Ura e Mesit

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View from the west with a dry river
Main arch
Photo from 1906

The Ura e Mesit ( Bridge of Mes ) is an Ottoman  arch bridge in northern Albania around eight kilometers east of Shkodra . The bridge, presumably built in the 18th century, crosses the Kir river , which emerges from the mountains into the coastal plain around Shkodra. Due to its length, it is considered to be the most important and best preserved Turkish-era bridge in Albania .

The Ura e Mesit is 108 meters long and consists of 15 arches. Their width is 3.4 meters. The middle arch is up to 18 meters high. Its width is specified differently with twelve and 21 meters or 21.5 meters, the latter value being more likely to correspond to the proportions of the bridge and the height of the arch. The bridge bends slightly about five meters north of the main arch. Three arches to the left and right of the main arch are not typical round arches, but tapered windows in the masonry.

The bridge was part of a trade route that led from Shkodra along the southern edge of the Albanian Alps to Kosovo  - a route that was already used by the Romans and that was crossed with mules until 1944 . It also connected Shkodra with the medieval town of Drivastum ( Albanian  Drisht ) on a hill across the river .

Because of its similarity to other buildings, it is assumed that the bridge was built at the end of the 18th century by the Shkodran Pasha Mehmed Bushati , who had various streets repaired at the time. At that time the cities in northern Albania and western Kosovo were doing well economically, which allowed the construction of such a “monumental bridge”. It could also be that Bushati only had an older bridge from the 17th century or even a Venetian building from the 15th century renewed, or that an older, steeper bridge was lengthened on both sides with kind of ramps, so that even during floods River to be able to pass.

The bridge takes its name from the small village Mes on the south bank of the Kir. A concrete bridge 50 meters south and an industrial ruin a little further up the valley impair the view of the cultural monument.

In communist Albania, the Ura e Mesit was a popular tourist destination, which is why a café was built right at its eastern end, which is now derelict. In 2010, the access to the bridge, especially on the west side, was renewed - what used to be like many Albanian riverside more like a garbage dump, has since been a well-kept facility with information boards. There are also several private cafes in the village on the west bank.

Web links

Commons : Ura e Mesit  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Guntram Koch : DuMont art travel guide Albania . DuMont, Cologne 1989, ISBN 3-7701-2079-5 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Sign for tourists by the bridge
  3. ↑ Renate Ndarurinze: Discovering Albania . Trescher Verlag, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-89794-091-4 .
  4. ↑ a b James Pettifer: Albania & Kosovo - Blue Guide . A & C Black, London 2001, ISBN 0-7136-5016-8 .
  5. ↑ a b Skënder Luzati: Buildings and architecture in Shkodra: decline of a northern Albanian metropolis . In: Werner Daum (Ed.): Albania - between cross and crescent . Pinguin Verlag, Innsbruck 1998, ISBN 3-7016-2461-5 .
  6. ^ Heinz Gstrein : Walter travel guide to Albania . Walter-Verlag, Olten 1989, ISBN 3-530-29602-3 .
  7. ↑ Volker Grundmann: Albania - The Complete Travel Guide . Unterwegs Verlag, Singen 2010, ISBN 978-3-86112-274-6 .

Coordinates: 42 ° 6 ′ 52.1 ″  N , 19 ° 34 ′ 29.9 ″  E