Shkodra Castle

Shkodra Castle named after Rozafa is a millennial monument erected on a rocky hill at the entrance to the city of Shkodra, to its south-east.

The castle lies on a hill that has been inhabited since antiquity.

Inside the castle there are several rooms associated with a cylindrical tower, a warehouse and a three-storey building of Venetian times, called the Captaincy. The second courtyard in the central part has four water collection tanks, quadrangular covered with arches, from where water was taken through the mouths of circular wells. There is a warehouse, a prison and the Fatih Mosque.

Church of St. Francis

The Church of St. Francis is a church of the Shkodra-Pult Archbishopric located in the Gjuhadol neighborhood of the city of Shkodra. Because it is close to the Assembly of the Franciscan Order, they are also known simply as the Church of the Assembly of the Fretans.

The current building started construction in 1875 by P. Tomë Markoci, while the church was started in 1878 by P. Gjan Pjer Ferrari. Obstacles by the Ottoman authorities delayed the completion of the church until February 4, 1902, when a decree was issued by Sultan Abdyl Hamid II.

Today it is one of the attractions of the city.

National Photo Library "Marubi"

Photo Studio “Marubbi” was founded in 1856 in Shkodra by the painter, sculptor and architect Pietro Marubbi. While the National Photo Library “Marubi” was created in 1970 after the donation made by Gegë Marubi to his personal archive of three generations, with about 150 thousand negatives, to the state. In this archive are found negatives from all formats, from 1858 to 1959.

This is one of the richest archives in the Balkans. In it you can find negatives with different themes and equally diverse figures, such as pashas, viziers, Turkish officers and even consuls of different nationalities, Italian, French, Austrian, English, Russian, Greek, Serbian, figures from the War of First and Second World.

Historical Museum of Shkodra

The Historical Museum of Shkodra is located in the house of Oso Kukës. It is a local museum but there are exhibited artifacts of great value from all over Albania. It consists of the Central Museum (located in the house of O. Kukës) and that of the Castle “Rozafa”.

Its function is to promote local and national history and cultural traditions to the citizens of the community as well as inside and outside the country.

The museum periodically organizes commemorative activities, conferences and seminars on various topics. and has managed to date to publish a series of books, magazines and albums of a scientific-promotional character.

Lead Mosque

The Lead Mosque or Mehmet Pasha Bushati Mosque (tr. Kurşunlu Cami) is a historical mosque and cultural monument of the first category in Shkodra. Built in 1773/1774, it is the most magnificent old building and the largest Ottoman mosque in all of Albania.

The records of the chronicle of Jusuf Tabakut announce that the mosque was built with stones brought by the people with a chain system (hand in hand) from the Black Stone, and with its surpluses the legs of the bridge of Kirit were built.

It is called Lead, because at the time of Ottoman rule, the domes of the mosque were covered with layers of lead.