Top 10 Castles in Albania

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Top 10 Castles

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Krujë Castle is located in the north-central city of Krujë. about 12 miles north of the Albanian capital of Tirana. The city is small and can be walked. Buses and taxis can be caught from Tirana to Krujë. The bus to Krujë departs from the bus station serving the northern religion on Dritan Hoxha Street. The castle is considered to be among the most epic medieval castles in Europe.

The first construction on the site of Krujë Castle likely dates to the early Middle Ages. By the Albanian Revolt of 1432-1436, it was in control of the Ottoman Empire. Within the decade, Krujë Castle became the centre of Skanderbeg’s rebellion against the Ottomans. Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbej, known as Skanderbeg ‘the dragon of Albania’, was educated as a hostage in the Ottoman court.

Krujë Castle is one of the most visited historical sites in Albania.

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The Lëkurësi Castle in Albania is also known as Kalaja e Lëkurësit in Albanian, this historical castle has an interesting history. Located on a steep hill that strategically overlooks the town of Saranda, the castle was built in 1537 by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.

Its strategic position on a hill of about 300 meters in height as well as its panoramic views of Saranda, the Butrint Lagoon, and even the island of Corfu, make this destination a tourist favorite. Not to mention that, inside the fortress, you will find one of the best-known bars and restaurants in Saranda which also offers the most beautiful view of the sunset.

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The origins of Berat Castle go back more than 2,000 years. The earliest records mentioning it date from 200 B.C. and talk about its destruction by the Romans. Several centuries later, the walls were reinforced to protect them against barbarian attacks. The Castle of Berat underwent several more renovations over the following centuries, and the current structure dates mainly from the 1200s.

This magnificent stronghold is one of the most striking castles in Albania, boasting more than 20 watchtowers and massive stone walls. It’s the star attraction in the town of Berat, offering great views of the surrounding landscape and an insight into the history of Albania. However, one of the most remarkable things about this Albania castle is that people still live inside its walls. Inside the Berat Castle, you’ll find many shops and restaurants, houses and churches, bars and bazaars.

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Gjirokaster Castle is one of the most significant in the Balkans. It is located on the hilltop overlooking the town, witnessing the history of the whole region beyond the centuries. The date for building the castle is still unclear. According to archaeologists, the place had been inhabited since the IV-V century.

The Castle of Gjirokaster dominates the city and surveys the strategically important path along the river valley. It is open to visitants and includes a military gallery highlighting captured artillery and memorabilia of the Communist revolution against German invasion, as well as a defeated United States Air Force plane to memorialize the Communist regime’s conflict against the “imperialist” Western pressures. The Castle of Gjirokaster is the most famous tourist attraction in Gjirokaster dominated the downtown from up the hill.

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Castle Durrës is an ancient fortress town in Durrës, Albania. The castle dates back to the 400s, during the rule of Anastasius I, the Byzantine Emperor who was raised in this region. he made Durrës one of the most fortified cities in the Adriatic.

In a 1273 earthquake damaged the ancient walls and they had to be extensively repaired. At this time the Venetian Tower was built, standing on top of the previous Byzantine Tower, at a height of 9 meters. The tower was named as such because Durrës was part of the Venetian Republic when it was built.

The Venetians also added other guard towers and the wall was also improved by the Ottoman Empire during their time ruling Albania. In 1939 the castle was the base for a collection of Albanian patriots attempting to delay the Italian army’s advance. Approximately 360 locals effectively held their ground before reinforced Italian forces arrived at the port and took the city.

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Porto Palermo Castle was built in the 19th century by Ali Pasha of Tepelena. Inscribed on a plague which went missing, it said “Ali Pasha of Tepelena built the castle in 1804 with the help of French military engineers”, Historians argue whether the castle was actually built by Ali Pasha.

In the ancient world, the bay of Porto Palermo has always been an important harbor which had to protect Himara. The entire castle with its many rooms with a triangular shape with three pentagonal towers at the corners, which were built out of limestone. The walls themselves are made of regularly set stone blocks. Inside the walls of the castle, several paintings are displayed, among which is one of Ali Pasha himself. On the ground floor is the prison, which was centrally located and oriented towards the sea. A stone stairway will bring you to the terrace on top of the castle. There are five survey towers that have gun loopholes covered with domes. From the castle terrace, you have amazing views over the Ionian Sea, the rocky coastline, and the mountains.

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Built during Antiquity, enduring the Roman and Ottoman empires, and remaining intact up to the present day, Rozafa Castle has witnessed the dramatic changes of tide over the course of Albania’s fascinating history. The castle comprises of three main courtyards, making it easily navigable. Once you enter the fortified 15th-century main entrance, you come to a first courtyard, where the 4th-century tract of the Illyrian wall, the oldest structure in the castle grounds, is found. Along the first courtyard, you’ll also find medieval ruins of cisterns, the towers of the Balshaj, and the former Venetian residences.

In the second courtyard are the ruins of the Church of St. Stephen, which is now a mosque, and is certainly deserving some special attention. Originally the church was built in the romantic style commonly found between the 13th and 15th centuries and was later transformed into the Sultan Mehmet Fatih Mosque during the reign of the Ottoman Empire, between the 16th and 19th centuries. During this time, the Catholic population abandoned the castle, as the space came to be used as a military base.

Today, the ruins of this church-mosque, which was ultimately abandoned in 1865, symbolize the passage of history that ran through Albania. The third and final courtyard of the castle holds a three-story Venetian building, known as the “Capitol”, which served as the residence of the Venetian ruler. The views from high up at the castle offer a beautiful view of the Lake of Shkodra, as well as the city’s rivers and expansive mountain ranges.

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The Fortress of Bashtovë is a medieval quadrangular fortress located on a fertile flat ground east of the mouth of the Shkumbin River. Bashtova Castle is located near the village of Vilë-Bashtovë, north of the Shkumbin River. It is thought to have been built towards the end of the 15th century, with its western wing reconstructed in the 18th century. As a result of its proximity to the Adriatic Coast, a spectacularly green landscape surrounds this majestic castle. Venetians used this singular structure as a popular trading center. Subsequently, the Ottoman powers turned into a functional port. Due to this, the castle displays a gorgeous interweaving of both Venetian and Ottoman architectural styles.

Build on a vast field near the Shkumbin River valley, the castle has a rectangular shape. Its walls reach approximately 9 meters in height! Originally, it was most probably a two-story structure with an underground first floor and had a total of seven towers. However, only three of these towers remain, two circular and one rectangular one, as well as the original entrance of the castle. The objects found inside the castle are preserved at the National Museum of History, located in Tirana.

A spectacular national park surrounds Bashtova Castle, making it an ideal destination for the lovers of the outdoors! The sheer variety of natural sites here is another element that adds to the unquestionable charm of this place. Both the popular Spille and Grethi beaches are located within a kilometer of the castle. Shkumbin River is also less than 500 meters away. As such, the hiking, swimming, or fishing opportunities here are limitless!

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Rodoni Castle stands on the Cape of Rodon. After their victory against the Ottoman Empire at Krujë the Lezhë League decided to add additional fortifications to the country. Skanderbeg selected Rodon’s cape as the site for the castle and work started in 1450. The walls of the fortress, which were built around 1452, are 400 meters long.

When the Siege of Krujë ended in 1466, Skanderbeg fled to Rodoni Castle. It was from here that he fled by ship to Brindisi. The castle was thought to be destroyed in 1467 by Ottoman forces. The castle was restored by the Republic of Venice in 1500.

Some of the foundations are now under the Adriatic seas, as a consequence of the corrosive motion of the sea waves.

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Foreign travelers in the ‘800s noted that cities like Elbasan no longer existed in Europe. Indeed, this is a rare town! Skampis, as this fortress-town was once called, was founded in 1466 by two strikingly different leaders: the Roman emperor Justinian and Sultan Mehmet the Second. The two-thousand-year-old Castle of Elbasan, a Roman construction built as early as the 3rd century B.C., once surrounded the entire city, which stretched over an area of approximately 10 hectares.

After it was nearly entirely destroyed during the wars of the 4th and 5th centuries, the castle walls were erected once more by Justinian in order to be used as a military shelter as well as to oversee the famous Via Egnatia, the main road which stretched across major cities of the Roman Empire. Later, during the Ottoman Empire, Mehmet the Second intended to use this castle as the base of his military operations against Skanderbeg, the national Albanian hero who fought to gain Albania’s independence from the Ottoman Empire. Instead, the castle swiftly became the center of Albanian nationalism.

The Castle of Elbasan also honors the prominent figures in the progress of Albanian language and culture such as Kostantin Kristoforidhi, who gave Albanians their first elementary school textbook in Albanian and the first Albanian translation of the Old Testament, as well as the founders of the Albanian Academy of Sciences. A walk through the rest of the castle reveals an astounding variation of beautiful architecture: Ottomanstyle houses, typical of central Albania, Italian-style flats of the 19th and 20th centuries, and communist as well as post-communist era buildings. Through destructions and reconstructions throughout centuries, this castle has somehow retained all the epochs, emperors, stories, cultures, and religions that have dwelled inside its walls!

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