The city used to be the site of one of the most terrible prisons of the communist regime, where both ordinary criminals and political prisoners such as Bashkim Shehu and Fatos Lubonja or the Catholic priest Dom Simon Jubani were held.
Kaupungissa oli yksi kommunistihallinnon hirveimmistä vankiloista, jossa oli tavallisia rikollisia sekä poliittisia vankeja kuten Bashkim Shehu, Fatos Lubonja tai katolisen kirkon pappi Dom Simon Jubani.