Travel Guide Kruja
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Kruja/Krujë (pronounced "crouilla"/"crouilleu") has a population of around 11,000. The town is the capital of the municipality of Kruja and part of the district of Durrës. It lies 22 km northeast of Tirana airport and 29 km north of Tirana (numerous minibus connections).Perched 557 m above sea level in the Skanderbeg massif, at the foot of the impressive cliffs of Mount Kruja (1,110 m), the citadel of Kruja occupies a special place in the hearts of Albanians. In the 12th and 13th centuries, it was the capital of the principality of Arbëria, Albania's first independent political entity. The citadel was also the birthplace of Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg in 1405. This is at least the official version, as another theory holds that the national hero was born near Peshkopi. In any case, after serving in the Ottoman army, Skanderbeg made Kruja the center of Albanian resistance in 1443. In 1478, ten years after his death, the town was captured by the Ottomans after four bloody sieges. Renamed Ak Hisar ("white fort" in Turkish), the citadel became a religious center for the Bektashis. But the Bektashis fell victim to repression, and the city walls were destroyed in 1832. Transformed into a showcase for the propaganda of Enver Hoxha's regime, Kruja retains two museums from this period, including the Skanderbeg Museum. The town also boasts a number of restaurants, an equestrian statue of the hero and two tekkés bektashis.
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