City history
Vlore is a historic coastal city in Albania, renowned for its strategic maritime position and its pivotal role in the nation's independence.
Chapter one
Earliest documented name
"Bay or Inlet"
The city's earliest documented name is Avlona, which is believed to derive from the Greek word for a bay, reflecting its geography.
Bay
Commonly used during the Byzantine and Greek periods to describe the coastal inlet.
Vlora
The contemporary Albanian name used for the city and its surrounding prefecture.
Chapter two
Following the formal establishment of the modern Albanian state, the region began transitioning its local timekeeping toward Central European standards.
The adoption of daylight saving time allowed the city to synchronize its seasonal schedules with the broader European economic and social cycles.
Chapter three
Vlore was the site where the Declaration of Independence was signed on November 28, 1912, establishing the modern sovereign state.
Significant expansion of the maritime port facilities during the mid-20th century improved Vlore's capacity to handle regional trade and naval activities.
The city played a vital role in the political shifts that brought democratic governance to Albania during the early 1990s.