Rrëshen

Rrëshen
Administrative Unit
Seal
Rrëshen
Coordinates: 41°46′N 19°53′E / 41.767°N 19.883°ECoordinates: 41°46′N 19°53′E / 41.767°N 19.883°E
Country	Albania
County	Lezhë
Municipality	Mirditë
• Administrative Unit	120 km^2 (50 sq mi)
Elevation	90 m (300 ft)
Population (2011)
• Administrative Unit	8,803
• Administrative Unit density	73/km^2 (190/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal Code	4601-4602
Area Code	0216
Vehicle registration	MR
Website	www.bashkiarreshen.com

Rrëshen (definite Albanian form: Rrësheni) is a small town and a former municipality in Lezhë County, in northern Albania.

History

In 1921, the city served as the de facto capital of the unrecognised state of the Republic of Mirdita.

At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision and the seat of the municipality Mirditë.^[1] It was the administrative seat of the former Mirditë District The population at the 2011 census was 8,803.^[2]

The City

As an administrative seat, the town has schools and a hospital. After the Communist era, new facilities such as a hotel, a restaurant and a cultural centre sprung up in the area. The trunk route from the Kosovar border to Tirana and Durrës pass to each side of Rrëshen, providing good communications with the capital and the Adriatic. Before the Second World War, the city was classed as a small village but administrative change and a rise in the mining industry have boosted the city's status although since the fall of Communism, most of the mines have become disused. This has resulted in mass migration to Tirana and larger more industrial centres.

Religion

Its Katedralja e Jezusi i Vetmi Shpëtimtar i Botës ('Cathedral of Jesus Saviour of the World') is the episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rrëshen, which was created in 1996 by promoting the Territorial Abbacy of Shën Llezhri i Oroshit from Territorial Abbey to a bishopric. It is a suffragan in the province of the Metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tiranë–Durrës.

Mirdita Gallery

Zogu Bridge  Fan River Canyon  Fan Valley in Reps  Rubik Church on top left along A1 Highway

References

1. Law nr. 115/2014
2. 2011 census results

Sources and External links

• Rrëshen Municipality
• Mirdita Tourism Portal
• Albanian Census Figures
• GigaCatholic