Himara

Himara or Himarë (from Greek: Χειμάρρα, Himarra, definite Albanian form: Himara) is a bilingual region and municipality in southern Albania, part of Vlorë County. It lies between the Ceraunian Mountains and the Ionian Sea and is part of the Albanian Riviera. The region consists of the town of Himarë and the villages of Dhërmi, Pilur, Kudhës, Qeparo, Vuno, Ilias, and Palasë.

The region of Himarë is predominantly populated by an ethnic Greek community.

Geography

The Himara region is a strip approximately 20 km long by 5 km wide, bounded by the 2000 metre high Llogara mountains to the northeast (known in antiquity and in the local Greek dialect as the Ceraunian mountains (Greek: Κεραύνια Όρη, Keravnia ori, "Thunder Mountains") and the Ionian Sea to the southwest. There are long white sandy beaches and the few hills close to the sea are terraced and planted with olive and citrus trees. The villages of Himarë are perched up high on the spurs of the Ceraunian range in positions which offered natural defences against the nearby Lab Albanians during the Ottoman era.

Himarë (town)

Himarë (definite Albanian form: Himara) is a bilingual town in Southern Albania along the Albanian Riviera and part of the Vlorë County. It is the largest settlement and seat of the municipality of Himarë. Both the town and municipality are populated by an ethnic Greek community.

History

In antiquity the region was inhabited by the Greek tribe of the Chaonians. The town of Himarë is believed to have been founded as Χίμαιρα, (Chimaira, hence the name Himara) by the Chaonians as a trading outpost on the Chaonian shore. However, another theory according to the name suggest that comes from Greek χείμαρρος (cheimarros), meaning "torrent".

The town of Himara during the 16th-18th centuries was ecclesiastically under the jurisdiction of Rome, and some of its inhabitants were Catholics of the Eastern rite.

See also

References