The Church of Saint Nicholas (), former Selimije Mosque (

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

: ''Xhamia e Selimies''), or Church-Mosque of Lezhë (''Kisha-Xhami'') is a ruined historic church where the remains of

Skanderbeg Gjergj Kastrioti (17 January 1468), commonly known as Skanderbeg, was an Albanians, Albanian Albanian nobility, feudal lord and military commander who led Skanderbeg's rebellion, a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in what is today Albania, ...

are said to be preserved in

Lezhë Lezhë (, sq-definite, Lezha) is a List of cities and towns in Albania, city in the Republic of Albania and seat of Lezhë County and Lezhë Municipality. It is one of Albania's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously i ...

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 is now used as Skanderbeg's Mausoleum.

History

Originally, the building was a church, named after

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

. A fresco of the saint is still present in the remains of the church, although heavily damaged. The Church was located in the interior part of an Illyrian City which was later reconstructed by the Romans, in the 1st century BC. Evidence for this is the "Gaviarius" ''(Gaviarivs)'' Stone in front of the entrance, which was unearthed during the Archaeological Excavations in 1975-1980 by Frano Prendi and Koço Zheku. When the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks () were a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group in Anatolia. Originally from Central Asia, they migrated to Anatolia in the 13th century and founded the Ottoman Empire, in which they remained socio-politically dominant for the e ...

conquered Albania, the church got plundered, and they turned it into a mosque by adding a

dikka A ''dikka'' or ''dakka'' (), also known in Turkish as a ''müezzin mahfili'', is a raised platform or tribune in a mosque from which the Quran is recited and where the muezzin chants or repeats in response to the imam's prayers. It is also used ...

, a

mihrab ''Mihrab'' (, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "''qibla'' wall". ...

and a large

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

. The mosque was named after the Ottoman Sultan

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

. The trouble that Skanderbeg caused to the Ottoman Empire's military forces was such that when the Ottomans found the grave of

in the St. Nicolas they opened it and made

amulets An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a pers ...

of his bones, believing that these would confer bravery on the wearer. The St. Nicolas' Church was rebuilt by the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

elsewhere in return as a gesture of tolerance towards Christians. The Selimiye mosque was one of the last buildings from the Middle Ages in Lezhë and did not survive during the dictatorship of

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanian communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of People's Socialist Republic of Albania, Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was the Secretary (titl ...

, who destroyed all mosques in Lezhë. The

of the Selimie mosque was torn down. In 1981, the Skanderbeg Mausoleum opened here.

Restoration

The

Mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

underwent restoration with a project that started in 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selimie Mosque Cultural Monuments of Albania Buildings and structures in Lezhë Churches converted from mosques Mosques converted from churches in Albania Buildings and structures demolished in 1979 Mosques destroyed by communists Tourist attractions in Lezhë County