Castle of Gjirokastra

Gjirokastër, Albania, Albania

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The Castle of Gjirokastra (Kalaja e Gjirokastrës) is one of the largest and most important fortresses in the Balkans, perched on a hill about 336 meters high that overlooks the city of Gjirokastër and the Drino Valley below.

Its earliest foundations date back to the 3rd–4th centuries BC, with the first substantial walls built in the 12th–13th centuries, and the fortress reached its present massive form during the late 18th and early 19th centuries under Ali Pasha of Tepelena, who added seven towers, including the iconic clock tower.

Over nearly two thousand years, the castle has served as a military stronghold, a refuge during wars, and later as a prison under King Zog, the Fascists, Nazis, and the Communist regime until 1968, earning it a somber reputation as a place of torture and confinement. Today, the fortress is a major cultural and tourist site that houses a museum of arms with cannons and weapons collected from antiquity through the World Wars, the preserved “prison of the seven windows,” and an exhibition that even includes a Cold War-era American aircraft forced to land in Albania.

The castle’s open courtyards, stone walls, and high viewpoints offer panoramic views of the surrounding town and valley, while its large central terrace is used every few years for Albania’s National Folklore Festival, celebrating traditional music and dance.