Durrës

Sister cities

• Pristina
• Thessaloniki
• Brindisi
• Andria
• Bari
• Istanbul
• Prizren
• Ulcinj
• Marano di Napoli

History

The territory of Durrës was populated at least starting from the Eneolithic and then, from protohistoric times, it was inhabited by Illyrian peoples. Though surviving remains are minimal, Durrës is one of the oldest cities in Albania. In terms of mythology, the genealogy of the foundation of Dyrrhachium includes among the founders Illyrian men (the Illyrian king Epidamnos and his grandson Dyrrachos), Greek men (the Corinthian Falio, descendant of Heracles), heroes (Heracles who was given part of the lands) and gods (Poseidon, as father of Dyrrachos). Several ancient people held the site: the presence of the Brygi appears to be confirmed by several ancient writers, the Illyrian Taulantii (their arrival has been estimated to have happened not later than the 10th century BC), probably the Liburni who expanded southwards in the 9th century BC. The city was founded by Greek colonists in 627 BC on the coast of the Taulantii. According to ancient authors, the Greek colonists helped the Taulantii to expel Liburnians and mixed with the local population establishing the Greek element to the port. After 323 BC Epidamnus-Dyrrhachium was involved in the intervention in Illyria of the Macedonians under Cassander, who clashed with the Illyrians under Glaukias. In 314 BC the Macedonian king seized the city but the garrison he established there was in turn besieged and driven out by the Illyrian king and the Corcyrans. In 312 BC, after another unsuccessful attack of Cassander in the region, the city came under the protection of Glaukias. Those events marked the end of Macedonian presence on the Adriatic coast for almost one century. The city probably came under the control of Pyrrhus of Epirus at the beginning of the 3rd century BC. The fact that their coins were struck in the city…

Geography

Durrës is located on the Bay of Durrës on a flat alluvial plain between the river mouths of Erzen and the Ishëm along the Adriatic Sea within the Mediterranean Sea. The municipality of Durrës is encompassed in the County of Durrës within the Northern Region of Albania and consists of the adjacent administrative units of Ishëm, Katund i Ri, Manëz, Rrashbull, Sukth and Durrës as its seat. It stretches from the mouth of Ishëm River at the Cape of Rodon in the north across the Bay of Lalzi to the Shkëmbi i Kavajës in the south. Its climate is influenced by its proximity to the Adriatic Sea in the Mediterranean Sea and the hills in the Western Lowlands in the hinterlands. The mean monthly temperature ranges between in winter to in summer. The highest temperature of was recorded on 14 August 1957. The lowest temperature of was registered on 26 January 1954. Weather Atlas (Daylight-UV) |source 2 =Climate data (Humidity), Weatherbase (dew point), Weather2visit (sunshine) }}

Most-observed species

• banded dye-murex

  Hexaplex trunculus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Gastropoda
  156
• Fig

  Ficus carica L. · Magnoliopsida
  146
• Garden Snail

  Cornu aspersum (O.F.Müller, 1774) · Gastropoda
  142
• Crested Lark

  Galerida cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  123
• Conus ventricosus Gmelin, 1791

  Conus ventricosus Gmelin, 1791 · Gastropoda
  117
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  111
• clam

  Venus verrucosa Linnaeus, 1758 · Bivalvia
  100
• Marbled Crab

  Pachygrapsus marmoratus (Fabricius, 1787) · Malacostraca
  92

Most recent

• M 4.2 — 2026-02-24
  3 km SSW of Lushnjë, Albania
• M 4.3 — 2025-10-19
  16 km SE of Ballsh, Albania
• M 4.4 — 2025-06-27
  7 km WNW of Vorë, Albania
• M 4.2 — 2025-06-24
  8 km N of Shijak, Albania
• M 4.3 — 2025-01-24
  14 km SE of Ulcinj, Montenegro
• M 3.8 — 2024-12-17
  11 km NNW of Bulqizë, Albania