Vurg

Vurg (definite form: Vurgu; Greek: Βούργος Vourgos[1] or Βούρκος Vourkos[2]) is a plain and region in the southern part of Vlorë County, southwestern Albania.[3]

Vurg
Region
Vurg is located in Albania
Vurg
Vurg
Coordinates: 39°48′16″N 20°4′17″E
Country Albania
CountyVlorë County
DistrictSarandë District
Time zoneUTC+1 (Central European Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Car PlatesSR

Name

The toponym means marshland, in both Albanian and Greek. Before bonification works in the Communism period, most of the Vurg area was covered with marshes. When it rained, the Kalasë and Bistrica rivers increased the marsh area even further.[4][5]

History

At the archaic era of antiquity the winter pastures of the Vurg plain were controlled by the Ancient Greel tribe of the Chaonians when the later reached their peak of power.[6] The main city of the Chaonians, Phoenice was located at the center of the plain of Vurg.[7]

In the 14th-15th centuries, the area was under the control of Tocco, Zenebishi and Arianiti families. In 1431, Vurg's field was part of the Sanjak of Albania in the Ottoman Empire. According to Ottoman register data, in 1520, the number of families in Vurg villages was 207.[8]

Ottoman notebooks of the 17th century testify that their then inhabitants bore characteristic Albanian names, such as: Lekë, Gjon (John), Gjin (a typical Albanian variant of the name John), Gjergj (George) etc. Based on such historical indications and onomatology Demiraj expresses reservations about the possibility of an early Greek presence and claims that the majority of today's local Greek-speaking inhabitants are descended from those who came or were employed as farmers from the southernmost Greek-speaking villages there from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 19th century. This can also be witnessed in the toponymy of some of the villages such as Vrion, Kasemallajbej, Ymerefend, Memushbej etc.[9][10] Nevertheless Demiraj expresses the need for further research on the issue. Spyrou and Kyriazis note the main basic disadvantage in Demiraj's research is his unawareness of the Greek research conducted on the issue.[10]

In the 18th and 19th centuries Vurg was used as a winter pasture by Lab Albanians. In the late 18th century the Vurg field became property of the Delvina family led by Selim Pasha.[11] It was common for the inhabitants of Vurg to sell their products in the markets of Delvinë and Konispol, the former being the center of Sanjak of Delvina.[12]

Greek Sarakatsani communities used to have their winter pastures in the plain of Vurg.[13]

During World War II, more than 15 young men from Vurg enrolled into the Chameria Battalion; part of the National Liberation Movement of Albania,[14] but this battalion seized to operate as a unit already from November 1943.[15] Among those men was Lefter Talo[16][17] who became the main figure of communist resistance in Vurg and supported the cooperation of the Greek community with the Albanian National Liberation Movement.[18] Two out of the three National Liberation Front battalions that consisted of Greek minority members were formed in Vurg: "Lefter Talo" and "Padeli Boçari".[19]

Demographics

Vurg is among the main settlement areas of Greeks in Albania.[20] A total of 44 settlements in the area are inhabited by ethnic Greeks, while Albania's Greek community in general has preserved its own ethnic, linguistic religious identity and tradition and also been relatively integrated into the Albanian society.[21]

The Greek language spoken in Vurg belongs to the same idiom with that of nearby Dropull.[22]

Sources
  1. Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond. Epirus: the geography, the ancient remains, the history and topography of Epirus and adjacent areas. Clarendon P., 1967, p. 30.
  2. Kyriazis, Doris (2019). "Διατοπικότητα και διαχρονικότητα των νεοελληνικών γλωσσικών ιδιωμάτων της νότιας Αλβανίας" (PDF). Modern Greek Dialects and Linguistic Theory. 8th International Conference of Modern Greek Dialects and Linguistic Theory (in Greek). Gjirokastër: University of Patras. p. 108. ISSN 1792-3743. The region of Vourkos (map)
  3. "Location of Vurg". Retrieved 22 April 2010.
  4. Kabo, Mevlan (1991). Gjeografia fizike e Shqipërisë: në dy vëllime. Akademia e Shkencave. p. 383.
  5. Demiraj, Shaban (2008). "La situation ethnique-linguistique des habitants de Dropulli et de Vurgu au cours des siecles". Studia Albanica. Academy of Sciences of Albania. 1: 77–91. ISSN 0585-5047. Vurg, appelé ainsi par le mot du grec moderne vurkos "pays bas, marais".
  6. Hammond, N. G. L. (1997). "Epirus and the Greek World of City-States 750-500 B.C." Epirus, 4000 Years of Greek History and Civilization: 54. the Chaonians at their period of greatest power controlled the winter pastures of the coast from the Gulf of Aulon to the Vourgos plain by Konispolis
  7. Boriani, Maurizio; Giambruno, Mariacristina (28 September 2015). Studi per la conservazione del patrimonio culturale albanese (in Italian). Altralinea Edizioni. p. 56. ISBN 978-88-98743-51-3.
  8. Delvina, Sherif (2006). Low Albania (Epirus) and Cham Issue (in Albanian). Albania: Eurolindja. p. 45. ISBN 99943-861-0-7. Në shekujt XIV - XV kjo fushë ka qenë nën sundimin e feudalëve Toko Zenebishëve dhe Arianitëve . Më 1431 fusha e Vurgut bënte pjesë në Sanxhakun e Shqipërisë .
  9. Demiraj (2010). Wir sind die Deinen: Studien zur albanischen Sprache, Literatur und Kulturgeschichte, dem Gedenken an Martin Camaj (1925-1992) gewidmet (in Albanian). Germany: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 567. ISBN 978-3-447-06221-3.
  10. Kyriazis, Doris; Aristotelis, Spyrou (2011). "The Greek Dialects of Albania". Modern Greek Dialectology (in Greek). Academy of Athens. 6: 178. Retrieved 29 June 2023. Ο Demiraj κάνει λόγο ... και Βούρκου Δελβίνου (168-182). Επιστρατεύοντας ιστορικές ενδείξεις και ονοματολογικά στοιχεία, εκφράζει επιφυλάξεις για το ενδεχόμενο πρώιμης παρουσίας της ελληνικής στα μέρη αυτά και υπογραμμίζει την ανάγκη περαιτέρω διερεύνησης του θέματος. Βασικό μειονέκτημα της προσέγγισής του είναι ηάγνοια της σχετικής ελληνικής βιβλιογραφίας.
  11. Shkurti, Spiro (1976). Etnografia shqiptare. Akademia e Shkencave të Shqipërisë. p. 115. Në shekullin e XVIII - XIX pjesa e fushës që i kishte shpëtuar përmbytjes dhe që nuk ishte zënë nga pyjet si edhe kodrat përreth fushës, përdorej si kullota dimërore nga blegtorët labë.......Në fund të shekullit të XVIII fusha u bë pronë e familjes feudale vendase Delvina, e cila kishte të paktën që nga viti 1775 postin e prefektit në qytetin e Delvinës......Selim Pasha emërohet rreth vitit 1780 sanxhakbej i Delvinës dhe krijoi pasurinë tokësore të familjes së tij
  12. Suli, Leonard (1989). Monumentet. Instituti i Monumenteve të Kulturës. p. 87. Nuk mungonin rastet kur banorët e Vurgut dhe të Mursisë merrnin pjesë në tregtimin dhe shkëmbimin e produkteve në pazaret e Konispolit dhe të Delvinës, e cila është qendër e rëndësishme zejtaro- tregtare e gjithë sanxhakut të saj
  13. Music From Epirus (in Greek). Institution of the Hellenic Parliament. 2008. p. 60. ISBN 978-960-6757-07-5.
  14. Minga, Hasan (2006). Çamëria: vështrim historik (in Albanian). Indiana University. p. 158. ISBN 9789994380978. Zgjerimi i veprimtarisë luftarake i rriti dukshëm radhët e çetës, jo vetëm nga fshatrat shqiptare të Çamërisë, por edhe nga ato të minoritetit. Mbi 15 të rinj nga Vurgu radhiten në çetën "Çamëria", duke bashkuar armët e tyre në luftën e përbashkët kundër fashizmit, për liri e demokraci.
  15. Γιώτης, Σπυρίδων (2022). "Η ιταλική πολιτική στην Αλβανία και η ελληνική μειονότητα, 1939-1943" (in Greek). Πανεπιστήμιο Μακεδονίας. Σχολή Οικονομικών και Περιφερειακών Σπουδών. Τμήμα Βαλκανικών, Σλαβικών και Ανατολικών Σπουδών. p. 314. Retrieved 11 April 2023. αλβανικό, πρώην τάγμα Τσαμουριάς
  16. Murzaku, Thoma; Hoxha, Teuta; Trenova, Bashkim (1986). Heronj të Luftës Antifashiste Nacionalçlirimtare: përmbledhje dokumentesh. 8 Nëntori Publishing House. p. 250. Lefteri, djali revolucionar i Vurgut, anëtar i Partisë Komuniste Shqiptare, një nga bijtë më të mirë të minoritetit. ... Punoi me fjalë e propagandë në Vurg dhe pastaj me formimin e çetës së Çamërisë, Lefteri u hodh i pari në të, u bë një nga shokët udhëheqës më të mirë të saj.
  17. Kofos, Evangelos (1 January 1993). "The Greek minority school textbooks during the Enver Hoxha period". Balkan Studies. Institute for Balkan Studies. 34 (1): 95. ISSN 2241-1674. Retrieved 14 September 2022. ... was re-named "Lefteris Tallios" (indicating that it was Greek) in honour of the leader of a band of guerilla fighters from the Greek community
  18. Γιώτης, Σπυρίδων (2022). "Η ιταλική πολιτική στην Αλβανία και η ελληνική μειονότητα, 1939-1943" (in Greek). Πανεπιστήμιο Μακεδονίας. Σχολή Οικονομικών και Περιφερειακών Σπουδών. Τμήμα Βαλκανικών, Σλαβικών και Ανατολικών Σπουδών. Retrieved 11 April 2023. Ο Λευτέρης Τάλιος γεννήθηκε το 1913 στο χωριό Χαντήραγα του Βούρκου. Παρακολούθησε τη Ζωσιμαία Σχολή Ιωαννίνων και εργάστηκε ως δάσκαλος στα χωριά Πέπελη και Τσούκα. Φέρεται ως πρωτεργάτης της κομμουνιστικής κίνησης στην περιοχή του Βούρκου και ένθερμος υποστηρικτής της συνεργασίας των Βορειοηπειρωτών με το FNÇ
  19. Γιώτης, Σπυρίδων (2022). "Η ιταλική πολιτική στην Αλβανία και η ελληνική μειονότητα, 1939-1943" (in Greek). Πανεπιστήμιο Μακεδονίας. Σχολή Οικονομικών και Περιφερειακών Σπουδών. Τμήμα Βαλκανικών, Σλαβικών και Ανατολικών Σπουδών. p. 314. Retrieved 11 April 2023. το τάγμα «Παντελής Μπότσαρης στις 9 Μαρτίου 1944 στο Καλτσάτι του Βούρκου, ενώ το τάγμα «Λευτέρης Τάλιος» στις 6 Ιουνίου 1944 στη Δίβρη
  20. Österreichisches Ost-und Südosteuropa-Institut (2003). Peter Jordan; Walter Lukan (eds.). Albanien: Geographie - historische Anthropologie - Geschichte - Kultur - postkommunistische Transformation (in German). Lang. p. 37. ISBN 978-3-631-39416-8. Die dort am dichtesten mit Griechen bewohnten ländlichen Gebiete sind die von Dropull, Rëza e zezë und Pogon im Kreis von Gjirokastër, sowie Vurgu im Kreis von Delvinë - Sarandë. Ein Teil der griechischen Minderheit im Suden des landes... Korce.
  21. Skutsch, Carl (7 November 2013). Encyclopedia of the World's Minorities. Routledge. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-135-19388-1. in Vurgu (44 villages)
  22. Brown, Christopher G.; Joseph, Brian D. (2021). "The Greek Language in Southern Albania" (PDF). The Ohio State University, Modern Greek Program. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
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