Prezë Fortress

The Prezë Castle (Albanian: Kalaja e Prezës) is a medieval castle in Prezë, Albania. The mosque inside the castle, built in the 1500s, is one of the oldest mosques in Albania.

Preza Castle was built by the Byzantine emperor Justinian the Great 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 resistance against the Ottoman Empire led by Skanderbeg.

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.

Text adapted from “Prezë Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Prezë Fortress ranks #4,494 of 8,133 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #20 of the 27 mapped in Albania. Founded c. 555, it is older than 96% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 34 atlas entries founded in the 6th century. 7 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Tirana, 17 km away. See how Albania compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗