Description of the attraction
The Rozafa Fortress was built in the 3rd century BC. on a rocky hill at the entrance to the city of Shkoder. The Rozafa fortress served as a defensive structure during the Byzantine period, and in the Middle Ages it was captured by the Slavs.
The name of the citadel is associated with the legend of the imprisonment of the beauty. Tradition says that during the Illyrian kingdom, three brothers erected walls several times, but they turned into ruins overnight. To stop the destruction, the brothers promised the higher powers to make a sacrifice, as which was chosen Rozafa, the wife of the youngest of them. The young woman was walled up alive in the foundation of the castle, but she was left free of a part of her body and her right hand to feed her newborn baby and rock the cradle.
The fort is located on steep mountain slopes and covers an area of 9 hectares. The building is made in the form of a polygon, which is traditional for ancient defensive architecture. The ruins of the walls have survived to this day, and some garrison premises, warehouses, and an administrative building have also remained in good condition. Inside one of the rooms there is a museum, which displays Illyrian coins, ceramics and objects related to the period of the Turkish occupation of the country.
The inner area is divided into three sections with walls and a gate between them. One small patio is at the highest part of the hill. The second courtyard occupies the central part. Inside there were four rectangular reservoirs of water, covered with vaults, from which water was supplied to a system of circular wells. There was also a warehouse, a prison and a church, later turned into a mosque.
The first courtyard is connected to the main entrance to the castle, which in 1407-1416. was thoroughly fortified with an external wall system with sharp turns in the eastern part of the castle. The courtyard consists of a rectangular tower 10 meters wide and 20 meters long, with arches at the bottom. On the second floor, the tower ends with a partially covered roof terrace, the rest was surrounded by a parapet equipped with loopholes and turrets. In addition to the main entrance, the castle has a small emergency entrance used for maneuvers, isolating enemy forces, or as a secret exit.
The castle withstood two long sieges in 1474 and 1478-79. This fortress is a symbol of the ancient city of Shkoder.
