Shkodra is otherwise known as the capital from where your travel to visit the northwest of Albania can start. It is a city and a municipality in northwestern Albania and the center of the district as well, of the same name.
It is one of Albania’s longest-lived towns, with a millennium-long living history in the city and province.
It has been valuable at various times as a node of geostrategic importance due to the proximity of highlands, lakes, seas, and essential roads within the Western Balkans. The area around where the city is today has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Traces of the Middle Paleolithic have been found here, while excavations from the Neolithic have revealed a continuum of life that continues to this day.
The artifacts that were found are currently in the museum of Shkodër, in that of Tirana and also in the European museums. At the foot of the Tepe hills, on the south side of today’s city, archaeological materials begin from the early Bronx (3000-2000 BC). In the V-IV century, A.D. started the construction of the castle with interlocked cyclopean stones; these were without mortar. In the middle of the third century BC, this city is mentioned as the capital of the first kingdom of the Ardians. Queen Teuta, king Agron, and king Gent are the most prominent figures of this period.
Shkodra was highly protected and challenging to be conquered. It was a naturally fortified position, surrounded by stacked walls above the gates. Only at 168 BC. The Roman praetor Anicius triumphed over the Illyrians and conquered Shkodra. After falling under Roman rule, it became one of the southern provinces of Dalmatia.
With the reforms of the Diocletian Emperor, Shkodra became the center of Preval. From 395 AD, it was part of the Diocese of Dacia. It extends for about 872.71 km2 at the hydrographic node near the lake of the same name and is bordered by the rivers the Drin, Buna, and Kir, from the Albanian Alps to the east overlooking the peaks of Cukal (1,722 m), Maranaj (1,576 m), Sheldia (Sardonik mountain). Of Barlet; from Shurdhah) and Tarabosh (about 700 m).In a 45 km radius, you can reach the Adriatic Rocks, and you can go hiking and mountaineering in the Alps or canoeing along the rivers. The layout between a flat, hilly, mountainous terrain, the proximity to the Adriatic Sea, and Lake Shkodra have also defined its climate, a Mediterranean climate with mild, humid winters and hot, dry summers.
Within the city, there are several historical sites to visit since the ancient castle, museums, churches, historic houses, cult monuments, cultural institutions, and more. If you want a visit in nature, you can go to Shiroka, Velipoja.
As mentioned above, Shkodra, otherwise known as the “capital of the north,” is one of the oldest cities in Albania. Very remarkable is the castle of Rozafa, which rises on a rocky hill to the west of the town, surrounded by the waters of three rivers: Drini, Buna, and Kiri. Here you can visit the Historical Museum, the Marubi Photo Gallery as well as the Venetian-style neighborhoods of Gjuhadol and Serreq. Near the town lies the lake of Shkodra, (the largest lake of the Balkan peninsula), with Shiroka and Zogaj. Also, Shkodra can serve as a base for visiting such natural objects as the island of Franc Joseph in the Buna estuary and the sandy beach of Velipoja.
