Durrës Castle () is the fortified old city of

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 is enclosed by

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with to ...

built in the late 5th century, and repaired and reinforced in the Middle Ages and early modern periods.

History

The castle was built by the

Byzantine Emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Anastasius I (r. 491–518), a native of Durrës (ancient Dyrrhachium), who was born into an Illyro-Roman family. At the time, Anastasius made the city one of the most fortified cities on the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Se ...

. During this time a second, smaller castle was built 7km north of Durrës, modern day "Porto Romano" (The Roman's Gate). The ancient walls were devastated in an earthquake in 1273, and had to be extensively repaired. After the Venetians seized Durrës in 1392 from Gjergj Thopia, they set to improve the castles already impressive fortifications, reinforcing it with several guard towers. The walls are quoted as early as the 11th century by Byzantine princess and historian

Anna Komnene Anna Komnene (; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine Greek historian. She is the author of the '' Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Her work constit ...

in her Alexiad as having been so thick, that "four horsemen could ride abreast on top of them". The castle remained under Venetian sovereignty until 1501, when Durrës fell to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, which would end up holding the city until 1912. During Ottoman Rule, the walls were again reinforced. Currently the medieval walls stand at nearly in height and the three entrances of some of the fortification towers are preserved in nearly one-third of the original length of the city walls. On 7 April 1939, Albanian patriots fought the

Italian invasion of Albania The Italian invasion of Albania was a brief military campaign which was launched by Fascist Italy, Italy against Albanian Kingdom (1928–1939), Albania in 1939. The conflict was a result of the imperialistic policies of the Italian prime m ...

. In Durrës, a force of only 360 Albanians, mostly gendarmes and townspeople, led by Abaz Kupi, the commander of the

gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...

in Durrës, and Mujo Ulqinaku, a marine official, tried to halt the Italian advance. Armed only with small arms and three machine guns, they succeeded in keeping the Italians at bay for several hours until a large number of

light tank A light tank is a Tank classification, tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller with thinner vehicle armour, armor and a less powerful tank gun, main gun, tailored for ...

s disembarked from the latter's naval vessels. After that, resistance diminished and within five hours the Italian forces had captured the entire city.

Modern

In February 2022 it was announced that The Durrës Castle would begin Restoration on the Main Durrës Tower by the EU4Culture Group In Albania. This Restoration project is presumed to take 6 Months to Complete and the cost of investment for the project is 675,000 Euros. This Project will Conserve and Upgrade the Infrastructure of the Tower and will add a new digital and classic interpretation of the tower and many other things that will go beyond just a regular Infrastructure Repair. This Restoration will turn the Durrës Tower into the first heritage interpretation center in Albania.

Gallery

File:07Durres01.jpg, Durrës Ancient City Wall Entrance File:Durrës city wall.jpg, Durrës city wall in 2009 File:Torra Veneciane.jpg, Venetian tower File:Sheshi Liria, Durrës, Shqipëri 14.jpg, Liria Square

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durres Castle Buildings and structures completed in the 5th century Castles in Albania Byzantine military architecture Buildings and structures in Durrës Tourist attractions in Durrës County Roman fortifications in Macedonia City walls 5th-century fortifications

History

Modern

Gallery

See also

References