Këlcyrë is a town and a municipality in southern Albania, located on the bank of the riverVjosë. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Ballaban, Dishnicë, Këlcyrë and Sukë, that became municipal units. The seat of the municipality is the town Këlcyrë. The total population is 6,113, in a total area of 304.86 km2. The population of the former municipality at the 2011 census was 2,651. The Vjosë forms a canyon near the town, known as the Këlcyrë Gorge.
Municipality
The municipal unit consists of the town Këlcyrë and the villages Fshat Këlcyrë, Mbrezhdan, Maleshovë, Limar, Leskaj and Kala. The village of Maleshovë traditionally consists of three neighbourhoods, one Christian, one Muslim and one with families of both religions.
Name
A medieval chronicle from the year 1272 mentioned the location with the Latin nameClausura. The ByzantineSuda lexicon, writes that the Romans called the forts at the passes. During the Byzantine era the town was also called Klisura.
History
In antiquity the region was part of Epirus, and afterwards was incorporated into Upper Macedonia. Later it became part of the Roman empire. During the Second Macedonian War against the Romans, the troops of Phillip V and Athenagoras of Macedon attempted to delay the Roman consul, Titus Quinctius Flamininus. The Macedonians had secured the passage and then blocked the Roman advance in 198 BC. A shepherd is said to have led the Roman troops through the mountains, so that they could attack the Macedonians in the narrow gorge of two sides and destroy them. The Macedonians had been decisively defeated a first time. Later, the Romans used the route through the gorge of modern Këlcyrë and built a small settlement. To control this passage, a castle was built in the 13th century. When the town was incorporated in the Kingdom of Albania in the late 13th century it was ruled by the Muzaka family. The correspondence of the Roman Curia with the Albanian nobility indicates that in 1319 it was ruled by Count Mentul Muzaka. After its capture by the Byzantine army, the Albanian population rebelled against Byzantine rule in 1335 and captured the fortress of the town. The Turks advanced and built in the 19th century also a seraglio At this time Këlcyrë experienced its bloom as a key trading center between Berat, Korça and Gjirokastra. The capture of Klisura Pass was one of the most important victories of the Greek Army during the Greek-Italian War.
Today
Even today, the road is the main access route through the gorge that connects Këlcyrë with Tepelenë and other centers of Albania. To the south, the road continues to Përmet in the capital district and then to Greece. The road leading to the north in the direction of Berat is paved only a few kilometers, and navigation over long distances is very difficult. Around Këlcyrë there are some age-old Eastern Orthodox churches.
