Lezhë
City in Albania / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lezhë (Albanian: [ˈlɛˈʒə], Albanian definite form: Lezha) 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,[2] with roughly 2,400 years of recorded history.
Lezhë | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 41°46′55″N 19°38′40″E | |
Country | Albania |
County | Lezhë |
Settled | 4th century BC |
Government | |
• Mayor | Pjerin Ndreu[1] (PS) |
Area | |
• Municipality | 509.1 km2 (196.6 sq mi) |
Population (2011) | |
• Municipality | 65,633 |
• Municipality density | 130/km2 (330/sq mi) |
• Municipal unit | 15,510 |
Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
Postal Code | 4500 |
Area Code | (0)215 |
Website | lezha |
One of the main strongholds of the Labeatai,[3] the earliest of the fortification walls of Lezhë are of typical Illyrian construction and are dated to the late 4th century BC.[4] Lezhë was one of the main centres of the Illyrian kingdom.[5] During the conflicts with Macedon, it was captured by Philip V becoming the Macedonian outlet to the Adriatic Sea.[6] The city was later recovered by the Illyrians. It was subjected to Rome after the Roman-Illyrian wars and the fall of Gentius' realm.[5] Lezhë was the site of the League of Lezhë where Skanderbeg united the Albanian lords in the fight against the Ottoman Empire.