Misplaced Pages

Fortress of Bashtovë

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
(Redirected from Bashtova Castle)
Fortress of Bashtovë
Kalaja e Bashtovës
Vilë-Ballaj, Tirana County in Albania
Fortress of Bashtovë is located in AlbaniaFortress of BashtovëFortress of Bashtovë
Coordinates41°02′49″N 19°29′47″E / 41.0469°N 19.4965°E / 41.0469; 19.4965
TypeFortress
Site information
Owner Albania
Controlled by Byzantine Empire
Principality of Albania
Republic of Venice
 Ottoman Empire
 Albania
Open to
the public		Yes
Site history
Built6th or 15th Century

The Fortress of Bashtovë (Albanian: Kalaja e Bashtovës) is a medieval quadrangular fortress located close to the outflow of the Shkumbin River into the Adriatic Sea in central Albania. It is part of the tentative list of Albania in order to qualify for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.

The fortress is built on a fertile flat ground east of the mouth of the Shkumbin River. The ruins are located some 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the village of Vilë-Ballaj in Tirana County. By air, it is 36 kilometres (22 miles) north of Fier, 20 kilometres (12 miles) northwest of Lushnjë, 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) south of Kavajë and 40 kilometres (25 miles) southwest of Tirana.

History

View from inside of the castle

Previously in the Middle Ages, the region of Bashtovë was known as a trade harbor and otherwise centre for the export of grains. The origin of the fortress has been for some time a matter of dispute among historians. The initial fortress was constructed during the time when the region was part of the Venetian Empire as according to Gjerak Karaiskaj. However, Alain Ducellier has asserted that the Venetians have built over an existing former structure, which dates back to the 6th century, when the area was under the Byzantine Empire during the Justinian dynasty.

Bashtovë castle on a 1976 stamp

The fortress is a rectangular structure oriented to the north-south direction. There are three entrances, from which there still are well-preserved archaeological traces they were placed at the northern, western and eastern walls. The walls are 9 metres (30 ft) high and comprise a roughly 60 by 90 metres (200 by 300 ft) interior. In the north and east, there stands round towers each of them 12 metres (39 ft) high.

In recent years, interventions have been proposed for the fortress's rehabilitation.

See also

References

  1. "The Castle of Bashtova". whc.unesco.org.
  2. James Pettifer (2001). Albania & Kosovo – Blue Guide. London: A & C Black. ISBN 0713650168.
  3. "Kalaja e Bashtovës, Kavajë". mtkrs.gov.al (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 2 November 2013.
  4. Karaiskaj, Gjerak. "Kështjella e Bashtovës, pages 5-6". Monumentet. Archived from the original on 2013-11-02.
  5. Oliver Gilkes (2013). Albanian – An Archaeological Guide. London: I. B. Tauris. pp. 64–66. ISBN 9781780760698.
  6. "Castle of Bashtova". Eu4Culture. 2024-07-11. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
Topics related to Fortress of Bashtovë
World Heritage Sites in Albania
Flag of Albania
Flag of Albania
with Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine
This is the extension of the site that has been inscribed in North Macedonia since 1979. The area around the town of Pogradec at the shores of Lake Ohrid was inhabited by the Illyrians in the 5th century BC, followed by the Romans and the Slavs. Traces of the Roman road Via Egnatia are evidence of an important passage route in the region. The ruins of the paleo-christian church of Lin together with its floor mosaics reveal the presence of Christianity. The historical centre of Pogradec represents an example of 19th to 20th century Albanian vernacular architecture.
Albania Castles in Albania
Northern Albania
Central Albania
Southern Albania
See also
List of castles in Albania
Categories: