Bashtova fortress
| Bashtova fortress | ||
|---|---|---|
 Outer walls with north tower |
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| Creation time : | 6th or 15th century | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Construction: | different stone construction methods | |
| Place: | Ballaj (Kryevidh parish) and Vilë-Bashtova (Gosa parish) | |
| Geographical location | 41 ° 2 '49 " N , 19 ° 29' 47.5" E | |
| Height: | 10 m above sea level A. | |
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The fortress Bashtova ( Albanian Kalaja e Bashtovës ) is the ruin of a fort in central Albania south of Kavaja .
As the only Venetian fortress in the region that does not go back to older fortifications, Bashtova was declared a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage by Albania in 2017 and included in the tentative list.
Location and description
The fortress stands on flat ground in the Shkumbin estuary in a wide bend in the river a few hundred meters from the northern bank. It is less than four kilometers to the coast of the Adriatic Sea . The city of Kavaja is about 20 kilometers north. The great Myzeqe plain extends south of the river .
The plant is almost rectangular; to the northwest it tapers slightly, as the northeast wall has a slight kink in the middle. The nine-meter-high walls encompass an interior space of around 90 by 60 meters that is empty. In the north and east corners there are twelve meter high, round towers. In the other two corners and in the middle of the walls there were rectangular towers, but these have been poorly or no longer preserved. There were three entrances, the one in the northwest wall being the main one. Loopholes can be found in the battlements , but also further down.
Most of the walls are still standing today and are quite well preserved. Even the battlements can still be seen often. Only a few small pieces on the south and west corners are completely missing. The outer walls are partially covered with ivy, bushes and trees.
history
The fortress could not be precisely dated to this day. Gjerak Karaiskaj , who examined the facility at the beginning of the 1970s, dated it to the second half of the 15th century, built by Venetians . Alain Ducellier believes it was built during the Justinian dynasty (6th century). In addition to inscriptions in Arabic script, there are also worked stones in Byzantine and ancient styles.
When it was built, the coast and the river were probably not so far from the fortress, which was used to control the lower reaches and probably also a storage area . Already in the Middle Ages, grain was grown and shipped here on a large scale .
The fortress is first mentioned in writing on a map from 1521 as Pashtove . A mosque is depicted on it next to the entrance. It is believed that Bashtova is the place Basti mentioned in the family chronicles of the Muzaka (16th century) .
Evliya Çelebi (17th century) reported that the walls were destroyed by the flooding of the Shkumbin. The western area of the facility comes from a second construction phase in the 18th century. Çelebi also wrote that the fortress was built by Venetians, when the Ottomans of Elbasan conquered from northern Albania.
The Ottomans also used the fortress to protect trade on the coast. In 1780 Bashtova was declared a free port .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ The Castle of Bashtova - Tentative List. In: UNESCO World Heritage Center. May 22, 2017, accessed June 14, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d Kalaja e Bashtovës, Kavajë. In: Ministry of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Sport. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013 ; Retrieved October 30, 2013 (Albanian).
- ↑ a b c d Oliver Gilkes: Albanian - An Archaeological Guide . IB Tauris, London 2013, ISBN 978-1-78076-069-8 , Bashtova (Ballaj), pp. 64-66 .
- ↑ a b c James Pettifer: Albania & Kosovo - Blue Guide . A & C Black, London 2001, ISBN 0-7136-5016-8 .
- ↑ Oliver Jens Schmitt: The Venetian Albania (1392 - 1479) . In: Southeast European Works . tape 110 . Munich 2001, ISBN 3-486-56569-9 , pp. 76 .