Kaninë Castle

Kaninë Castle, locally known as Kalaja e Kaninës, lies in the village of the same name, in the county of Vlorë in Albania.

The castle started out as an ancient settlement dating back to the 3rd century B.C., when it was an important coastal center of the Amantes tribe. In the 4th century A.D. the settlement was transformed into a castle town by the Byzantines. The castle was again reconstructed under Justinian I, Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, between 527 and 565, when it was known as "Kionin".

In the 13th century, it served as a stronghold for the Angevin Kingdom of Albania. Later, during the 14th century, it came into the hands of the Principality of Valona (Vlorë), until 1417 when it was forcibly handed over to the Ottomans. As the Ottomans constructed a new castle at nearby Vlorë in 1537, Kaninë gradually started to lose its importance. The Venetians attacked both castles in 1690, taking them from the Ottomans. They were reconquered by the Ottomans the next year.

Kaninë Castle was abandoned during the 19th century. Bombings by the Italian army in World War I and the Vlora War in 1920 further damaged the ruined castle.

The castle is situated on a three-pronged hill, 380 meters high, giving great views over the Bay of Vlorë, just 3 kilometers to the west, and the surrounding countryside. It consisted of a fortified settlement, which occupied the eastern and northern prong, and a citadel occupying the western and highest prong. In the north part of the citadel are a couple of concrete structures, while at the foot of the rock underneath that area, I saw the ruined entrance of what looked like a concrete bunker. These probably date back to the communist era of Albania, between the 1960s and 1980s. No other structures inside the citadel or settlement area remain.

Details of the accessibility of Kaninë Castle are a bit unclear. You can enter it either via a footpath from the south or via a road leading to a small car park from the north. At the south entry there was a small ticket booth where I had to pay a small fee to enter the citadel. The settlement area seemed freely accessible. There are no fences or gates anywhere, so I guess the entire site is freely accessible after working hours. An extensive but rather empty site, but I loved the views.

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