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Historic Centres of Berat and Gjirokastra
Site number: | 569 |
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Type of site: | Cultural | |
Date: | 13-19 centuries | |
Date of Inscription: | 2005,2008 | |
Location: | Europe, Albania, County and District of Gjirokastër |
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Description: | Typical of the Ottoman period, Berat and Gjirokastra are rare examples of its architectural character. Berat, positioned in central Albania, has been an eyewitness to the numerous religious and cultural communities through-out the centuries. Originally dating back to the 4th century BC, the castle, names Kala by the locals, was mostly built in the 13th century. The site features several mosques from the Ottoman era, from around 1417, and numerous Byzantine churches of the 13th century, which surround the citadel area. Gjirokastra (Southern Albania, Drinos River Valley) hallmarks a series of two-story houses from the 17th century, an 18th century mosque and two churches, as well as a bazaar which continues to survive even today. --WHMNet paraphrase from the description at WHC Site, where additional information is available. | |
Gjirokastër (Greek: Αργυρόκαστρον Argyrókastron, Aromanian: Ljurocastru, Italian: Argirocastro, Turkish: Ergiri) is a city in southern Albania. As the capital of Northern Epirus it is considered the centre of the Greek community of Albania. It is also the capital of both the Gjirokastër District and the larger Gjirokastër County. Its old town is inscribed on the World Heritage List as "a rare example of a well-preserved Ottoman town, built by farmers of large estate". Gjirokastër is one of the most venerable towns of Albania. Its name means Silver Fortress, and neatly shows the relation within one linguistic group of Greek, Latin, Etruscan and Albanian. Following the archeological site of Butrint, located on the Ionian coast south of the city of Saranda, Gjirokastër was the second site in Albania to be recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. In the south of the country, 300 meters above sea level, Gjirokastër has a beautiful and dramatic situation in a lush valley between the high Gjerë Mountains and the rushing river Drin or Drinos. --Wikipedia. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. | ||
Source: | http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/569 | |
Reference: | 1. UNESCO World Heritage Center, Site Page. | |