Koplik

42.21361111111119.43638888888962Koordinaten: 42 ° 13 ' N, 19 ° 26' O

Koplik ( Albanian: Kopliku ) is a small town in northern Albania with 3734 inhabitants ( 2011 census ). Local authorities, however, indicate a much higher number of 11,275 inhabitants ( 2011). Koplik is the capital of the circle Malësia e Madhe with a simple infrastructure to supply the population with consumer goods as well as in the areas of health and education.

The city is located east of Shkodrasees in a wide, fertile plain. Around 17 km south lies Shkodra, the largest city of northern Albania. Up to the Montenegrin border is on the road about 15 km. East of Koplik rise the North Albanian Alps.

Koplik was founded by the Romans and was then called Cinna. The local population converted during the long period when Albania was part of the Ottoman Empire, completely to Islam, while the rural population of the Malësia remained Catholic. After the collapse of the communist regime in Albania in 1991, a large rural exodus began from the mountains. Many settled in Shkodra and Koplik. The Neuzuzügler also built the first Catholic church in Koplik since the 18th century.

A monument in the city center is reminiscent of a battle in 1920 - by the Albanians Lufta e Koplikut ( Koplik's War) called - against the Montenegrins and Serbs who had occupied northern Albania after World War II. 1945, there was an uprising against the communists, which is why the city has been neglected in the decades of government power.

During the UN embargo on Yugoslavia in the 1990s Koplik benefited from smuggling across the Shkodrasee into neighboring Montenegro. Just fuel was then smuggled in large quantities. After the collapse of the pyramid companies in 1997 Koplik remained in economic stagnation and many residents - especially young men - left the place.

Koplik is located on one of the most important compounds of Albania with foreign countries. The road from Shkodra through the town to the border station of Han i Hotit and further into the Montenegrin capital Podgorica is expanded at the time. Even the mid-1980s built railway line from Shkodra to Podgorica the Hekurudha e Shqipërisë is now back in operation, was after the majority of the tracks illegally dismantled in the 1990s and sold as scrap metal. However, currently only freight transport takes place.