555-Year-Old Albanian Warrior's Name May Grace Worcester Street

WORCESTER, MA — A 200-year-old Worcester business magnate may soon cross paths with a 555-year-old Albanian war hero.

City councilors Donna Colorio and Etel Haxhiaj have asked the city to honorarily name Salisbury Street after Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeu, a 15th Century Albanian prince who defended his home country against the Ottoman Empire.

The honorary street naming would also celebrate the hub of Worcester's Albanian community, St. Mary’s Albanian Orthodox Church, which is set to celebrate its 40th anniversary this year. The church's biannual Albanian festival — the largest of its kind in the U.S. — will also observe its 40th anniversary in June.

Colorio and Haxhiaj are both of Albanian descent. Haxhiaj came to the U.S. in 2001 during a time of political turmoil in the country and ended up at Clark University in Worcester, which has one of the largest Albanian communities in the nation numbering about 20,000.

Skenderbeu began his life as a member of the Albanian royal family, but was taken hostage in his teen years by the Turks. After fighting in the Ottoman army, he left to fight for his birth country.

"During the defeat of the Ottoman Turks at Nis, in Serbia, Skenderbeu abandoned the Turkish military and joined his Albanian countrymen against the forces of the Ottoman Empire. He re-embraced Christianity, reclaimed his family possessions, and in 1444 organized a league of Albanian prices, over which he was appointed commander in chief," according to a short history of Skenderbeu's works.

Skenderbeu's capture by the Turks coincides very slightly with a key moment in Stephen Salisbury's life. According to the Worcester Historical Museum, Salisbury "reluctantly moved to Worcester from Boston" at the insistence of his brother, Samuel. The Salisbury family is credited with helping transform Worcester from a farming community to a hub of business, trade and industry in the region.

The Skenderbeu street naming would be honorary only. Salisbury Street would remain the official street name. The honorary name would span Park Avenue to the Holden town line.