Ishëm Castle

Ishëm Castle, locally known as Kalaja e Ishmit, lies east of the village of Kërtushaj, in the county of Dürres in Albania.

Ishëm Castle was built between 1572 and 1572 by a local Ottoman ruler, by the name of Mehmet. Its main purpose was to house an Ottoman garrison of some 410 soldiers to stop local peasant rebellions.

It was built on a hill which is part of a ridge roughly running from north to south. From its position it looked out over the Ishëm river, down in the plain east of the castle. In historical times this river was navigable, and a small river port was also guarded by the castle.

When the castle was abandoned, I do not know. In the 1990s, the castle ruin deteriorated and locals used its stones as building material. At present, there are some residences within the castle walls, which were illegally built during that time. The ruin was consolidated in recent years.

The castle plan follows the shape of the hill. It had 2 entrances; one in the south wall, another in the north wall.

Ishëm Castle is freely accessible. Not a very spectacular ruin but still nice for a short visit.

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