Lëkurësi Castle

Lëkurësi Castle, locally known as Kalaja e Lëkurësit, lies above the village of Sarandë, in the county of Vlorë in Albania.

Lëkurësi Castle was probably built in 1537 by Suleiman I the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, at the time when he was attacking the Venetian held island of Corfu.

The castle was strategically built on a high hill from which one could overlook the city of Sarandë, the road to Butrint and the sea with the outlying islands of Ksamil. It had a square ground plan and had 2 round corner towers on diagonally opposite corners.

At the end of the 18th century, it was attacked by Ali Pasha of Ioannina, an Albanian ruler who ruled as a very autonomous Ottoman pasha. It probably lost its military function during the 19th century.

At present there is a restaurant operating within the castle. There are also several small concrete bunkers in front of the castle, dating back to the time when Albania was a communist state between the 1960s and 1980s.

Lëkurësi Castle is freely accessible.  The castle itself may not be very spectacular, but it offers great views.

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