Kruja is home to the museum of our national hero Skanderbeg, placed within his castle, and it is the perfect place in Albania to learn about our national hero Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg and Albanian history.
The tour will proceed with the visit to the Ethnographic Museum, an old Persian style house, home of the Kaplan Pashe Toptani, where you will learn about the customs, traditions, and lifestyle of Albanian people at those time.
The thread of these traditions, primarily implemented on their artisanal productions, will be shown during the visit to the Kruja Old Bazaar. You will see there the most traditional techniques still alive and performed by the artisans; distinguish the masterpieces in the various workshops and merge with the daily life on an artisan. The handicraft production class during this visit will allow you to join into the local life and get a real experience of our arts and crafts
Departure Point
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The tour starts at 09.00 a.m from your hotel in Tirana. It will take just 1 hour to reach Kruja, a city located on the mountain of ‘Skanderbeg Mountain Chain.’ Its fortress, under the leadership of our national hero Gjergj Kastrioti – Scanderbeg, has protected for 25 years the Ottoman army and three sultans. He was considered from the Pope as an Athleta Cristi because he had halted the westward expansion of the Ottoman Empire. Visit of the Castle, of the panoramic view and landscape, and imagine how did they fight with the ottomans for 25 years protecting their castle and city.
Duration: 30 minutes
The museum is dedicated to our Albanian national hero Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg. This is an impressive museum, both in terms of architectural merit & views. The museum has the character of a memorial, architecturally inspired by traditional Albanian stone towers and medieval Romanesque architecture. It has art, documents, murals, weapons, and other items about Skanderbeg. The museum is located on a mountain and has a lovely balcony from which you can see the region, even the capital city of Tirana, in the distance.
Duration: 1 hour
The ethnographic museum it’s one of the most important places that you can find within the walls of the castle of Kruja. The museum is an ottoman style house from 1700, home of on important person of Kruja for the period, Kapllan Pasha. During this visit to the museum, you will learn about: ancient customs, ottoman influence, clothing, furniture, and handicrafts. It is like a place a family has just left.
Duration: 30 minutes
You will take a nice walk in this old bazaar from the 15-16 century to explore a world of arts and crafts in the various shops, where you can find the perfect gift or souvenir to take back home. We will stop in one of the artisan workshops of felt production items to do a felt-production working class so that you can merge yourself with the locals, with the traditions, with the artisans. Understand the hard work and the passion they feel each time they produce a new item.
Duration: 1 hour