Rozafa Castle

The Rozafa Castle is located in the southeast of Shkodër. The castle stands on a rocky hill at the entrance of the city, 130 m above sea level. It is surrounded by the Buna and Drin rivers, and has an area of about 9 ha. It is believed to have been built since antiquity, resisting through the centuries and standing proud to this day. Legend says that three brothers began building the fortress, but it was cursed by the gods, who destroyed their work every night. To allow the castle walls to stand, the gods demanded a sacrifice, which was unjustly decided to be Rozafa, the youngest bride of the household. Before being walled in alive, Rozafa asked that half of her body remain outside the wall so she could feed her baby. A carved sculpture of Rozafa’s figure is found within the wall at the entrance of the castle. Inside the castle walls there are three main courtyards: • After entering the barbican is the first courtyard, where lies the tract of the Illyrian wall from the 4th century BC, as the oldest evidence of the castle. Also along the first courtyard are the medieval ruins of cisterns, the Balsha towers, and Venetian houses. • In the second courtyard, near the surrounding walls in the northwest of the castle, are the ruins of a building that deserves special attention, the mosque of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror (16th–19th century). The ruins of the mosque were abandoned for good in 1865. In the same courtyard are also the ruins of the Ottoman prison, the barracks of the ammunition depot dating around the 16th–17th centuries, as well as rectangular vault-covered storage rooms. • The castle ends in the third courtyard, where a three-story building from the Venetian period stands out, known as the “Captaincy,” which served as the residence of the Venetian ruler. Today, this building houses the Museum of Shkodër Castle, which tells of the castle’s 4000-year history as well as the most important medieval stages and families of the city of Shkodër. Throughout the castle there are wonderful views of Lake Shkodër, the rivers, and the many surrounding mountains, and in its southwest, in the third courtyard, one can observe as a spectacle the meeting point of the Drin, Kir, and Buna rivers as they intertwine together. Rozafa is the origin of an ancient and legendary city. Everything begins with a legend, everything continues as in a legend.