Korçë
As of the Köppen climate classification, Korçë
Korçë  winter maximum.[73] Temperatures generally
(pronounced [ˈkɔɾtʃə]; definite Albanian form: K
orça) is the eighth most populous city of
the Republic of Albania and the seat
of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality.
The total population is 75,994 (2011
census),[2] in a total area of
806 km2 (311 sq mi).[3] It stands on a plateau
some 850 m (2,789 ft) above sea level,
surrounded by the Morava Mountains.
The area of the Old Bazaar,
including Mirahori Mosque, is considered
as the urban core of the city. Founded by a
local Ottoman Albanian lord, Ilias Bey
Mirahori, the urban area of Korçë dates
back to the late 15th century and the
beginning of the 16th century, however its
actual physiognomy was realized in the
19th century, during a period that
corresponds with the rapid growth and
development of the city. The Old Bazaar
has played a dominant role in Albania's
market history.[4] Korçë is the largest city of
eastern Albania and an important cultural
and industrial centre.
Communist Albania
View of the Resurrection Cathedral at night.
Italian forces occupied Korçë in 1939, along with
the rest of the country. During the Greco-Italian
War it became the main forward base of the
Italian air force. Nevertheless, the city came
under the control of the advancing Greek forces,
on November 22, 1940, during the first phase of
the Greek counter-offensive.[69] Korçë remained
under Greek control until the German invasion of
Greece in April 1941. After Italy's withdrawal from
the war in 1943, the Germans occupied the town
until October 24, 1944.
During the occupation, the city became a major
centre of Communist-led resistance to
the Axis occupation of Albania. The establishment
of the Albanian Party of Labour—
the Communist Party—was formally proclaimed in
Korçë in 1941. Albanian rule was restored in 1944
following the withdrawal of German forces.[citation
needed]
Right after World War II many people fled
to Boston, United States joining a community of
the Albanian-Americans, who had previously
emigrated there.
Climate
falls under the periphery of the warm-summer
Mediterranean climate (Csb) zone with an
average annual temperature of 10.4 °C (50.7 °F).
[73]
 The warmest month of Korçë is August with an
average temperature of 21.3 °C (70.3 °F).[73] By
contrast, the coldest month is January with an
average temperature of −0.8 °C (30.6 °F).
[73]
 Korçë receives around 766.7 mm (30.19 in)
annual precipitation with summer minimum and
remain cooler than western Albania, due to the
middle altitude of the plain in which it is situated,
but it receives about 2800 hours of solar radiation
per year.[73]
Infrastructure
Education
The city is home to Fan Noli University, founded
in 1971, which offers several degrees in the
humanities, sciences and business. The
university includes a school in Agriculture,
Teaching, Business, Nursing, and Tourism.
With the prohibition of Greek education in the city,
at c. 1922, there was a constant demand for the
reopening a Greek school.[78] After the collapse of
the Socialist Republic, part of the local
communities expressed a growing need to revive
their cultural past, in particular with the reopening
of Greek language institutions.[21] In April 2005 the
first bilingual Greek-Albanian school opened in
Korçë after 60 years of prohibition of Greek
education.[79] In addition, a total of 17 Greek
language tutoring centres function in the city.
[21]
 Students of the local Greek minority attend
either private Greek institutions or Albanian public
schools.[80]
[81]

Culture
A shaggy carpet with hook designs from Korçë, 1970[97]
Korçë is known as southern Albania's intellectual
capital[98] and is also regarded as the Albanian
cultural metropolis.[99] The city and its surrounding
area are culturally distinct of all the regions in the
Albanian ethnographic regions and maintain a
rich variety of traditional and urban music.[100]
Korçë being one of the important cultural and
economic centers in the country is known for its
low houses and villas, paved with cobblestone.
[101]
 It is the home of the largest carnival in Albania
that takes place before Orthodox Easter, a
tradition dating back 40 years.[102] Musically, the
city is known for the local songs, called serenata.
Organised by the Korçë municipality, the annual
summer Lakror Festival (Albanian: Festa e
Lakrorit) celebrating Lakror, the regional Albanian
pie is held in Korçë or sometimes in a village of
the wider area which is attended by locals and
tourists.[103][104]
Korçë
The city is the birth place of Albania's first women
to work as professional painters, Androniqi Zengo
Antoniu and Sofia Zengo Papadhimitri, whose
father Vangjel Zengo was a notable icon painter.
[105][106]
Historically, Korçë is known as an origin for
handmade rugs with its unique motifs and
symbols.
Museums
Bifora with a relief of the aerial flight of Alexander the
Great, National Museum of Medieval Art.
Korçë is referred to as the city of museums. The
city hosts two major museums such as
the National Museum of Medieval
Art and National Museum of Archeology.
The National Museum of Medieval Art has rich
archives of about 7000 icons and 500 other
objects in textile, stone and metal. The first
Albanian School as well as the residence and
gallery of painter Vangjush Mio function as
museums. The Bratko Museum and the Oriental Worked by
Museum are also located in the city.
xhuliano trebicka
Korçë has a city theatre, the Andon Zako Çajupi
Theatre, which started its shows in 1950 and has
been working uninterruptedly since.[