- Type
- Fortress
- Coordinates
- 41.5070°, 19.7941°
History
The stronghold on a rocky ridge above Albania's coastal plain probably dates from the early Middle Ages, and in the late 12th century Krujë was the centre of the Principality of Arbanon, regarded as the first Albanian state. In 1443 George Kastrioti, known as Skanderbeg, took the fortress and made it the heart of his revolt against the Ottomans. Its garrison beat off three great sieges – by Sultan Murad II's army in 1450 and by the forces of Mehmed II in 1466 and 1467. Only in 1478, ten years after Skanderbeg's death, did the starving defenders surrender. Under Ottoman rule a town with a bazaar, mosques and a dervish lodge grew up below the castle.
What to see
Inside the walls stands the Skanderbeg Museum, opened in 1982 in a building styled on a medieval castle, with weapons, documents and a copy of the hero's goat-crested helmet. Nearby are an ethnographic museum in the 18th-century house of the Toptani family, a clock tower, the ruins of a Turkish bath and a Bektashi tekke. The way to the gate leads up the winding cobbled lane of the old bazaar, lined with craft stalls.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q1409023
Popularity: articles about this site in 20 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).