Description of the attraction
The Lead Mosque is one of the most significant monumental cultural monuments in Shkodra. Among the numerous buildings built in the city by order of various rulers, the mosque is the only building that has an exact date of construction - 1773. This is confirmed by a plaque installed on the main door of the temple, with inscriptions engraved in Albanian. The inscription reads: "1187 is the date of the construction of the Great Mosque of Mehmet Pasha, the benefactor", and below: "1280 is the date of the renovation of the mosque." These two dates in the Islamic calendar correspond to the years 1773 and 1863.
The peculiarity of this mosque is the use of liquid lead as a binder solution between the elements. In addition, it is multi-domed and there is not a single minaret in it, which is a complete deviation from the standards for the construction of religious buildings of Muslim architecture. From the 18th century and over the next centuries, the building was repeatedly vandalized, and the domes made of lead were looted more than once. The mosque withstood even the massive destruction during the communist regime.
For natural reasons (soft floating soils), the building sinks into the ground and is now several levels lower than it was originally built.
The historical building is a 10-minute walk from Shkoder, and you can also get to the mosque by car.
