Shkodra

Introducing Shkodra

With its dramatic setting by the shores of the Balkan’s largest lake and backed by imposing mountains, Shkodra was once the most powerful city in the region and is still the centre of Gheg culture and Albanian Catholicism. It’s now a little down-at-heel and suffers from terrible power blackouts in winter. Still, its smattering of fascinating sights makes for a good half-day introduction to Albania for those entering from Montenegro.

By 500 BC an Illyrian fortress already guarded the strategic crossing just west of the city where the rivers meet, through which all traffic moving up the coast from Greece to Italy must pass. Queen Teuta’s Illyrian kingdom was based here in the 3rd-century BC, until the last Illyrian king was taken by the Romans in Rozafa fortress in 168 BC. Later the region passed through the hands of the Byzantines, Slavs and Venetians, who held Rozafa against Suleiman Pasha in 1473, only to lose it to Mehmet Pasha in 1479. The Ottomans lost 14, 000 men in the first siege and 30, 000 in the second.

As the Ottoman Empire declined in the late 18th century, Shkodra became the centre of a semi-independent pashalik – a region governed by a pasha (an Ottoman high official) – which led to a blossoming of commerce and crafts. In 1913 Montenegro attempted to annex Shkodra (it succeeded in taking Ulcinj), and the town changed hands often during WWI. Badly damaged by the 1979 earthquake, Shkodra was subsequently repaired and now is Albania’s fourth-largest town.

The centre has some atmospheric laneways with great old buildings in varying states of decay. The massive Catholic cathedral is gradually recovering from its tenure as a volleyball court during the state ban on religion. Its side altar displays the photos of 40 local clerics martyred at this time.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009