The settlement of Razëm is located on a plateau
above the village of Vrith, around 950 meters above sea level. It is surrounded
by impressive mountains. One of them is the mountain of Veleçik, whose peak is
at 1724 m. It has a distinct dome-like shape at its peak. Historically, the
plateau of Razëm has been used by local shepherds as summer pastures for their
livestock between May and October.
Razëm is known as the oldest tourist
destination in Albania. There were already private mountain resorts for rich
and influential merchants from Shkodra in the 1920s and 1930s. Its reputation among the
privileged members of the Shkodra merchant reached King Zog,
and he declared this area as a ‘touristic area’ in 1935. After the Second World
War, the communist regime confiscated the holiday houses in
Razma and established a public holiday camp for workers (kampi i punëtorëve) in
1953. It maintained its popularity until its abolishment in 1990s. After its
abolishment, Razëm flourished again as a private resort. In the earlier time, Razëm
was for a small number of elites, but now it has established itself as an
upper-class tourism area, where several luxurious hotels offer services to
incoming visitors. Unlike the classic tourism of the Albanian Alps, which
offers more adventurous experiences based on longer stay for middle-class
visitors, Razëm focus on weekend upper-class visitors and mass-tourism.