Kulla (defense construction)
Kulla , Kula , Kuli , ( Albanian Kulla / -ë , Bulgarian кули , Serbian - Cyrillic куле ) are well- fortified residential towers in the Western Balkans . This regional design can be found particularly in the west and south of Kosovo as well as in northern Albania . Similar buildings can also be found in other countries in the Balkans.
The Kulla usually consists of two or three floors. The typical structure of a three-story Kulla consisted of the stables on the ground floor, the utility and bedrooms on the first floor - this is where family life took place - and the men's rooms on the upper floor. Larger windows are only available on the top floor, which is often made of wood. The entrance is usually not on the ground floor.
The name originally comes from Persian qulla via Turkish kule mountain, peak.
This type of building was built in the Ottoman Empire between the 17th and early 20th centuries. Usually designed for long-term living of entire large families, there are occasionally also kullen for a temporary stay. In northern Albania, for example, such buildings also served as temporary residence for those persecuted by blood revenge . A Kulla was not suitable to withstand a siege by an army, but could resist small groups of attackers for several days. The larger of these, often post-medieval buildings, could permanently accommodate an entire clan .
Many of these culturally and historically valuable buildings were destroyed during the Kosovo war (1998/1999).
In Romania there are similar residential buildings called culă (plural cule ). The Romanian cule are less tower-like and have a semi-open loggia on the top floor .
See also
- Tower House , residential towers in the British Isles
literature
- Pirro Thomo et al. A .: Vendbanime dhe banesa fshatare . In: Vendbanime dhe banesa popullore shqiptare . tape 1 . Toena, Tirana 2004, ISBN 99927-1-926-5 .
- Drita Jasiqi: The Kulla Project - An attempt to establish "gentle tourism" in a Kosovar region. Educational research project: "Cultural Tourism in Europe". onA ( uni-frankfurt.de [PDF]).
- Rassam Sahar: Kulla: A Traditional Albanian House Type in Kosovo . UNESCO-ICOMOS World Millennium Congress , Session 2 (continued) - Historic towns , Paris. September 11, 2001 ( citeseerx.ist.psu.edu [PDF]).
- Peter Giefer: Kosovo - on the move in the heart of the Balkans . 1st edition. Trescher, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-89794-141-0 , pp. 65 f . ( limited preview in Google Book search).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Jeta Limani: Kulla of Mazrekaj family in Dranoc. (PDF; 1.4 MB) A Management Plan For A Sustainable Cultural Tourism Development. P. 24 , accessed on March 11, 2017 (English).
- ^ Gjergj Fishta , Robert Elsie , Janice Mathie-Heck; Center for Albanian Studies: The Highland Lute: (Lahuta e Malcís): the Albanian National Epic. IBTauris, London 2006, ISBN 978-1-84511-118-2 , p. 435 ( limited preview in Google book search).
- ^ Greville Pounds, Norman John: The Culture of the English People: Iron Age to the Industrial Revolution. Cambridge University Press. May 27, 1994, p. 335 ( limited preview in Google Book Search): “ In southeastern Europe, where the extended family was exemplified as nowhere else in the western world, the home itself was often protected, giving rise to the kula or tower-house ”.
- ↑ Mysterious Kulas ... walk in the footsteps of the ancestors of Montenegro. From triangle-woodhouse.de, onA, accessed March 15, 2016.
- ^ The mountain village of Theth. In: Guest House Mark Zef Koçeku. Retrieved April 29, 2019 .
- ↑ Unesco report
- ↑ Traditional romanian architecture - Curtișoara Muzeum. Travel Guide Romania