The Prezë Castle () is a medieval

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Prezë Prezë is a village and a former municipality in Tirana County, central 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 Ioni ...

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 ...

. Preza 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 ...

Justinian the Great Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized '' renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition w ...

in the 550s. The castle overlooks the village with the same name and is located on a hilltop. The castle was enlarged by a construction which started in the 14th century and was completed in the early 15th century and belonged to the Thopias, a local Albanian feudal family. During 1443-1468 it was one of the core strongholds of the

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 ...

resistance against 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 ...

led by

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, ...

. The castle has been declared a 'monument of culture'. It has four towers, one in each corner. The clock tower was erected around 1800–50. It is known for its beautiful location, overlooking the Tirana plain. The castle is quite close to the Mother Teresa International Airport. A restaurant named Kalaja E Prezës and other service facilities are found inside the castle.

See also