Çarçovë

Çarçovë (also Çarshovë) is a village, a municipal unit and a former municipality in the Gjirokastër County, southern Albania.

Çarçovë Τσαρτσόβα Ciarshova
Municipal unit
Çarçovë
Coordinates: 40°7′N 20°32′E
Country	Albania
County	Gjirokastër
Municipality	Përmet
Population  (2011)
• Total	918
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)

Name

In Greek, the village is known as Τσαρτσόβα (Tsartsova) or Κεράσοβο/Kerasovo.^[1] In Aromanian, it is known as Ciarshova.

Demographics

The population of the former municipality at the 2011 census was 918.^[2] The total number of registered citizens of Çarçovë is 2.969 as of 2019.^[3] At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Përmet.^[4] The municipal unit consists of the villages Çarçovë, Vllaho-Psilloterë, Biovizhdë, Zhepë, Draçovë, Iliar-Munushtir, Strëmbec, Pëllumbar and Kanikol.^[5] The town of Çarçovë also has Greek and Aromanian communities.^[1] Two villages in the former municipality of Çarçovë^[6][7] are predominantly Greek speaking, in particular: Biovizhdë (Greek: Βαλοβίστα) and Vllaho-Psilloterë (Greek: Βλάχο-Υψηλοτέρα).^[8] In Biovizhdë there is a significant Aromanian minority population. Their presence was originally temporary, related to their transhumant lifestyle, before becoming permanent in the village.^[9] According to a 2014 report by the Albanian government, there were 245 ethnic Greeks in Vllaho-Psillotere and 200 in Biovizhde in the total number of registered citizens.^[10] Some Biovizhdë Aromanians have migrated to Albanian cities.^[9] In Vllaho-Psilloterë, three Muslim Albanian families used to live there with a single member from one family still remaining in the early 2010s.^[8] Some Greek speakers also exist in the nearby villages of Zhepë (Greek: Ζέπο) and Draçovë (Greek: Δράκοβο).^[7] The destroyed village of Mesarë located on the Albanian-Greek border was inhabited by Muslim Albanians.^[8]

Notable people

• Hasan Tahsin Pasha, An Albanian Pasha from the now ruined village of Mesarë.