual festivals. While there, you can take part in a number of traditional events and celebrations. In March, there is a Summer Day festival, during which music is played around the city and people light bonfires and jump over them in the old fashioned way. This fascinating tradition is meant to eradicate the bad things while hoping for good harvests. Musically, the city is also known for its local love ballads (The city of serenades), sung by men in chivalrous style from the city’s balconies and courtyards in the 1930s.

If you’re visiting Korça in June, don’t miss the iconic carnival festival. On the city’s main streets, people gather to celebrate the start of summer with music and dance, dressed in colourful costumes and masks. For Albanians, these carnivals mean more than just music and parades. Deeper down, there is a need to continue the traditions and culture from the communist period of Enver Hoxha, when virtually all forms of self-expression were banned.

Perhaps the biggest and best-known event in Albania, however, is the five-day Korçë beer festival in August. Every summer, around 100 000 people from Albania and other European countries come to the event to taste beers and have fun. This event is a great opportunity to experience the Albanian beer culture, get to know the local breweries and enjoy a relaxed atmosphere with other beer lovers. The Korça Beer Festival is an integral part of the city’s vibrant cultural scene.

Maybe you know that Korça beer made in Korçë, too. Korça Brewery is one of the oldest breweries in the country and is known for its quality beers. On its website, it advertises itself as the first and only 100% Albanian beer. This beer is said to have been inspired and refreshed by the high quality water resources of the Morava Mountains since 1928. Nowadays, Albania produces several beers, such as. Elbar and Kaon. My favourite of the three beers in the summer heat is Elbar. Kaon beer is also sold in three-litre bottles. During a week’s holiday in Albania, you only need to visit a beer shop once to pick up a bottle – I think the price was about three euros.

When it comes to drinks in Albania, you can’t help but come across raki, which is produced on almost every farm. For the Albanians, this blend, which distorts the tourist’s face and makes him grimace, is not only a drink but a symbol of Albanian culture. In fact, I’m getting used to the taste of raki and sometimes it even tastes good. There is no occasion when a raki is not served. Each sip of rakia can be your guide to Albanian hospitality and stories.

For a taste of raki in Korçë, visit the Komiteti Kafe Museum, a café bar well worth a visit. It’s an absolutely stunning café-mall, with plenty to see on a second visit. On the wall of the Komiteti bar in Vlorë is the inscription “Raki & Dashni”, which means raki and love.

After the raki, you can have lunch or dinner. There are plenty of places to eat in Korçë, of which I can especially recommend Taverna Vasili. A peaceful setting a little further from the centre and delicious food. I found other reviews online, but we didn’t leave disappointed and our hunger was carried well into the evening.

We stayed in an absolutely stunning hotel, with no lack of history. Vila Eden Boutique hotel is located in a quiet area, from where it was nice to take walks to the city centre. We also found the Rilindasit street on the boulevard, where all able-bodied Korçë residents gather for an evening walk, or xhiro.

This traditional rite has also attracted us elsewhere in Albania. It is incredible to see how, night after night, so many old, young and children and their families gather just to walk down the street from end to end with no particular destination in mind. This happens every night. On weekends, it’s packed to the rafters. The only things missing from the street scene are the drunks so common in Finland. We haven’t met many drunks in Albania yet – come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve seen a single one. Korçë is also known as “Little Paris”. Perhaps the name comes from the café tradition, which is why people gather to chat, hang out and enjoy a drink in the French café culture.

On the same walk, we discovered Rinia Park, the largest park in Korçë. With its green areas and fountains, it offers the perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of the city. It feels great to sit on a bench and watch several generations spend quality time in the evening sun. If you have a coffee toothache or an evening beer craving, you can choose from the many bars and cafés lining the park.

We only spent one night in Korçë that year and we were absolutely convinced that we had to go back again. There would have been so much to experience and see in the city that you wouldn’t have had the heart to spend much time in a hotel room. However, my legs were so tired from walking that I had to take a breather and study the map during a moment of rest. We search the map for interesting-looking places to visit in our rental car.

One of these was the church of Kisha Shën Ilia, or St Elias, on the slopes of the Morava Mountains surrounding Korçë. Just the drive up the mountainside was worth the experience. During the journey, you could watch the huge concrete cross grow larger if you dared to peer out of the car windows as you drove along the winding serpentine road. You could drive all the way to the courtyard of La Montagna, which looked like an alpine hotel. From there, we had to continue on foot along a sandy path. It was much cooler in the mountains than down in the city, so I didn’t mind the last kilometre of climbing. When we reached our destination, a breathtakingly beautiful panorama opened up in all directions. A couple of wild horses were roaming in the churchyard and a foal was having a sunbath on the lawn. The concrete cross was almost the height of a wind turbine, which also made it look very impressive. For a few moments I wondered about the workers who had put it up. Then, a little scared and other “men”, we slipped past the horses to admire the church from the inside.

Religious freedom was restored in Albania in the 1990s. It allowed the construction of new religious buildings, one of which is the largest Orthodox church in Albania, the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, Ringjallja e Krishtit. Definitely worth a visit, too. One anomaly was the man who presented himself as mute on the church steps and begged for alms. On his way out of the church, however, the man was talking fluently with the person selling souvenirs in the church. But everyone has to live in Albania somehow, so I don’t hold it against you for being enterprising.

I can well understand that many people travel to Albania only for the beach tourism aspect. However, Korçë is a place worth visiting for another reason. I recommend.