Shkodër

View of the fortifications of Rozafa Castle

The earliest signs of human activity in the lands of Shkodër can be traced back to the Middle Paleolithic (120,000–30,000 years ago).[24] Artifacts and faunal remains provide evidence that the first inhabitants of the area of Shkodër were Pleistocene hunter-gatherers.[25] Presence of Neolithic farmers is also testified by artifacts. The Copper and Early Bronze Ages constitute an important watershed for the social evolution on the territories of the eastern Adriatic coast, including Shkodër, with the formation of new cultures and the beginning of new complex historical, ethnogenetic and cultural processes. This period represents for Shkodër the first step of a process of occupation and development. The inhabitants of the intensively settled Shkodër basin produced pottery, practiced agriculture, and manufactured metal tools.[25] Shkodra's Early Bronze Age culture bears many similarities with the culture of the Eastern Adriatic coast and its hinterland, like the Cetina culture, and it also has connections with the Early Bronze Age culture of Maliq in southeastern Albania. During the advanced Early Bronze Age the new practice of tumulus burials appears, which may be associated to Indo-European migrations from the steppes. During the Middle and Late Bronze Age the settlements in the region and extraregional interactions apparently increased. In the Late Bronze Age the inhabitants of Shkodra basin had contacts with Italy or northwest Greece. By the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age (c. 1100–800 BC), the formation of a large, cohesive, and quite homogeneous cultural group had already occurred in a well defined territory of the Shkodra region, which was referred in historical sources to as 'the tribe of the Labeatae' in later times.[9]

The favorable conditions on the fertile plain, around the lake, have brought people here in early antiquity. Artefacts and inscriptions, discovered in the Rozafa Castle, are assumed to be the earliest examples of symbolic behaviour in humans in the city. Although, it was known under the name Scodra and was inhabited by the Illyrian tribes of the Labeates and Ardiaei, which ruled over a large territory between modern Albania up to Croatia.[26][27][28] King Agron, Queen Teuta and King Gentius, were among the most famous personalities of the Ardiaei.

The city was first mentioned during antiquity as the site of the Illyrian Labeates in which they minted coins and that of Queen Teuta.[29] In 168 BCE, the city was captured by the Romans and became an important trade and military route. The Romans colonized[30] the town. Scodra remained in the province of Illyricum and, later, Dalmatia. By it 395 CE, it was part of the Diocese of Dacia, within Praevalitana.

In the early 11th century, Jovan Vladimir ruled Duklja amidst the war between Basil II and Samuel. Vladimir allegedly retreated into Koplik when Samuel invaded Duklja and was subsequently forced to accept Bulgarian vassalage. He was later slain by the Bulgarians. Shingjon (feast of Jovan Vladimir) has since been celebrated by Albanian Orthodox Christians.[31]

Relief commemorating the Siege of Shkodër from the 15th century in Venice

In the 1030s, Stefan Vojislav from Travunija expelled the last strategos and successfully defeated the Byzantines by 1042. Stefan Vojislav set up Shkodër, as his capital.[32] Constantine Bodin accepted the crusaders of the Crusade of 1101 in Shkodër. After the dynastic struggles in the 12th century, Shkodër became an integral part of the Serbian Nemanjić Zeta province. In 1214 the city was briefly annexed to Despotate of Epirus under Michael I Komnenos Doukas.[33] In 1330, Stefan Dečanski, King of Serbia, appointed his son Stefan Dušan as the governor of Zeta with its seat in Shkodër.[34] In the same year Dušan and his father entered the conflict which resulted with campaign of Dečanski who destroyed Dušan's court on Drin River near Shkodër in January 1331. In April 1331, they made a truce,[35] but in August 1331 Dušan went from Shkodër to Nerodimlje and overthrew his father.[36]

During the disintegration of the Serbian Empire, Shkodër was taken by the Balšić family of Zeta, who surrendered the city to the Republic of Venice in 1396, in order to form a protection zone from the Ottoman Empire. During the Venetian rule the city adopted the Statutes of Scutari, a civic law written in Venetian. The Statutes of Scutari mention Albanian and Slavic presence in the city, but under Venetian rule many Dalmatians were brought to Shkodra and as such formed the majority there. After the Black Death killed most of the inhabitants Albanians and Slavs formed the majority in the city.[37] Venetians built the St. Stephen's Church (later converted into the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Mosque by the Ottomans) and the Rozafa Castle. In 1478-79 Mehmed the conqueror laid siege on Shkodër. In 1479 the city fell to the Ottomans and the defenders of the citadel emigrated to Venice, while many Albanians from the region retreated into the mountains. The city then became a seat of a newly established Ottoman sanjak, the Sanjak of Scutari.

The Mesi Bridge was built in 1770 and is one of the longest Ottoman bridges in the region.

With two sieges, Shkodër became secure as an Ottoman territory. It became the centre of the sanjak and by 1485 there were 27 Muslim and 70 Christian hearths, although by the end of the next century there were more than 200 Muslim ones compared to the 27 Christian ones, respectively.[38]

Military manoeuvres in 1478 by the Ottomans meant that the city was again entirely surrounded by Ottoman forces. Mehmed the Conqueror personally laid the siege. About ten heavy cannons were cast on site. Balls as heavy as 380 kg (838 lb) were fired on the citadel (such balls are still on display on the castle museum). Nevertheless, the city resisted. Mehmed left the field and had his commanders continue the siege. By the winter the Ottomans had captured one after the other all adjacent castles: Lezhë, Drisht and Žabljak Crnojevića. This, together with famine and constant bombardment lowered the morale of defenders. On the other hand, the Ottomans were already frustrated by the stubborn resistance. The castle is situated on a naturally protected hill and every attempted assault resulted in considerable casualties for the attackers. A truce became an option for both parties. On January 25 an agreement between the Venetians and the Ottoman Empire ended the siege, permitting the citizens to leave unharmed, and the Ottomans to take over the deserted city.

Shkodra depicted by Edward Lear: Albanians smoking by the river Drin, with the Rozafa Castle and the Lead Mosque in the background, 4 October 1848[39]

After Ottoman domination was secure, much of the population fled. Around the 17th century, the city began to prosper as the centre of the Sanjak of Scutari (sanjak was an Ottoman administrative unit smaller than a vilayet). It became the economic centre of northern Albania, its craftsmen producing fabric, silk, arms and silver artifacts. Construction included two-storey stone houses, the bazaar, and the Central or Middle Bridge (Ura e Mesit) over the Kir river, built during the second half of the 18th century, over 100 m (330 ft) long, with 13 arcs of stone, the largest one being 22 m (72 ft) wide and 12 m (39 ft) tall.

The construction of the Cathedral of Shkodër in 1867

Shkodër was a major city under Ottoman rule in southeast Europe. It retained its importance up until the end of the empire's rule in the Balkans in the early 20th century. This is due to its geo-strategic position that connects it directly with the Adriatic and with the Italian ports, but also with land-routes to the other important Ottoman centre, namely Prizren. The city was an important meeting place of diverse cultures from other parts of the Empire, as well as influences coming westwards, by Italian merchants. It was a centre of Islam in the region, producing many ulema, poets and administrators, particularly from the Bushati family. In the 18th century Shkodër became the centre of the (pashaluk) of Shkodër, under the rule of the Bushati family, which ruled from 1757 to 1831. Shkodër's importance as a trade centre in the second half of the 19th century was owed to the fact that it was the centre of the vilayet of Shkodër, and an important trading centre for the entire Balkan peninsula. It had over 3,500 shops, and clothing, leather, tobacco and gunpowder were some of the major products of Shkodër. A special administration was established to handle trade, a trade court, and a directorate of postage services with other countries. Other countries had opened consulates in Shkodër ever since 1718. Obot and Ulcinj served as ports for Shkodër, and, later on, Shëngjin (San Giovanni di Medua). The Jesuit seminary and the Franciscan committee were opened in the 19th century.

Following the rebellion of Mustafa Pasha Bushatlliu Shkodër was sieged by the Ottomans for more than 6 months who finally managed to break the Albanian resistance on 10 November 1831. In 1833 around 4,000 Albanian rebels seized the town again holding off the Ottoman forces between April and December and even sending a delegation to Istanbul until the Ottoman government finally gave in to their terms giving an end to the rebellion.[40]

Before 1867 Shkodër (İşkodra) was a sanjak of Rumelia Eyalet in Ottoman Empire. In 1867, Shkodër sanjak merged with Skopje (Üsküp) sanjak and became Shkodër vilayet. Shkodër vilayet was split into Shkodër, Prizren and Dibra sanjaks. In 1877, Prizren passed to Kosovo vilayet and Debar passed to Monastir vilayet, while Durrës township became a sanjak. In 1878 Bar and Podgorica townships belonged to Montenegro. Ottoman-Albanian intellectual Sami Frashëri during the 1880s estimated the population of Shkodër as numbering 37,000 inhabitants that consisted of three quarters being Muslims and the rest Christians made up of mostly Catholics and a few hundred Orthodox.[41] In 1900, Shkodër vilayet was split into Shkodër and Durrës sanjaks.

Shkodër during the First Balkan War

Shkodër played an important role during the League of Prizren, the Albanian liberation movement. The people of Shkodër participated in battles to protect Albanian land. The branch of the League of Prizren for Shkodër, which had its own armed unit, fought for the protection of Plav, Gusinje, Hoti and Gruda, and the war for the protection of Ulcinj. The Bushati Library, built during the 1840s, served as a centre for the League of Prizren's branch for Shkodër. Many books were collected in libraries of Catholic missionaries working in Shkodër. Literary, cultural and sports associations were formed, such as Bashkimi ("The Union") and Agimi ("The Dawn"). The first Albanian newspapers and publications printed in Albania came out of the printing press of Shkodër. The Marubi family of photographers began working in Shkodër, which left behind over 150,000 negatives from the period of the Albanian liberation movement, the rise of the Albanian flag in Vlorë, and life in Albanian towns during the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.

During the Balkan Wars, Shkodër went from one occupation to another, when the Ottomans were defeated by the Kingdom of Montenegro. The Ottoman forces led by Hasan Riza Pasha and Esad Pasha had resisted for seven months the siege of the town by Montenegrin forces and their Serbian allies. Esad (Hasan had previously been mysteriously killed by Esad Pasha Toptani in an ambush inside the town) finally surrendered to Montenegro in April 1913, after Montenegro suffered a high death toll with more than 10,000 casualties. Edith Durham also notes the cruelties suffered at the hand of Montenegrins in the wake of October 1913: "Thousands of refugees arriving from Djakovo and neighbourhood. Victims of Montenegro. My position was indescribably painful, for I had no funds left, and women came to me crying: 'If you will not feed my child, throw it in the river. I cannot see it starve.'"[42] Montenegro was compelled to leave the city to the new country of Albania in May 1913, in accordance with the London Conference of Ambassadors.

During World War I, Montenegrin forces again occupied Shkodër on 27 June 1915. In January 1916, Shkodër was taken over by Austria-Hungary and was the centre of the zone of their occupation. When the war ended on 11 November 1918, French forces occupied Shkodër as well as other regions with sizable Albanian populations. After World War I, the international military administration of Albania was temporarily located in Shkodër, and in March 1920, Shkodër was put under the administration of the national government of Tirana. In the second half of 1920, Shkodër resisted another threat, the military intervention of the forces of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Shkodër was the centre of democratic movements of the years 1921–1924. The democratic opposition won the majority of votes for the Constitutional Assembly, and on 31 May 1924, the democratic forces took over the town and from Shkodër headed to Tirana. From 1924 to 1939, Shkodër had a slow industrial development, small factories that produced food, textile and cement were opened. From 43 of such in 1924, the number rose to 70 in 1938. In 1924, Shkodër had 20,000 inhabitants, the number grew to 29,000 in 1938. During September 1928, Albania was proclaimed a monarchy by King Zog I. He was a self-made Muslim monarch and the king of all Albanians until 1939. After 1939, Zog went into exile and Victor Emmanuel III became the king of the Albanians. Shortly after World War II, Emmanuel was formally abdicated in 1946. In 1945, Enver Hoxha established communism in Albania.[43]

Shkodër was the seat of a Catholic archbishopric and had a number of religious schools. The first laic school was opened here in 1913, and the State Gymnasium was opened in 1922. It was the centre of many cultural associations. In sports Shkodër was the first city in Albania to constitute a sports association, the "Vllaznia" (brotherhood). Vllaznia Shkodër is the oldest sport club in Albania.

During the early 1990s, Shkodër was once again a major centre, this time of the democratic movement that finally brought to an end the communist regime established by Enver Hoxha. In the later 2000s (decade), the city experiences a rebirth as main streets are being paved, buildings painted and streets renamed. In December 2010, Shkodër and the surrounding region was hit by probably the worst flooding in the last 100 years.[44] In 2011, a new swing bridge over the Buna River was constructed, thus replacing the old bridge nearby.

Shköder has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) under the Köppen climate classification, that is almost wet enough in July to be a humid subtropical climate .[47] The average yearly temperature varies from 14.5 °C (58.1 °F) to 16.8 °C (62.2 °F). Mean monthly temperature ranges between 1.8 °C (35.2 °F) to 10.3 °C (50.5 °F) in January and 20.2 °C (68.4 °F) to 33.6 °C (92.5 °F) in August. The average yearly precipitation is about 1,700 mm (66.9 in), which makes the area one of the wettest in Europe.

Shkodër is twinned with: