Krujë

Understand

350px|thumb|Kruje Castle, once headquarters of Skanderbeg, Albania's national hero

Krujë is a small city approximately 31 km (20 miles) north of the capital city of Tirana. The region has been populated since the 3rd century BC, and also home to the Alban tribe, from which Albania's name is derived.

Kruje was the de facto capital of Gjergj Kastrioti, AKA Skanderbeg, the national hero of Albania. Skanderbeg was the commander of the League of Lezhë, a military alliance organized against Ottoman dominance in 1444. Due to its elevation it was possible to signal other castles by using light/fire signs, leading to its role as a command center and fortress during Skanderbeg's twenty-five year resistance against Ottoman incursion. After Skanderbeg's death in 1468, Kruje remained an important stronghold. The Ottomans laid siege to Kruje four times, culminating in the fall of Kruje in 1478 when Sultan Mehmed II massacred and enslaved the surrendering garrison. However, the region was never fully depopulated, and the town regrew over time. In the early 20th century, Kruje remained a center of resistance to Ottoman rule, with major clashes occurring in 1906 and 1912. In the 1980s during the communist period, a museum was built on the ruins of Skanderbeg's castle, dedicated to him and his story.

Get around

Kruje is small enough to get around on foot very easily. The town is built on a mountainside, with the one-street bazaar at the centre, the renovated castle just above and to the south, and the more modern sections of town flowing down the mountainside to the north. Walking is by far the easiest way to get around the town, and it is easy to walk through town up to the hiking trails that wind up the mountainside to Sari Salltik's shrine.

See

350px|thumb|Kruje Ethnological Museum

Do

Enjoy the panoramic views of the Adriatic Sea from the castle. Leave your impressions at the Skanderbeg Museum Guestbook Go for a walk along the pedestrian street and take a peak at the many restaurants and souvenir shops alongside Visit the Sarisalltik Bektashi Temple at the top of Skanderbeg Mountain Take a deep breath of fresh air in the Shtam Pass (Qafe Shtame) National Park, where Queen Geraldine is said to have taken water from the source with the same name

Shop for souvenires, handicrafts and carpets in the historic 17th-century Old Bazaar. Hike in the National Park of Krujë with its waterfalls and springs.