Xarrë
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Xarrë (Albanian pronunciation: or ) is a village and a former municipality in the Vlorë County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Konispol. The population at the 2011 census was 4,263. The municipal unit consists of the villages Xarrë, Mursi, Shkallë and Vrinë.
Xarrë (Albanian pronunciation: or ) is a village and a former municipality in the Vlorë County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Konispol. The population at the 2011 census was 4,263. The municipal unit consists of the villages Xarrë, Mursi, Shkallë and Vrinë.
Name
Besides its Albanian name, Xarrë is also known as ( ) in Greek, and as in Aromanian. Other variants that are attested are Xarë, Qarë, and Zara.
History
Traces of human presence in Xarrë can be found in the late period of the Middle Paleolithic era (40,000-30,000 years ago). Double axes of the Mycenaean Greek type, that date from the late Bronze Age (1400-1100 BC) have been found in Xarrë. Those tools were found in wide distribution in the surrounding area: (Qeparo, Butrint, Sarande and Lleshan) and throughout the Aegean Sea, among other items of everyday use which have been classified as belonging to Mycenaean culture. Xarrë has been attested in historical documents and maps since the 18th century, appearing as the first Ottoman position beyond the delimitations of Butrint, which at that time was a Venetian possetion. All the Orthodox inhabitants of Xarrë claim to be descendants of families that came from a nearby village which doesn't exist anymore. This earlier village, which seems to have been abandoned during the late period of Albania under the Ottoman Empire (18th to 19th centuries), is attested in 18th-century maps with the name Zaropoula, while the locals refer to it as Palaeospitia (Greek for 'Old Houses'). Since that time, Xarrë has experienced a coexistence between Muslims and Orthodox families, though more Muslims arrived in the village with the immigrations of the Cham Albanians. Chams are said to have built in the lower parts of the village mosques in huts, the remains of which, however, did not survive.
References
Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1374444303 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.