Vrakë is a village in Shkodër District

Shkodër District

The District of Shkodër is one of the thirty-six districts of Albania, part of Shkodër County. It has a population of 185,646 , and an area of 1,973 km². It is in the north of the country, and its capital is Shkodër...

 in Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

. The village is located on the shore of Lake Scutari

Lake Scutari

Lake Skadar, also called Lake Scutari and Lake Shkodër is a lake on the border of Montenegro with Albania, the largest lake in the Balkan Peninsula. It is named after the city of Shkodra in northern Albania .- Geography :...

, some 7 km north of the city of Shkodër

Shkodër

Shkodër , is a city located on Lake of Shkoder in northwestern Albania in the District of Shkodër, of which it is the capital. It is one of the oldest and most historic towns in Albania, as well as an important cultural and economic centre. Shkodër's estimated population is 90,000; if the...

.

Montenegrin minority

The village of Vrakë and the surrounding area is most significant as centre of the Montenegrin national minority in Albania (They are listed together in the census). Estimates of population of Montenegrins in Vraka area vary from 1,000 to 2,000. They also inhabit surrounding villages of Gril (Grilj), Omaraj and Boriçi i Vogël (Mali Borič).

The Montenegrins in this area had retained their compactness as a national minority, their native language, culture, religion and traditions.
The association of Montenegrin minority, "Moraca-Rozafa", represents the interests of this minority in Shkodër.

History

Montenegrins and Serbs began migrating to Vraka in the late 17th century. From confirmed documents, one of the first families to inhabit the area of Vraka was in 1705 were the Đurčevići from the village of Momče in Kuči

KUCI

KUCI is a college radio station broadcasting a Variety format. Licensed to Irvine, California, USA, the station serves the Orange County area...

. A certain Jerko Đurčević was the only one from his clan in Vraka to convert to Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

. His descendants later became known as the Jerkovići, who are found in the village of Štoj, near Ulcinj

Ulcinj

Ulcinj is a coastal resort town and municipality in Montenegro. The town of Ulcinj has a population of 10,828 of which the majority are Albanians...

.

According to Jovan Erdeljanović, in his book "Stara Crna Gora", all descendants of Jovan Martinović, who has been mentioned since 1687, have emigrated to Vraka.

A period of immigration existed between 1925 and 1934. This wave marked the return of many Montenegrin families to Montenegro, leaving their homes in Vraka behind.

Vraka is known for having been the place where Millosh Gjergj Nikolla

Millosh Gjergj Nikolla

Millosh Gjergj Nikolla was an Albanian poet and writer. He is better known under his pen name Migjeni.-Life:...

was a teacher in the 1930s. It was in this period that the poet started to write prose sketches and verses.