A Moscopolean church built in 1721

Murals inside the church

Voskopojë, Voskopoja; Aromanian: Moscopole, Moscopolea; Greek: Μοσχόπολις, Moscopolis or Moschopolis; Serbian: Moskopolje) is a small village in south-eastern Albania. In the 18th century, it was a major Balkan city and cultural and commercial center of the Aromanians (Vlachs) having notably the first printing press in the Balkans, but it was razed in 1788 by Albanians. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (750x1000, 536 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Voskopoja ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (750x1000, 536 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Voskopoja ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (673x1000, 511 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Voskopoja ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (673x1000, 511 KB) File links The following pages link to this file: Voskopoja ... ... Aromanian shepherd in traditional clothes, photo from the early 1900s. ... White = Romanians Green = Istro-Romanians Yellow = Aromanians Orange = Megleno-Romanians Vlachs (also called Wlachs, Wallachs, Olahs) is a blanket term covering several distinct modern Latin people descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. ... The printing press is a mechanical device for printing many copies of a text on rectangular sheets of paper. ...

History

Although located in rather inhospitable place in the mountains between Greece and Albania, the city rose to became the most important center of the Aromanians. In its glory days (1760s) it is said that it had a population surpassing 60,000 and was the second city of the Balkans in population and prosperity, surpassed only by Istanbul; but this is questioned by Peyfuss. Events and Trends King George III ascends the British throne in 1760. ... The location of Istanbul Province Maiden Tower and Historical Peninsula of Istanbul Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul) (the former Constantinople, Greek: Κωνσταντινούπολις) is the largest city in Turkey, and arguably the most important. ...

The city is said to have been inhabited almost exclusively by Vlachs/Aromanians. An 1935 analysis of the family names shows that the majority of the population were indeed Vlachs. There were also some Greek, Bulgarian, and Albanian merchants, although according to the German historian Johann Thunmann who visited Moscopole and wrote in 1774 a history of the Aromanians, everyone in the city spoke Aromanian and that many also spoke Greek, which was the language used for commercial contracts. 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Toward the end of the 18th century it flourished due to commerce with Germany, Venice and Constantinople and it had various manufacturing plants, around 70 churches, banks, a printing press (the only other press of Ottoman Europe was in Istanbul) and even a university (The New Academy, or Hellênikon Frôntistêrion, founded in 1744). A cultural effervescence arose in Moscopole, and many authors published their works in both Greek language (which was the language of culture of the Balkans at the time) and Aromanian written in the Greek alphabet. In 1770, the first dictionary of four modern Balkan languages (Greek, Albanian, Vlach/Aromanian and Bulgarian) was published here. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Location within Italy Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venexia in the local dialect), the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice, 45°26′N 12°19′E, population 271,663 (census estimate January 1, 2004). ... Map of Constantinople. ... Greek (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA – Hellenic) is an Indo-European language with a documented history of 3,500 years. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Arvantovlaxika. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... 1770 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Arvantovlaxika. ...

The 1769 sacking and pillaging of the Ottomans was just the first one from a series of attacks, which culminated with the razing of 1788 by the Albanian troops of Ali Pasha. The survivors were thus forced to flee, most of them emigrating to Greece (where they returned to their ancestral occupation of animal husbandry), Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. Some of the commercial elite moved to Austria-Hungary, especially to the two capitals Vienna and Budapest, but also in Transylvania, where they had an important role in the early National awakening of Romania. 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Engraving of Ali Pasha Ali Pasha Tepelenë, commonly known as Ali Pasha, (1741 – January 24, 1822) was the military ruler (pasha) of a large area of the Ottoman Empires European territories. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]; Slovenian: Dunaj, Hungarian: Bécs, Czech: Vídeň, Slovak: Viedeň, Romany Vidnya; Croatian and Serbian: Beč) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... Nickname: Pearl of the Danubeor Queen of the Danube Motto: Official website: www. ... Transylvania (Romanian: Transilvania or Ardeal; Hungarian: Erdély; German: Siebenbürgen; see also other languages) forms the western and central parts of Romania. ... During the period of Austro-Hungarian rule in Transylvania and Ottoman suzerainty over Wallachia and Moldavia, most Romanians were in the situation of being second-class citizens (or even non-citizens) in their own country. ...

The city never rose to its earlier status and it was destroyed again in 1916 during World War I, and the remaining buildings were razed during the partisan warfare of World War II. Of the old city only five Orthodox churches survive and lay in ruin. In 2002, they were listed among the Top 100 Most Endangered Historical Sites by the World Monuments Fund. 1916 (MCMXVI) is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... Combatants Entente Powers Central Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties > 5 million military deaths > 3 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War I, also known as the First World War and (before 1939) the Great War, the War of the Nations, War to End All Wars was a world... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War II, also known as the Second World War (sometimes WW2 or WWII or World War Two), was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the... 2002 (MMII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic art and architecture worldwide through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and training. ...

Today Voskopoja is just a small mountain village in the Albanian District of Korçë. The glorious memories of the lost city of Moscopole still remain an important part in the culture of Vlachs. The District of Korçë (Albanian: Rrethi i Korçës), is one of the thirty-six districts of Albania. ...

Population

• 1750: 45,000
• 1788: 60,000
• 2000: 700

Events March 2 - Small earthquake in London, England April 4 - Small earthquake in Warrington, England August 23 - Small earthquake in Spalding, England September 30 - Small earthquake in Northampton, England November 16 – Westminster Bridge officially opened Jonas Hanway is the first Englishman to use an umbrella James Gray reveals her sex... 1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

Geography

Voskopoja is located at a distance of 21 km from Korçë, in the Mountains of south-eastern Albania, at an altitude of 1160 meters. Korçë (Albanian: Korçë or Korça, Greek: Κορυτσά, Korytsá, Italian: Corizza) is a major city in south-eastern Albania, located at 40°37′ N 20°46′ E near the border with Greece. ...

References

• Nicolas Trifon, Des Aroumains aux Tsintsares - Destinées Historiques Et Littéraires D’un Peuple Méconnu (in French)
• Asterios Koukoudis Studies on the Vlachs (in Greek and English)
• Românii din Albania - Aromânii (in Romanian)
• Steliu Lambru, Narrating National Utopia - The Case Moschopolis in the Aromanian National Discourse (in English)
• Robert Elsie, [1] (in English)
• Max Demeter Peyfuss, Die Druckerei von Moschopolis, 1731-1769: Buchdruck und Heiligenverehrung im Erzbistum Achrida, Vienna, 1989, ISBN 3205985710, reviewed in [2]. Includes not only a discussion of the printing press, but also of the city.