Fier

Coordinates: 40°43′30″N 19°33′26″E / 40.72500°N 19.55722°E / 40.72500; 19.55722
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the city in Albania. For other uses, see Fier (disambiguation).
Fier
Municipality
Top to bottom, left to right: View over Fier, Shën Gjergj Cathedral and Mosque of Fier
UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal Code
9301-9305
Area Code034
Websitebashkiafier.gov.al

Fier (pronounced

Vjosë in the south and the foothills of the Mallakastra Mountains in the southeast. Fier experiences a seasonal Mediterranean climate affected by its proximity to the Adriatic Sea
in the west.

Fier was founded in the 19th century by the

Illyrian tribes.[4][5]

Fier is an important terminus in southwestern Albania and is served by the A2 motorway and SH 4 highway, forming a north–south corridor in Albania and part of the Adriatic–Ionian motorway.

Name

The word "Fier" is claimed to derive from the Albanian word fier, which is claimed to mean "fern". Another alternative hypothesis proposes a derivation from the Italian word fiera, translated as trade fair.[6]

History

The history of Fier is bound up with that of the oil, gas and bitumen deposits nearby. The presence of asphalt and burning escapes of natural gas in the vicinity was recorded as early as the 1st century AD.

Vjosë river Strabo
, writing in about AD 17 states:

On the territory of the people of Apolonia in Illyria there is what is called a nymphaeum. It is a rock which emits fire. Below it are springs flowing with hot water and asphalt... the asphalt is dug out of a neighbouring hill: the parts excavated are replaced by fresh earth, which in time is converted to asphalt.

In the 14th and 15th century the location was used by the Venetian traders as a marketplace to purchase agricultural products from the Myzeqe lowlands.[6]

The settlement took city status in 1864 when Kahreman Pasha Vrioni, the local governor, asked from some French architects to project a future city as an artisan and trade centre.[6] During the 1864–1865 period a market for 122 merchants was built along the Gjanica river.[6] The first inhabitants of the city were the servants of Kahreman Pasha Vrioni and members of Aromanian families that had lived in the area since the early 19th century period.[6]

Twelve kilometres away from Fier is situated

Gylaceia after its Corinthian founder, Gylax
, and later changed its name to that of city of the God Apollo. According to archaeological investigations for 100 years Greek and Illyrian have lived in separate communities.

River Gjanica and Square of Victory

The economic prosperity of Apolonia grew on the basis of trade in slaves, and the local rich pastoral agricultural. In the middle of the 5th century BC, a workshop for minting coins was set up here. Through trade and commercial transactions these coins spread throughout Illyria and beyond its boundaries. In the years 214 BC onwards, the city was involved in the war between the Illyrian

Octavian, later to become the Emperor Augustus, studied for 6 months in Apollonia, which had established a high reputation as a center of Greek learning, especially the art of rhetoric. It was noted by Cicero
, in the Philippics, as 'magna urbs et gravis' a great and important city.

Under the Empire, Apollonia remained a prosperous centre, but began to decline as the Vjosë silted up and the coastline changed after the earthquake.

Since the fall of communism construction has been taking place. In particular, an Orthodox church was reconstructed in 1999 that allows people to practice their religion.[8]

Geography

Fier is located on the bank of Gjanica in the southeast of the

Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape in the southwest, also forming the southern border of the municipality.[9] The area of the municipality Fier is 619.9 km2.[12]

Climate

Fier has a Mediterranean climate (Csa) under the Köppen climate classification with mild winters and hot, dry summers.[13]

Climate data for Climate data for Fier
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 10.8
(51.4) 		12
(54) 		15.2
(59.4) 		18.8
(65.8) 		23.1
(73.6) 		27.7
(81.9) 		30.6
(87.1) 		31.2
(88.2) 		25.8
(78.4) 		21.4
(70.5) 		16.7
(62.1) 		12
(54) 		20.4
(68.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 3.1
(37.6) 		3.7
(38.7) 		5.9
(42.6) 		9.1
(48.4) 		13.3
(55.9) 		17.6
(63.7) 		20
(68) 		20.4
(68.7) 		16.8
(62.2) 		12.9
(55.2) 		9
(48) 		4.8
(40.6) 		11.4
(52.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 77
(3.0) 		83
(3.3) 		87
(3.4) 		80
(3.1) 		58
(2.3) 		36
(1.4) 		27
(1.1) 		27
(1.1) 		91
(3.6) 		100
(3.9) 		123
(4.8) 		112
(4.4) 		901
(35.4)
Average precipitation days 7 7 7 8 6 4 3 3 7 7 8 9 76
Average
relative humidity
(%) 		76 73 71 70 69 64 60 60 69 74 75 77 70
Mean daily sunshine hours 6.8 7.6 8.9 10.2 11.5 12.4 12.6 11.8 10.1 8.5 7.4 6.7 9.5
Source: Climate-Data[13]

Economy

Train approaching Fier railway station.

Fier is an important industrial city and is built by the Gjanica tributary of the

Seman River, and is surrounded by marshland. With nearby Patos town, it is the centre of the oil, bitumen and chemical industries in Albania. Fier is a convenient place to stay to visit the major Classical sites at nearby Byllis
and Apollonia. Main roads from the central square lead south to Vlora (35 km or 22 mi) and east to the oil and industrial town of Patos (8 km or 5.0 mi). Also, 19 km (12 mi) to the west of the city centre, one will find the picturesque Seman Beach.

Fier is also known for its olive trees production (Kalinjioti cultivar) which contributes to the olive oil sector of Albania. Together with Vlora, Berat and Elbasan they provide almost 90% of olive oil production.[14]

The city also plays an important economic role in the development of the county since it produces many goods such as sugar, bread and animal products.[15]

The creation of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline raises the economy of Fier and Albania highly. The pipe line will be crossing Fier and a Pumping Station will be built in Fier. This shows an open road to investment and employment of the city and country. The Pipe line has started since 2015 and is expected to be completed in 2020. This will Supply Albania Natural Gas.[16]

Transport

There are Urban Buses available throughout the city. There are also buses at the bus terminal in Fier that can take you throughout places in

Vlore
highway.

Demography

Historical population
YearPop.±%
19507,040—    
19559,647+37.0%
196014,391+49.2%
196922,000+52.9%
197933,100+50.5%
198943,086+30.2%
200156,164+30.4%
201155,845−0.6%
Source: pop-stat.mashke.org
Muslims and Orthodox Christians. Data shows that in 1918, after Albanian independence from the Ottoman Empire, Fier and its surrounding countryside on the Myzeqe Plain formed a majority Orthodox Christian enclave, in which Muslims constituted roughly 35% of the total population.[19]

Culture

Fier's main sports are

BC Apolonia and plays in the Albanian Basketball League
and their home ground is Fier Sports Palace.

Notable people

Notable people born in Fier include:

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Albania

Fier is

twinned
with:

Fier also cooperates with:

Notes

  1. ^ The municipality of Fier consists of the administrative units of Cakran, Dërmenas, Frakull, Levan, Libofshë, Mbrostar, Portëz, Qendër, Topojë and Fier. The population of the municipality results from the sum of the listed administrative units in the former as of the 2011 Albanian census.

References

  1. ISBN 978-1780764313
  2. ISBN 9780810861886. Archived
    from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  3. ISBN 0-631-19807-5
    .
  4. ISBN 0-8155-5047-2
    .
  5. ISBN 0-19-514465-1
    .
  6. ^ a b c d e Fier Municipality. "History of the city" (in Albanian). Fier Municipality. Archived from the original on 2011-08-12. Retrieved 2010-08-06.
  7. ISBN 0-631-19807-5
    , Page 96,"... whose land is the city Epidamnus. A river flows by the city, by name the Palamnus. Then from Epidamnus to Apollonia, a Ilirian (Albanian) city, the journey on foot takes two days. Apollonia lies fifty stades from the sea and the river ..."
  8. ^ ":: T669.net - Kisha e Shen Gjergjit ne Fier ::". www.t669.org. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  9. ^ a b "Dokumenti i Raportit Përfundimtar të Vlerësimit Strategjik Mjedisor të Planit të Përgjithshëm të Territorit të Bashkisë" (PDF) (in Albanian). Bashkia Fier. pp. 110–120. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  10. ^ "A new Urban–Rural Classification of Albanian Population" (PDF). Instituti i Statistikës (INSTAT). May 2014. p. 15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Law nr. 115/2014" (PDF) (in Albanian). p. 6370. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Bashkia Fier" (in Albanian). Albanian Association of Municipalities (AAM). Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Climate: Fier". Climate-Data. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  14. ^ Leonetti, Luciano, et al. "The olive and olive oil value chain in Albania." Development Solution Associates (DSA), Tirana (2009): 4.
  15. ^ "Fier", albania4ever.com/en/fier [site blocked on Wikipedia], accessed 28 September 2017
  16. ^ "TAP route and infrastructure".
  17. ^ "Cities of Albania". 2024-04-15.
  18. ^ a b Nurja, Ines. "Censusi i popullsisë dhe banesave/ Population and Housing Census–Fier (2011)" (PDF). Tirana: Institute of Statistics (INSTAT). p. 85. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  19. ^ Siegfried Gruber. "Regional variation in marriage patterns in Albania at the beginning of the 20th century". www-gewi.uni-graz.at. Archived from the original on 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2014-06-11.
  20. ^ "Sister Cities International (SCI)". Sister-cities.org. Archived from the original on 2015-06-13. Retrieved 2013-04-21.
  21. ^ "兰州市政府外事办 友好城市". szfwsb.lanzhou.gov.cn. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  22. ^ "Bashkia Binjakezime". bashkiafier.gov.al. Archived from the original on 2020-07-03. Retrieved 2021-09-05.

External links

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