Albania · 6th century
Petrelë Castle (Albanian: Kalaja e Petrelës) is a castle in Petrelë, central Albania. Its history dates back to the 6th century, when it was built by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. Petrelë Castle is 329 metres (1,079 ft) above sea level.
It is one of the tourist locations close to Tirana that attracts a great number of visitors. In the castle, the prominent wooden structure is a restaurant, perched on a rocky hill, above the village with the same name. It has a triangular shape with two observation towers. Although it was first built in ancient times, the present building dates from the 15th century.
The Petrela Castle was part of the signaling and defense system of Krujë Castle. The castles signaled to each other by means of fires. During Skanderbeg’s fight against the Ottomans, the Petrela Castle used to be under the command of Mamica Kastrioti, Skanderbeg's sister. Today there is a restaurant inside the castle. The castle site has views of the Erzen valley, the hills, olive groves, and surrounding mountains.
Text adapted from “Petrelë Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Petrelë Fortress ranks #2,004 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #10 of the 27 mapped in Albania. Founded c. 550, it is older than 96% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 39 atlas entries founded in the 6th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,531 times in the last 60 days, more than 62% of the atlas. 4 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Tirana, 9 km away. See how Albania compares in the castle statistics.
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