Abdyl, Naim and Sami Frashëri were leading figures of the 19th-century Albanian National Renaissance: Abdyl as a political leader of the League of Prizren, Naim as the national poet and Sami as a writer and scholar. Their family home is now the Frashëri Brothers House-Museum, displaying documents, photographs and personal belongings, with statues of the three brothers outside. Opening can be irregular, so it is worth asking in the village. The name Frashër itself means ‘ash tree’ in Albanian.
Just south of the village, through the forest, stands the Bektashi tekke of Frashër. Founded in 1781, it became a centre of Albanian patriotism in the late 19th century, when leaders of the national movement met here. Destroyed in 1914, it was rebuilt with help from Albanian emigrants in the United States and remains a place of pilgrimage. The surrounding meadows and fir woods invite gentle walks in the cool mountain air.
A visit to Frashër combines Albania’s national story with magnificent mountain scenery.
