{{Use British English|date=May 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox Albanian settlement | name = Delvinë | other name = Δέλβινο | type = m | flag = | emblem = Stema e Bashkisë Delvinë.svg | image_skyline = Delvina2.jpg | image_caption = | map = | location = | county = Vlorë | parts = | settled = | incorporated = | dissolved = | party = PS | mayor = Besmir Veli | council chairman = | administrator = | coordinates = {{coord|39|57|N|20|6|E|type:adm1st_region:AL_dim:100000|display=it}} | elevation = 207 | area munic = 183.01 | area rank = | population as of = 2023 | population munic = 6166 | population unit = 4952 | population rank = | demonym = | postal code = 9704 | area code = (0)815 | website = {{URL|https://www.bashkiadelvine.gov.al/}} }}
'''Delvinë''' ({{Langx|sq|Delvinë}} or {{Lang|sq|Delvina}}, {{Langx|el|Δέλβινο|translit=Delvino}}) is a town and a municipality in Vlorë County, southern Albania, {{convert|16|km|0|abbr=off}} northeast of Sarandë. It was formed in the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Delvinë and Vergo, which became municipal units. The seat of the municipality is the town Delvinë.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vendime.al/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/137-2014.pdf |title=Law nr. 115/2014 |language=sq |pages=6376|access-date=25 February 2022}}</ref> The population of the municipal unit Delvinë at the 2023 census was 4,952 and of the municipality was 6,166.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.instat.gov.al/media/14325/cens-2023-vlora.pdf |title=Population and Housing Census, Vlorë 2023 |page=109 |access-date=8 November 2024 |publisher=INSTAT}}</ref>
The town is built on a mountain slope. It has a mosque, a Catholic church, a Protestant church, and an Orthodox church. Nearby are the remainders of a medieval castle.<ref>[http://www.albaniantourism.com/display/content/117?a=712&l=1 Finiq - Albanian Tourism - Official Website]</ref>
The town's population consists of a majority of Albanians and a substantial Greek minority. Other communities include Balkan Egyptians and until WWII, Jews. There is little local employment apart from that provided by the state, and Delvinë benefits little from the tourist boom in Sarandë.
== Etymology == The Albanian toponym ''Delvinë'' ({{lang-sq-definite|Delvina}}) is connected to the Albanian ''dele'', ''delmë'', meaning 'sheep'.<ref>{{cite book|last=Schütz|first=István|title=Fehér foltok a Balkánon|place=Budapest|publisher=Balassi Kiadó|year=2006|orig-year=2002|isbn=9635064721|language=hu|page=127|quote=A dalmata/delmata illír törzs, Dalmatia/Delmatia terület, Delminium/Dalmion illír város neve, továbbá a mai Delvinë és Delvinaqi földrajzi tájegység neve az albán dele (többese delme) ‘juh’, delmer ‘juhpásztor’ szavakhoz kapcsolódik. Strabon Delmion illír város nevéhez ezt az éretelmezést fűzi „...πεδιον μελωβοτον...”, azaz „juhokat tápláló síkság”.}}</ref> Linguist Xhelal Ylli translates ''Delvinë'' as 'white sheep'.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ylli|first=Xhelal|title=Das slavische Lehngut im Albanischen|publisher=Verlag Otto Sagner|year=1997|isbn=9783876906706|doi=10.3726/b12571|series=Slavistische Beitraege, 350|language=de|page=25|url=https://www.doabooks.org/doab?func=search&query=rid:29974|quote=Delvinë (,weißes Schaf‘)}}</ref> In Greek it is known as {{Lang|el|Δέλβινο}}, {{Lang|el-latn|Delvino}} and in Turkish as {{Lang|tr|Delvine}}.
== History == left|thumb|265px|Delvinë Castle Delvinë was ruled by the First Bulgarian Empire from the end of the 9th century to 1119, when it came under Norman control. In the 13th century, it belonged to the Despotate of Epirus. Serbian occupation followed, and in 1354 the noble Shpata family took over the town and castle.<ref name="ZLIK"/> In the late 14th century and early 15th century, Delvinë was ruled by Zenebishi family, whose last Delvinë ruler was Dep Zenebishi.<ref name="Buda">{{cite book|last1=Buda|first1=Aleks|title=Fjalori Enciklopedik Shqiptar|date=1985|publisher=Akademia e Shkencave|location=Tiranë|page=2985}}</ref><ref name="ZLIK"/> Evliya Çelebi claims in his writings that Delvinë was under Venetian control for some time, though this has not been proven. The Ottoman Empire temporarily took possession of the entire region in 1431 and definitively after 1492, when a garrison was placed in the castle.<ref name="ZLIK"/>
=== Ottoman period === left|thumb|265px|Orthodox church in Delvinë
The separate Sanjak of Delvina was established in 1537<ref>{{cite book|last=Delvina|first=Sherif|title=Low Albania (Epirus) and Cham issue|year=2006|publisher=Eurorilindja|quote=Afterwards, when the Sanjak of Delvina has been created (about the middle of XVI century),}}</ref> by Ayas Mehmed Pasha, the Albanian-born vizier of Suleiman the Magnificent who pacified the area, due to the need to secure Ottoman control in the region towards potential Venetian infiltration from nearby Butrint and to control the rebellious zone of Himara.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Konstantinos.|first1=Giakoumis|title=The monasteries of Jorgucat and Vanishte in Dropull and of Spelaio in Lunxheri as monuments and institutions during the Ottoman period in Albania (16th-19th centuries)|journal=EThOS (E-Theses Online Service)|date=2002|url=http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.390688|access-date=20 May 2018|publisher=University of Birmingham|quote=In order to combat Butrint, the last Venetian stronghold on Epirote soil, and to consolidate their control over the rebellious zone of Himarre, the Ottomans founded a separate sancak of Delvine|page=18|archive-date=16 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716134844/https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.390688|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ZLIK">{{cite book|last1=Zindel|first1=Christian|last2=Lippert|first2=Andreas|last3=Lahi|first3=Bashkim|last4=Kiel|first4=Machiel|title=Albanien: Ein Archäologie- und Kunstführer von der Steinzeit bis ins 19. Jahrhundert|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|year=2018|language=de|page=119}}</ref> The county town was Delvinë, yet during the 18th century the local Pasha moved the seat of the sanjak from Delvinë to Gjirokastër. The official name did not change, however, as it was also referred to as the Sanjak of Gjirokastër.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mikropoulos |title=Elevating and Safeguarding Culture Using Tools of the Information Society: Dusty traces of the Muslim culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=optXTg3ovBYC&q=moschopolis |year=2008|publisher=Earthlab|isbn=978-960-233-187-3|first=Tassos A.}}</ref> During the 16th-18th centuries period Delvinë underwent rapid economic and population growth, helped by the fertile lands around it and the trade route which connected the Ionian Sea with Gjirokastër and Ioannina.<ref name="Buda"/>
In an ecclesiastical entry of 1635, the ''Codex of the church of Delvinë'' written in Greek noted that the Muslim population had increased and dwelt in quarters inhabited by Orthodox Christians, had confiscated their churches and converted them into mosques, thereby forcing the non-Islamized Christians to move to other quarters of the town.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rathberger|first=Hrsg. von Oliver-Jens Schmitt. Red.: Andreas|title=Religion und Kultur im albanischsprachigen Südosteuropa|year=2010|publisher=Lang|location=Frankfurt am Main|isbn=978-3-631-60295-9|pages=85|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aCdYHU9PtiIC&q=bamichas&pg=PA85|edition=1., Aufl.}}</ref> The Turkish traveller Evliya Çelebi visited Delvinë around 1670 and gave information about the city in his travel book. He reported that in the Middle Ages Delvinë was in the hands of the Spanish and later the Venetians.<ref>Dankoff, Robert, & Robert Elsie (2000). ''Evliya Çelebi in Albania and Adjacent Regions: Kossovo, Montenegro, Ohrid''. Brill. p. 59.</ref> In his own time, Ajaz Mehmet Pasha – a native Albanian – governed the Sanjak-bey of Delvinë.<ref name="Dankoff 2000. p. 59">Dankoff & Elsie. ''Evliya Çelebi in Albania and Adjacent Regions''. 2000. p. 59.</ref> The sanjak covered 24 zeamets and 155 timars.<ref name="Dankoff 2000. p. 59"/> There was a Turkish garrison, whose command on the castle was from Delvinë.<ref name="Dankoff 2000. p. 59"/> According to the description of Çelebi, the small fortress had a good cistern, an ammunition depot and a small mosque.<ref name="Dankoff 2000. p. 59"/> In the city there were about 100 brick-built houses.<ref name="Dankoff 2000. p. 61">Dankoff & Elsie. ''Evliya Çelebi in Albania and Adjacent Regions''. 2000. p. 61.</ref> These stood relatively far apart and nearly every house had a tower.<ref name="Dankoff 2000. p. 61"/> He noted that a town wall was missing.<ref name="Dankoff 2000. p. 61"/> There were several mosques, three medreses and about 80 stores, as well as an open marketplace.<ref>Dankoff & Elsie. ''Evliya Çelebi in Albania and Adjacent Regions''. 2000. p. 59, 61.</ref> Çelebi also observed that during this time, all the inhabitants of Delvinë spoke the Albanian language while having no knowledge of the Greek language.<ref>Dankoff & Elsie. ''Evliya Çelebi in Albania and Adjacent Regions''. 2000. p. 61. "The inhabitants all speak Albanian and do not know Greek."</ref>
In an ecclesiastical entry of 1730, the ''Codex of the church of Delvinë'' noted that some of the Christian Greek clergy had linguistic difficulties in administrating their congregations, as there were Christian villagers living within the region of Delvinë who were Albanian-speaking.<ref>Xhufi, Pëllumb (2006). ''Dilemat e Arbërit[Arbëria's Dilemma]''. Pegi. pp. 464-465. "Gjurmët e kësaj politike “informale” të realizuar nën hijen dhe nën mbrojtjen e Portës së Lartë, i gjejmë edhe një shënim të harruar të Kodikut të Delvinës të vitit 1730, i cili tregon se si peshkopi grek Genadhi e braktisi detyrën e bariut të të krishterëve të atyre trevave, “pasi nuk mund të duronte që banorët e tyre të flisnin gjuhën shqipe”. ''[Th. Bamichas, Kodiks tou naou tes poleos Delvinous, në: “Epeirotika Chronika” 5 (1930), f. 60 e vijim.]''"</ref> The local diaspora in Venice as part of the Venetian Greek community's Brotherhood of Saint Nicholas financially supported various initiatives for the expansion of Greek education in the 18th century.<ref name=Kusserow/> Thus, in two instances in 1713 and 1749, Spyros Stratis and Spyridon Rizos respectively, notable members of the local diaspora in Venice, financially supported the expansion of the local Greek education system, as well as donating vast sums of money to local Orthodox monasteries and churches.<ref name=Kusserow>{{cite journal|last1=Apostolidis-Kusserow|first1=Karin|title=Nationalbewegungen auf dem Balkan|journal=Die Griechische Nationalbewegung [The Greek National Movement]|date=1983|volume=5|pages=79–80|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bXCEh1C4oMC&q=delvino+rizos|access-date=20 June 2015|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|language=de|issn=0170-1533|quote=In diesem Zusammenhang ware als nur ein Beispiel die "Griechische Bruderschaft St. Nikolaus... Delvino und Joannina finanziert... Der Kaufmann Spyridon Rizos... 200 Dukaten zur Verfugung.|isbn=9783447022385}}</ref><ref>Koltsida, Athina Antonios (2007). ''[http://www.didaktorika.gr/eadd/handle/10442/23579 Educational in Northern Epirus during the late Ottoman Empire: The founding, organization and operation of Greek schools].'' Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. p. 291. "Ο Δελβινιώτης ευεργέτης Σπύρος Στράτης συνέταξε το 1713 τη διαθήκη του στη Βενετία... χρηματοδότηση με αντίστοιχα ποσά σε εκκλησίες και σε μονές περιοχών του Δελβίνου, καθώς και στη μισθοδοσία εφημερίων."</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Cavaciocchi|first1=a cura di Simonetta|title=La famiglia nell'economia europea, secc. XIII-XVIII : atti della "quarantesima Settimana di studi," 6-10 Aprile 2008 = The economic role of the family in the European economy from the 13th to the 18th centuries|date=2009|publisher=Firenze University Press|location=Firenze|isbn=9788884539106|page=432|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WsyHfHzeP_8C&pg=PA432|quote=S. Rizos, from Delvino in Epirus (1749)... left money to 15 monasteries and churches in and around the place of his birth}}</ref> In the 18th century control over Delvina was disputed between the Koka and Delvina clans, until the town was seized by Ali Pashë Tepelena in 1784. Delvinë was taken over by Albanian rebels in 1833 causing the Ottoman government to comply to the rebel requests.<ref>{{cite book|last=Pollo|first=Stefanaq|title=Historia e Shqipërisë: Vitet 30 të shek. XIX-1912|year=1984|publisher=Akademia e Shkencave e RPS të Shqipërisë, Insituti i Historisë|language=Albanian|oclc=165705732}}</ref><ref name="ZLIK"/>
Some Ottoman inscriptions have been preserved in Delvina. They are written mainly on tombstones, and some graffiti also appear in the porch of the Gjin Aleksi Mosque. They consist of simple verses and invocations made by the pilgrims who visited this important centre. Delvina hosted dervishes of the Halveti order, which was spread towards Albania by Helvacı Yakub Efendi around 1530. In the Xhermahalle section of Delvina a Bektashi tekke can be found. Monuments like the citadel, the mosque, the Halveti tekke, the Bektashi tekke, and the hamam, indicate Delvina's great importance in the Ottoman period. {{sfn|Tütüncü|2015|p=176}}
In 1847, when an Albanian revolt broke out, 500 revolutionaries led by Zenel Gjoleka took over Delvinë. In 1878 a Greek revolt broke out, with a unit of 700 revolutionaries, mostly Epirotes from the Ionian Islands, taking control of Sarandë and occupied Delvinë. However, it was suppressed by the Ottoman troops, who burned 20 villages of the region.<ref>M. V. Sakellariou. [https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&tbo=1&hl=el&q=On+the+night+of+11+February%2C+a+force+of+some+700+volunteers%2C+mostly+Epirotes+living+in+the+Ionian+Islands%2C+captured+Hagioi+Saranta+and+occupied+the+province+of+Delvino.&btnG=%CE%91%CE%BD%CE%B1%CE%B6%CE%AE%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%83%CE%B7+%CE%92%CE%B9%CE%B2%CE%BB%CE%AF%CF%89%CE%BD#sclient=psy&hl=el&tbo=1&tbs=bks:1&q=%22On+the+night+of+11+February%2C+a+force+of+some+700+volunteers%2C+mostly+Epirotes+living+in+the+Ionian+Islands%2C+captured+Hagioi+Saranta+and+occupied+the+province+of+Delvino.%22%2B+%22On+24+February+he+attacked+the+revolutionaries+and+broke+up+their+formation%2C+inflicting+heavy+casualties+upon+them.+The+disaster+had+consequences+for+the+non-combatant+population:+20+villages+in+the+Delvino+province+were+burned+down%2C%22&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&fp=10d77ef139c10d6e Epirus, 4000 years of Greek history and civilization]. Ekdotike Athenon. {{ISBN|978-960-213-371-2}}, p. 292.</ref> In the same year, the local branch of the League of Prizren was founded.<ref name="Buda"/> In 1875 a Greek female school was founded.<ref>M. V. Sakellariou. [https://books.google.com/books?id=UV1oAAAAMAAJ&q=1861-62 Epirus, 4000 years of Greek history and civilization]. Ekdotike Athenon, 1997. {{ISBN|978-960-213-371-2}}, p. 308</ref> In the late 19th century, Delvinë had reached a population of around 7,500 people, and had 400 shops and workshops.<ref name="Buda"/> In September 1912, the Greek Band of Ioannis Poutetsis was defeated by Albanian groups and a Turkish detachment in the vicinity of Delvinë, and Poutetsis was killed.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Σακελλαρίου|first=Μιχαήλ Β|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UV1oAAAAMAAJ&q=poutetsis|title=Ηπειρος: 4000 χρόνια ελληνικής ιστορίας και πολιτισμού|date=1997|publisher=Ekdotike Athenon|isbn=978-960-213-371-2|page=361|language=en}}</ref>
=== Modern period === [[File:Sulejman Delvina statue.jpg|left|thumb|265px|Statue of Sulejman Delvina, fifth Prime Minister of Albania]] In the early 20th century a {{Lang|sq|çetë}} (armed band) consisting of 200 activists of the Albanian National Awakening was formed in Delvinë.<ref name="Skendi1967">{{cite book|last=Skendi|first=Stavro|title=The Albanian national awakening, 1878-1912|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qmm4AAAAIAAJ&q=kurvelesh|access-date=24 April 2011|year=1967|publisher=Princeton University Press|page=421|isbn=9780691650029}}</ref> During the Balkan Wars and the subsequent Ottoman defeat, the Greek Army entered the city on 3 March 1913.<ref>{{cite book|last=Veremis|first=John S. Koliopoulos & Thanos M.|title=Modern Greece: a history since 1821|year=2010|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|location=Malden, MA|isbn=978-1-4051-8681-0|pages=73|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qumwwKbI0TQC&q=delvino|edition=1. publ.}}</ref> In June 1914 the town hosted the constituent assembly of the representatives of Northern Epirus that discussed and finally approved the Protocol of Corfu, on 26 July 1914.<ref>Kondis Basil. [https://books.google.com/books?id=tEloAAAAMAAJ&q=%22the+constituent+assembly++approved+the+agreement+on+July+26%2C+1914%22 Greece and Albania, 1908-1914]. Institute for Balkan Studies, 1976, p. 132: "Throughout the period of the constituent assembly which convoked at Delvino to discuss the Corfu agreement... the constituent assembly approved the agreement on July 26, 1914."</ref> Delvinë then became part of the short-lived Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CGxpAAAAMAAJ |title=Ελληνισμός της Βορείου Ηπείρου και Ελληνοαλβανικές σχέσεις |date=1995 |publisher=Alexander S. Onassis Foundation |editor-last=Kontis |editor-first=Vasileios |volume=1 |page=67 |isbn=9789600506266 |language=el |quote=Εκτός ἀπό τό ̓Αργυρόκαστρο, ἡ Αὐτόνομη Βόρεια Ηπειρος περιλάμβανε τίς πόλεις Χειμάρρα, Δέλβινο, ̔Αγίους Σαράντα καί Πρεμετή.}}</ref> Soon after the Balkan Wars and during the World War I much of Delvinë was burned out by Greek brigands.{{sfn|Tütüncü|2015|p=176}} After World War I, Greek guerrillas led by Georgios Christakis-Zografos harassed the Albanian inhabitants and destroyed a large number of Ottoman monuments.<ref name="ZLIK"/> In 15 May 1937, an anti-monarchist revolt led by Ethem Toto started in Delvinë and spread in the wider region, though it was quickly crushed by the government of King Zog I.<ref name="Buda"/> In World War II, in the initial stage of the Greco-Italian War (1940–1941) the Greek forces of the 3rd division marched Delvinë and took Sarandë in southern Albania.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Carr |first1=John |title=The Defence and Fall of Greece, 1940–41 |date=2013 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=978-1-4738-2830-8 |page=57 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sZX9AwAAQBAJ |language=en |quote=On 5 December the Greek 3rd Division marched Delvina and took Sarande, Albania's southermoust port, a stone-built town on a bushy slope overlooking the north coast of Corfu.}}</ref>
The first Communist Party cell for the Sarandë District was founded in Delvinë in January 1942.<ref name="Buda"/> After the fall of the Communist system in 1991, the town declined in both population and economic importance.<ref name="ZLIK"/>
== Demography == In the early 19th century during the rule of Ali Pasha, British diplomat William Martin Leake arrived in town on 24 December 1804. According to him, the town had an Albanian Muslim majority who had eight or ten small mosques. The Greeks occupied the eastern suburbs called Láka and consisted of about thirty families, ten of whom had the surname Kanáki.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Martin Leake|first=William|date=December 1835|title=Travels in Northern Greece (Vol.1)|url=https://anemi.lib.uoc.gr/metadata/5/a/b/metadata-01-0000438.tkl|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325182434/http://anemi.lib.uoc.gr/metadata/5/a/b/metadata-01-0000438.tkl|archive-date=25 March 2015|access-date=|website=|location=London|page=18}}</ref> The town has a majority population of Albanians alongside communities of Greeks and Balkan Egyptians.<ref name="Kallivretakis">{{cite book |last= Kallivretakis |first= Leonidas |editor-last= Veremis |editor-first= Thanos | url= http://helios-eie.ekt.gr/EIE/handle/10442/8696|title= Ο Ελληνισμός της Αλβανίας [The Greeks of Albania] |publisher= University of Athens |date=1995 |pages=43, 54 |chapter= Η ελληνική κοινότητα της Αλβανίας υπό το πρίσμα της ιστορικής γεωγραφίας και δημογραφίας [The Greek Community of Albania in terms of historical geography and demography]|isbn= 9600800545 |quote= Ακόμη και εκεί που η ύπαιθρος είναι ελληνική ή ελληνίζουσα, οι πόλεις διαθέτουν αλβανική πλειοψηφία. Αυτό φαίνεται καθαρά στις περιπτώσεις Αργυροκάστρου και Δελβίνου, όπου οι Νομαρχίες πέρασαν στα χέρια της μειονότητας, όχι όμως και οι Δήμοι των αντιστοίχων πόλεων. (p.43)}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=De Soto |first1=Hermine |title=Roma and Egyptians in Albania: From Social Exclusion to Social Inclusion |date=2005 |publisher=World Bank Publications |isbn=0821361716 |page=235 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eLDiHsezD8EC}}</ref> According to the Human Rights Watch, Greeks constituted 50% of the town's population in 1989 (~4000 individuals), but this fell to 25% (500) in 1999.<ref>{{citation|last=Nußberger Angelika, Wolfgang Stoppel|title=Minderheitenschutz im östlichen Europa (Albanien)|year=2001|publisher=Universität Köln|language=de|url=http://www.uni-koeln.de/jur-fak/ostrecht/minderheitenschutz/Vortraege/Albanien/Albanien_Stoppel.pdf|location=p. 26|access-date=5 October 2011|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303193825/http://www.uni-koeln.de/jur-fak/ostrecht/minderheitenschutz/Vortraege/Albanien/Albanien_Stoppel.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> According to fieldwork by Kallivretakis (1995), the town had an Albanian majority and populations of Albanians (Muslims and Christians) and Greeks.<ref name="Kallivretakis"/> The villages Rusan, Vllahat, Bamatata, Kopaçezë, Varfaj were inhabited by Albanians. Greeks lived in two villages of the municipality, Lefterhor and Kakodhik, while Vlachs in one village Vana.<ref name="Kallivretakis"/>
The population of the city alone in the 2011 census was 5,754 and the total registered population of the same year was 14,218. With the administrative addition of Vergo in the municipal reform in 2015, the total resident population of Delvinë municipality was 7,598 and the total registered population was 18,074.<ref name="delvina">{{cite web |title=Njësitë administrative, qytetet dhe fshatrat |url=https://www.bashkiadelvine.gov.al/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Bashkia-Delvine.pdf |publisher=Bashkia Delvinë}}</ref><ref name="2011 Census, Vlore County">{{cite web |url=http://www.instat.gov.al/media/3070/12__vlore.pdf |title=Population and housing census - Vlorë 2011 |access-date=25 September 2019 |publisher=INSTAT }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Vlora's communes|url=http://www.observator.org.al/odf2/komunat_vlore-en.html|access-date=15 February 2021|website=www.observator.org.al}}</ref> Apart from Albanians, according to a 2014 report by the Albanian government, there were 2,300 Greeks in the number of total registered citizens in the municipality of Delvinë.<ref name="report">{{cite web |title=Fourth Report submitted by Albania pursuant to Article 25, paragraph 2 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities |url=https://rm.coe.int/16806befc5 |publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Albania |access-date=28 December 2018|page=98}}</ref>
According to the 2011 census, Albanians constituted approximately 66% of the total population, Greeks constituted approximately 6% of the total population, Roma 0,25%, with the remainder not being registered.<ref name=mashke/> In the 2011 census, Albanian was recorded as the mother tongue of ~95% of the population, ~4% Greek, 0.02% Macedonian<ref>{{cite web |title=Linguistic composition of Albania 2011 |url=http://pop-stat.mashke.org/albania-lang-comm2011.htm |website=pop-stat.mashke.org |access-date=9 March 2023}}</ref> During the procedure organisations of the Greek minority and Albanian nationalist parties called for a boycott.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2011/10/05/albania-population-census-stirs-calls-for-boycott/|publisher=BalkanInsight |title=Rightists and Greeks Denounce Albania Census |date=5 October 2011 }}</ref> Indeed the census results were affected by boycott by a significant number of the Greek community.<ref name=mashke>[http://pop-stat.mashke.org/albania-ethnic-comm2011.htm Ethnic composition: 2011 census]: "Delvine ..."Note: 1) The census was boycotted by significant number of Greeks."</ref> According to the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the 2011 census is unreliable, inaccurate, and incompatible with established standards for the protection of national minorities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014 |title=International Religious Freedom Report for 2014: Albania |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm?year=2014&dlid=238348 |website=United States Department of State |publisher=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor |quote=Ethnic Greek minority groups had encouraged their members to boycott the census, affecting measurements of the Greek ethnic minority and membership in the Greek Orthodox Church.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Demjaha |first1=Agon |last2=Sela |first2=Ylber |date=2018 |title=Inter-Ethnic Relations in Albania: The Causality Between Inter-Ethnic and Inter-State Relations |url=https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=729231 |journal=Revista de Științe Politice |issue=59 |pages=37, 39, 42 |quote=However, in the last minute, the Albanian authorities made amendments that introduced fines for incorrect responses to the questionnaire. According to these changes, a response not corresponding with the data contained in the civil registry would be considered as incorrect. Namely, according to article 20 of the Census law, anyone who would declare anything other than what was written in the civil registry might be risking a fine of up to 1,000 USD. OMONIA and Greek opposition parties heavily criticised such amendments and again called to boycott the census.{{nbsp}}... Although the census held in 2011 has for the first time since the fall of the communism contained questions on ethnic origin, it clearly failed to yield reliable data about the exact number of minorities in the country. On the one hand, the figures produced by the census were questioned by representatives of almost all minorities. On the other hand, the fact that some 14 percent of the population did not answer the question on ethnic origin is certainly quite troublesome.{{nbsp}}... The Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities also considered the 2011 census in Albania as unreliable, inaccurate, and incompatible with established standards for the protection of national minorities. |via=Central and Eastern European Online Library}}</ref> As of 2014, there are 134 students in the municipality of Delvinë who are enrolled in Greek-language education.<ref name="report"/>
Until the Second World War, a small Jewish community existed in Delvinë. It consisted of Jews from Spain who had come to Delvinë when under Ottoman rule and had close connections to the large Jewish community in Ioannina. After the war, nearly all the Jews emigrated to Israel.
== Notable people == * Abdyl bej Koka, Albanian bey and patriot of the mid-19th century * Avni bej Delvina, bej of the city, one of the signatories of the Albanian Declaration of Independence * Ayas Mehmed Pasha, 15th-century Albanian ''vezir'' of the Ottoman Empire * Ecumenical Patriarch Serapheim II of Constantinople, Albanian cleric and Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople * Hajrie Rondo, Albanian actress * Ismail Haki Tatzati, Albanian military commander and politician who served as Minister of War * Koço Qendro, Albanian actor * Laert Vasili, Greek-Albanian actor and director * Limoz Dizdari, Albanian composer * Sabri Godo, Albanian writer and politician * Sulejman Delvina, fifth Prime Minister of Albania * Themistoklis Bamichas, Greek politician and representative of Northern Epirus at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 * Xhorxhian Boçi, Albanian footballer
== See also == * Finiq * Vllahat
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Bibliography == * {{cite journal|last=Tütüncü|first=Mehmet|title=Corpus of Ottoman inscriptions in Southern Albania|editor=Giampiero Bellingeri, Giuseppina Turano|journal=Eurasiatica|volume=3|doi=10.14277/6969-048-8/EUR-3-11|isbn=978-88-6969-050-1|publisher=Ca' Foscari-Digital Publishing|year=2015|pages=155–187|doi-broken-date=6 July 2025 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2zaszgEACAAJ}}
== Further reading == * Themistoklis Bamichas (1930). "[http://www.kenef.phil.uoi.gr/pdf/31681/31681.pdf Codex of the Church of the city of Delvina] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030855/http://www.kenef.phil.uoi.gr/pdf/31681/31681.pdf |date=2016-03-04 }}". ''Ἠπειρωτικὰ Χρονικά, 5''. pp. 56–75. (Greek)
{{Municipalities of Albania}} {{Vlorë County}} {{Delvinë div}} {{Greeks in Albania}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delvine}} Category:Delvinë Category:Greek communities in Albania Category:Municipalities in Vlorë County Category:Administrative units of Delvinë Category:Towns in Albania Category:Epirus Category:Labëria