The Royal Palace of Durrës, sometimes known as the '' Konak'' of Durrës (), was a royal palace of the

Principality of Albania The Principality of Albania () was a monarchy from 1914 to 1925. It was headed by Wilhelm, Prince of Albania, and located in modern Albania in the Balkans, Balkan region of Europe. The Ottoman Empire owned the land until the First Balkan Wa ...

situated in

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. It previously served as the chief

official residence An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...

of Wilhelm, Prince of Albania, and his wife, Princess Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg. It has been used by different Albanian governments for various purposes.

History

Royal Residence

This royal residence had been the seat of the Ottoman prefect ('' mutasarriflik'') of Durrës. The three floors of the building with an interior courtyard contained thirty-five rooms. Its facade was around 50 metres wide. Prince Wilhelm of Wied arrived in Albania at his capital of Durrës on 7 March 1914, along with the Royal Family. Wilhelm, who reigned as 'Vilhelm, Prince of Albania', moved into the building five months later and used it as his palace for his six month reign, when furnishing and a modest bevy of servants were brought from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. The palace was raided after the departure of Prince Wilhelm by Muslim rebels and Haxhi Qamili.

1918 Bombardment

On 2 October 1918, the palace, along with the entire city of

, was bombarded on the orders

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Dominique-Marie Gauchet of the

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

during the Battle of Durrës. The order was executed by

The Marchese di Revel of the '' Regia Marina'' aboard the ''

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

''. Admiral Gauchet had followed the instructions of

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Louis Franchet d'Espèrey Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

, who was serving the

Macedonian front The Macedonian front, also known as the Salonica front (after Thessaloniki), was a military theatre of World War I formed as a result of an attempt by the Allied Powers to aid Serbia, in the autumn of 1915, against the combined attack of Germa ...

on account of the Allies, and according to whom, the Port of Durres, if not destroyed, would have served the evacuation of the Bulgarian and German armies involved in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The earthquake of 1926 further destroyed the palace and, by 1930, there were no longer any remains.

2010 Excavation and removal

The foundations of the first royal palace of Albania were excavated in the 2010s, and subsequently demolished in 2019 to make place for a new veil-like square named "Veliera". File: Dmma01.jpg , The city of Dürres with the palace on the left File: Durres Royal Palace.jpg , The royal palace in the 1910s File: Oorlogen, burgeroorlogen,opstanden, SFA022823577.jpg , Prince Vilhelm speaking from the balcony File: Dmme02.jpg , The prince and princess in front of the palace File: Konak of Durrës (postcard).jpg , The palace on a postcard File: Oorlogen, burgeroorlogen, vorsten, SFA022823593.jpg , The palace after the bombardment

References

Literature

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Palace Of Albania Buildings and structures in Durrës Albania in World War I Modern history of Albania Palaces in Albania Royal residences in Albania Former palaces Demolished buildings and structures in Albania Buildings and structures demolished in 1918 1920s disestablishments in Albania Buildings and structures destroyed by earthquakes Buildings and structures destroyed by war Durres