Rrëshen (Albanian definite form : Rrësheni) is a small town and a former municipality in Lezhë County, in northern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform, Rrëshen 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 2023 census was 6,773. [2]
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 appeared in the area. The trunk route from the Kosovar border to Tirana and Durrës passes on 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 changes and an increase in the mining industry boosted the city's status. However, 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.
Its cathedral, Katedralja e Jezusi i Vetmi Shpëtimtar i Botës, 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 diocese in the province of the Metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Tiranë–Durrës.
Counties, also sometimes known as prefectures, are the first-level administrative subdivisions of Albania, replacing the earlier districts. Since 2000, there have been 12 counties. Since 2015, they have been divided into 61 municipalities, 373 communes, and 2,972 villages.
Districts were first and second-level administrative divisions of Albania from 1913–2000. Their number, size, and status changed over time. From 1991 to 2000, the 36 districts were organized into 12 counties. Pursuant to the 1998 Constitution and Law No. 8653, the districts were abolished and replaced with the larger counties and smaller municipalities.
Mirditë District was one of the 36 districts of Albania, which were dissolved in July 2000 and replaced by 12 newly created counties. It had a population of 37,055 in 2001, and an area of 867 km2 (335 sq mi). It is in the north of the country, and its capital was the town of Rrëshen. The district was located within the wider region of Mirdita, whose territory is synonymous with the historic Albanian tribe of the same name. The area of the former district is coextensive with the present municipality of Mirditë, which is part of Lezhë County.
Lezhë is a city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. It is one of Albania's continuously inhabited cities, with roughly 2,400 years of recorded history.
Durrës County, officially the County of Durrës, is a county in the Northern Region of the Republic of Albania. It is the smallest by area and the second most populous of the twelve counties, with 292,029 people within an area of 766 km2 (296 sq mi). The county borders on the Adriatic Sea to the west, the counties of Lezhë to the north, Dibër to the east and Tirana to the south. It is divided into three municipalities, Durrës, Krujë and Shijak, with all of whom incorporate sixteen administrative units.
Lezhë County is one of the 12 counties of Albania. The population as of 2021 was 120,678, in an area of 1,620 km². Its capital is the city Lezhë.
Tirana County, officially the County of Tirana, is a county in the Central Region of Albania. It is the tenth largest by area and the most populous of the twelve counties, with more than 912,000 people within an area of 1,652 km2 (638 sq mi). The county borders on the Adriatic Sea to the west, the counties of Durrës to the northwest, Dibër to the northeast, Elbasan to the east and Fier to the southwest. It is divided into five municipalities, Tirana, Kamëz, Kavajë, Rrogozhinë and Vorë, with all of whom incorporate twenty-nine administrative units.
Krujë is a town and a municipality in north-central Albania. Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is 20 km north of the capital of Albania, Tirana.
Mirditë is a municipality in Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. It was created in 2015 by the merger of the former municipalities Fan, Kaçinar, Kthellë, Orosh, Rrëshen, Rubik and Selitë. The seat of the municipality is the town Rrëshen. The total population is 22,103, in a total area of 870.26 km2. It is coterminous with the former Mirditë District. The municipality is located within the wider region of Mirdita whose territory is synonymous with the historic Albanian tribe of the same name.
The Catholic Church in Albania is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
Rubik is a town in northern Albania. It lies along national highway SH30. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Mirditë. The population at the 2023 census was 2,550.
Laç is a town and a former municipality in Lezhë County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision and the seat of the municipality Kurbin. It was the administrative center of the former Kurbin District. The population as of the 2023 census is 12,854. Its associated football club is KF Laçi.
The Archdiocese of Tiranë–Durrës is a Latin Church Metropolitan archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Albania.
The Diocese of Rrëshen is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church located in the city of Rrëshen in the ecclesiastical province of Tiranë–Durrës in Albania.
Dom Nikoll Kaçorri, was a prominent figure of the National Renaissance of Albania. A signatory of the Albanian Declaration of Independence, Dom Kaçorri served as Deputy Prime Minister of the Provisional Government of Albania, after the independence.
Orosh is a small village in Mirditë within the county of Lezhë in the northwest of the Republic of Albania. Geographically, it is located inside the mountainous region of northern Albania in the Valley of Fan.
The Fan is a river in northern Albania. It is formed by the confluence of two source rivers: the Great Fan and the Little Fan, that join a few kilometers west of the town Rrëshen.
The Cathedral of Jesus Saviour of the World is a religious building affiliated with the Catholic Church that functions as the cathedral of Rrëshen. It is in Rrëshen, in the municipality of Mirditë, Albania.