Elbasan is situated in the middle of the country and is the third largest city in size. It is located 54 km from the capital and 82 km from the main port of Durres. Elbasan is an ancient settlement site at the intersection of east–west and north-south routes. Initially known by the name Skampa in the second century A.D, Elbasan was the second most important port after Durres along the Via Egnatia. Later, Elbasan was known as Hiskampis and in 509 it appeared as an Episcopate. In the fifteenth century, barbarian invasions ruined this old settlement, which reappeared later under the name Valmi.
Failing to conquer the castle of Kruja in 1466, Sultan Mehmet II decided to set up camp in Elbasan and rebuilt the castle and the surrounding walls of the city, calling it Ilbasan (the place that rules). The rebuilt city started to repopulate rapidly and in the sixteenth century it became a Sanjak in the Ottoman Empire.
During its history, Elbasan acted as an important center of national education. The first Albanian high school, Normalja e Elbasanit, was established in Elbasan in 1909. The renowned Albanian iconographers Onufri and Konstantin Shpataraku came from this region and the distinguished Albanian linguist, Kostandin Kristoforidhi, was also born in the city of Elbasan.
Cultural sites of interest in the city are: the Castle, the Mosque of Naziresha, dating back in the seventeenth century (this is a very rare occurrence of a mosque being named after a woman), the Turkish baths from the sixteenth century, the Church of Shën Mëria inside the castle, the Ethnographic Museum, and the Clock Tower. Built by the Albanian prince Karl Topia in 1382, the Monastery of Shen Gjon Vladimir is located 4 km from the city. Karl Topia’s tomb is there as well. The thermal baths, known since the Roman times, are also found close to the city.
Natural attractions in the city include the nearby mountain region of Gjinar, in Shpat, covered in pine and coniferous forests, suitable for cross-country skiing and other outdoor excursions. The thermal waters in the 16th-century Turkish baths also hold reputed healing powers.
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Part or or all of this text stems from the original article at: http://www.albaniantourism.com
