Building Rating 90% of readers like the Krujë Citadel.
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T his is one of the oldest structures in Albania, built between 500 and 600 after the city of Albanopolis was abandoned. It is also the site of one the greatest war victories in eastern Europe. It was here that Gjergj Kastriot went from warrior to military legend. He was better known as "Skënder-beg," a name given to him by his teachers at the military academy he attended. In 1450 Sultan Murad II of the Ottoman empire began a campaign to defeat the Albanian army, unified under Skënderbeg. 100,000 Ottoman soldiers marched on Krujë citadel, defended by just 17,500 men. Those men were able to hold out through the summer partly by might, and partly by superior intelligence. One night Skënderbeg let a flock of goats out of the citadel through a secret passage. The goats had candles on their horns. The Turks were fooled from a distance into thinking this was the Albanian army fleeing. They went to attack, while the real army snuck up behind them and pounded. By fall, the Ottoman army decided it didn't want to spend the winter in the Albanian highlands, and retreated having lost 20,000 in battle. The victory was momentous and Skënderbeg managed to defend the castle from the Turks for another 25 years until his death in 1468. He was succeeded by Lek' Dugagjin who successfully defended the citadel until 16 June, 1478. The forced of Sultan Mehmet finally overwhelmed the Albanians, and the area fell to the Turkey. The Ottoman Empire fortified the castle, its walls, and its 11 towers to fend of revolt. But they could not fend off the forces of nature. 139 years later in 1617 a massive earthquake shook the area. The castle was badly damaged. It was never to rise again. By 1832 power in the region had shifted from military might to diplomatic prowess. The castles of the region were abandoned and power was concentrated in the central bureaucracy, and the castles left in ruins so they could not be used in an uprising. In 1982 a museum was built inside the citadel. Its name, Museum of Gjergj Kastriot Skënderbeg, pays homage to the castle's great defender. Inside there are exhibits chronicling the many battles the castle survived, and a 182-square-meter mural depicting the strategies used by the warrior. There are also replicas of Skënderbeg's armor. The originals are in a museum inVienna, Austria.
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