Every civilisation in Shkodra’s history has used this strategic spot on a craggy hill next to the confluence of the Drin and Bojana Rivers. There was an Illyrian stronghold here 2,500 years ago and elements of it were adapted for later fortresses.
The Romans also left their mark, but most of the ruins are from Venetian times when the castle was sacked after a siege by the Ottomans in 1478. The castle saw action right up to 1912 when it was defended by the Ottomans against Montenegrin and Serbian forces.
