The Main Street (Pedonale)
Inspired by Italian architecture and designed by Kolë Idromeno, a man of multiple talents, the Main Street is a top destination for both locals and tourists. Whether you want to explore the architecture, have a taste of the shops, bars and restaurants or simply wander purposelessly, this area is a must-see.
There you can see all the religions come together - a mosque, catholic church and orthodox church all sit within a stone’s throw of each other. And if you are a photography fan, that's your place - one of the best photography museums in Europe (based on one of the oldest studios after that of the Lumière brothers) is right there.
The Marubi Photography Museum
With almost half a million photographic plates and film negatives collected over 157 years, Fototeka Marubi is today one of the most important national heritage institutions that the Ministry of Culture of Albania is attending. Besides Pietro Marubbi’s originals, this institution also preserves negatives and photos of some of the most famous Albanian photographs such as Kel and Gegë Marubi (Pietro’s apprentices and successors), Mati Kodheli, Kolë Idromeno, Shan Pici, Kolë Maca, Dedë Jakova, Pjetër Rraboshta, Angjelin Nënshati and many more.
The most important monument to visit in Shkodra is the Rozafa Castle, which rises from a rocky hill to the west of Shkodra.
The waters of three rivers, Buna, Drini and Kiri, surround it. Rozafa is one of the major castles in Albania and the most important tourist attraction in Shkodra. The castle dates back to the Illyrians, when the Latin historian Titus Livius named it “the stronghold of the Labeates,” an Illyrian tribe on the shores of Shkodra Lake. The Illyrian queen, Teuta, used it as a base in the war against Rome. Rozafa was the castle associated with a famous legend about a woman who was buried in the foundation of the castle.
Its legend, archeology and history testify to its early existence.
The legend is about the initiative of three brothers who set about building the castle. They worked all day, but the walls fell down at night. They met a clever old man who advised them to sacrifice someone so that the walls would stand. The three brothers found it difficult to decide whom to sacrifice. Finally, they decided to sacrifice one of their wives who would bring lunch to them the next day. So they agreed that whichever of their wives was the one to bring them lunch the next day was the one who would be buried in the wall of the castle. They also promised not to tell their wives of this. The two older brothers, however, explained the situation to their wives that night, while the honest youngest brother said nothing.
The next afternoon at lunch time, the brothers waited anxiously to see which wife was carrying the basket of food. It was Rozafa, the wife of the youngest brother. He explained to her what the deal was, that she was to be sacrificed and buried in the wall of the castle so that they could finish building it, and she didn’t protest. Rozafa, who was predestined to be walled, was worried about her infant son, so she accepted being walled on condition that they must leave her right breast exposed so as to feed her newborn son, her right hand to caress him and her right foot to rock his cradle:
I plead
When you wall me
Leave my right eye exposed
Leave my right hand exposed
Leave my right foot exposed
for the sake of my newborn son
so that when he starts crying
Let me see him with one eye
Let me caress him with one hand
Let me feed him with one breast
Let me rock his cradle with one foot
May the castle breast be walled
May the castle rise strong
May my son be happy
The Rozafa Castle
Shkodra Lake
The largest and best preserved bridge from the Ottoman Empire in Albania, Mes Bridge (Ura e Mesit) crosses the Kir River about 6 kilometers North of Shkodër in the village of Mes. Built about 1770, the 108 meter long bridge is not only historic, but stunningly beautiful.
Situated along the ancient trade route between Shkodra and Kosovo, Romans, Venetians, and many other powers used this route to visit highly important sites through the Drini Valley.
Beneath the bridge, the blue waters of the Kiri River wind their way from the mountains to the Buna.
The Mes Bridge
The Ethnographic Museum of Shkodra
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Venice masks factory
In Shkodër, you can also get a taste of Venice!
The mask exhibit at the Venice Art Mask Factory contains the most diverse and exquisite collection of Venetian masks. The display of styles and colors is enough to immediately transport you to the atmosphere of the Venice Carnevale! But, here we are in Shkodër, where the passion, creative genius and business acumen of Edmond Angoni has enabled the creation of one of the most important mask factories in the world!
The sheer originality and quality of these works, in addition to the fact that each mask is treated as a unique work of art, has contributed to this factory’s increase in worldwide popularity.
The Museum of witness and memory
The Museum of Memory is a project designed and implemented by the Albanian Institute of Political Studies and supported by the Ministry of Culture for the building of a museum in memory of the crimes and victims of communism.
This project responds to the need to honor and remember the victims of the crimes of communism and the need to inform the new generation and the Albanians living abroad about the crimes, penalties,or the prisons of the communist dictatorship in Albania.
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