Behind Rome’s Trevi Fountain, you’ll find Piazza Scanderbeg, named after the Albanian national hero who once lived there. Today, people celebrate this remarkable leader who, with a small army, managed to hold off the Ottoman forces. While the Ottomans conquered Constantinople and much of Europe in the Balkans, they couldn’t defeat this small Albanian force.
Scanderbeg’s story is both great and tragic. He was betrayed by the Venetians and misled by the Spanish kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Despite these setbacks, he spearheaded the Albanian resistance, which some believe was just as significant in European history as the Spartans’ stand at Thermopylae.
The castle of Kruje, known as Krujë in Albanian, was the last fortress to fall to the Ottomans, ten years after Scanderbeg’s death. It didn’t fall by force but through a false promise of safety after surrender. Tragically, the Ottomans broke their word and killed everyone. This dark day occurred on October 15, 1478.
Today, Kruje is a small city in Albania with a population of just over 13,000. It clings to the mountainside and is home to a museum dedicated to Giorgio Castriota (Scanderbeg). Historians recommend a visit to this museum.
Next to the entrance is another museum, the Ethnographic Museum of Albania, housed in a reconstructed building from the Ottoman era. The old Bazaar and the narrow streets leading up to the castle make a visit to Krujë well worth your time.