Pukë


Pukë is a town and municipality in northern Albania. It was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Gjegjan, Pukë, Qelëz, Qerret and Rrapë, that became municipal units. The seat of the municipality is the town Pukë. The total population is 11,069, in a total area of 505.83 km2. The population of the former municipality at the 2011 census was 3,607. The local football club is called KS Tërbuni Pukë.
At 838 metres above sea level, the town is one of the highest in elevation in Albania and a well-known ski area. It is 150 km from Albania's capital, Tirana.

History

In the 20th century, Pukë was expanded as a military base and a centre of Catholic education. The distinguished Albanian poet Migjeni worked there from 1936 to 1937. The school where he worked as a teacher is a tourist attraction. The town is surrounded by a 400-hectare massif covered with pine trees. Since the end of the communist era, there has been a spread of disease in the pines caused by pine processionary moths, whose nests are conspicuous.

Anthropology

The settlement is inhabited by the tribe of Puka, itself one of the "seven tribes of Puka". According to tradition, collected by in the mid-19th century, the settlement of Puka had been founded by a Paolo Zenta, who according to Marin Barletius was a relative of Lekë Dukagjini.
The region also has its own Kanun, a set of traditional Albanian laws and is known as Kanuni i Pukës and used mainly in Northern Albania and Kosovo.
The toponym may derive from Latin via publica as it was located on an old trade route.

Economy

The hotel standing in the town square has been upgraded and now boasts a microbrewery producing Puka Beer, which is a lager in draught form.

Mayors

Notable people