The castle of Preza

The castle of Preza

The Castle of Preza is built on the top of a hill and offers a fantastic view over the Tirana plain. It was built at the beginning of the 15th century by the Topiaj´s, a local feud family, and had the function of guarding the important trade route connecting Durrës, Krujë and Shkodra.

The castle has the shape of an irregular pentagon, with 4 round towers around the corners and one rectangular tower near the middle of one of the walls, which also serves as the only gate of the castle. With walls that reach up to 6.40 m high, the Castle has a length of 80 m and a width of 50 m. The fact that within its yard has been built only a water reservoir shows that the castle was mostly a military fortification and was not inhabited.

After the Ottoman invasion of Albania, the castle was repaired and a mosque was built over the main gate. Later, most probably in the twentieth century, a clock tower was built on the walls of the castle.