Cepo
Administrative unit in Gjirokastër, Albania
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Çepo is a municipal administrative units, formerly known as communes in the Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Gjirokastër.[2] The municipal unit administrative center is Palokastër village and it consists on 10 other villages which are: Fushëbardhë, Zhulat, Taroninë, Mashkullorë, Çepun, Kodër, Plesat, Kardhiq, Prongji and Humelicë.[3]
Çepo | |
|---|---|
.svg)  Çepo | |
| Coordinates: 40°7′N 20°5′E | |
| Country |  Albania |
| County | Gjirokastër |
| Municipality | Gjirokastër |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 1,727 |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal Code | 6009[1] |
History
In 1185 the seat of the Orthodox bishopric of Dryinopolis was moved to Çepo until 1395 when it was transferred to Argyrokastron (modern Gjirokastër).[4] In medieval times, Zhulat was the home of Papa Zhuli, as well as Fushëbardhë, he was a Catholic priest who is credited for the Kanun of Labëria.[5][6][7] He moved there from this region.
Demographics
The population at the 2011 census was 1,727, while in the civil registers of the same year the population had a total of 6,702 inhabitants. In 2018, referring to the same civil registry, the population had a slight decline, counting a total population of 6,224.[8][9] The ethnic population of Çepo is Albanian, the Albanians of Çepo speak the Tosk dialect of the Albanian language. Historically speaking, Çepo had a mixed Muslim and Christian (Orthodox) population, with greater numbers of Muslims. Humelica was inhabited by a historically Christian population, Fushëbardhë and Zhulat were inhabited by historically Muslim populations, and much of the rest of the commune is of mixed historical confession.[10] In the 2011 census, a plurality (44.72%) the population did not identify with one of Albania's four major denominations, while of the major four, Çepo had 42.79% Muslims, 9.44% Orthodox, 2.2% Bektashi, and 1.85% Catholic.[11]
