Lazarat

40.0520.15460Koordinaten: 40 ° 3 ' N, 20 ° 9' O

Lazarat ( Albanian: Lazarati ) is a Komuna in southern Albania, located in the district of Gjirokastra the same Qark (prefecture). The municipality borders south to the city of Gjirokastra, about 30 kilometers north of the border with Greece. In 2011, the Komuna had 2801 inhabitants.

The Komuna consists of the villages Lazarat and Kordhoca and is located on the western edge of the Drino level on the slopes of Mali i Gjere. The district Kordhoca still lies in the plane and is crossed by the National Road SH4. The village Lazarat is slightly raised and returned to the dissected by several streams foothills of Mali i Gjere. An Ottoman arch bridge made ​​of stone, the Ura e Kordhocës, crossed the Drin on the border of Gjirokastra.

As the only rural community southern Albania has not decreased since 1991 in Lazarat the population. The former cooperative in Kordhoca has become the place of residence. In contrast to the adjacent villages south of Dropull the place is not inhabited by the Greek-speaking minority.

The village, which is believed to have been founded in the 16th century and should be later been a colony of lepers grew after the World War II, when the Communists deported unwelcome families there. This was formed in the village a " dissident attitude ".

Lazarat is considered the center of cannabis production in Albania. The Italian Guardia di Finanza inquired of 2013, the acreage from the air. She estimates that the acreage amounts to about 300 acres per year and more than 1,000 tons of cannabis are produced. The village Lazarat beyond the control of the Albanian authorities. In addition, some services and traders who settled in Kordhoca along the national road.