Romanian concession in Sarandë
The Romanian concession in Sarandë was a territory in the Albanian town of Sarandë administered by Romania between 13 August 1934 and 7 April 1939.
The territory, with a coastline on the Adriatic, was awarded in 1934 by King Zog of Albania to the Romanian historian and politician Nicolae Iorga, in recognition for the latter's entire scholarly activity on Albanian history.
On 13 August 1934, Iorga donated half of this territory to the Romanian State, thus granting Romania an overseas territory and a coast on the Adriatic.
Within the concession, a Romanian Institute was founded in 1937. The building of the Institute was designed by the Romanian architect Petre Antonescu. The Institute functioned between 1937 and 1940, then again between 1942 and 1944.
The concession was acquired by Romania through soft power, and thus elements of the Romanian Armed Forces were never deployed to the area. The territory was ultimately conquered by Italy, along with all of Albania, in April 1939.
