Korca is one of the most important towns of Southern Albania. It has been one of the cultural and trade centers of this area for many years. It was one of the main centers of Albanian renaissance, which created a sense of national identity and ultimately paved the way to Albanian independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1912. It is also the town where the first Albanian language school was opened in 1887, which has been turned into a museum and can be visited to this day.
Situated on a vast plane 850 m above sea level surrounded by mountains, Korca has a continental dry climate with cold winters and hot dry summers. It snows every winter which makes it an ideal town for winter sports.
As a centre of culture and trade it has charming villas with beautiful gardens testament to this past. It is also full of ancient ruins, especially important are those closed to Maliq with discovered sites of the Neolithic period. The town has also a rich mixture of religious monuments, with beautiful orthodox churches mainly found, in the little town of Voskopoje half an hour drive from Korca, as well as Islamic ones the most important being the Mosque of Iliaz Bej Mirahorit build in 1469, one of the oldest in Albania.
Voskopoja became one of the most developed and prosperous cities in the European part of the Ottoman Empire between the 17 and 18th century. Testament to this are the first Printing House in the Balkans in 1720, the Academia of Voskopoja founded in 1744, the famous Basilicas, the painted house walls by the famous Albanian painters including David Selenica and the Zeografi brothers.
Things to see: Museum of Medieval Art, the Archeological Museum, the Orthodox Cathedral, the Mosque of Iljaz Bej Mirahorit and the Education Museum.