Venetian Triangle Fortress, Sarandë, Albania

The dogal Republic of Venice purchased the area of Butrint including Corfu from the Angevins in 1386; however, the Venetian merchants were principally interested in Corfu and Buthrotum once again declined. The Venetians began to invest in Butrint in the late 15th century, which seems a likely date for the Triangular Fortress construction. Musket ports opened at both ground level and along the parapet walk. Vaulted storerooms inside the fort carried artillery platforms above to train cannon on the approach to Butrint up the Vivari Channel. In 1798, however, the fortress was slighted by General Chabot, the commander of the garrison of the French dependency of Corfu.

Triangular Fortress takes the form of an irregular triangle with a tower at each point. Originally, it stood on an island in a pre-canalised river mouth, protected by an outer siege work or ravelin (a crescent-shaped defensive wall).The keystone of one the interior buildings bears a relief of the Lion of St. Mark, the symbol of the Republic of Venice.

References:

world-archaeology.com

Castles and fortifications in Albania

User Reviews

Leena Griinari (16 months ago)
Very bad service: "We have closed the bar!" There were many thirsty tourists and no water. Sun set was beautiful.

Jacek Szter (16 months ago)
Amazing place Magic view. Good food. Service just ok.

SHAHBAZ SHAIKH (16 months ago)
City looks just amazing from here, beautiful castle and nice city better to go by car if you dont like walking as it is really very tiring but worth to visit

Katerina & Dale Fixter (18 months ago)
We hiked up to the castle which takes about 1 hour but steep, so if you not feeling like you can do it better take a taxi. We started early morning and by 10:30 we were on the top! Free entrance. The view from the castle absolutely stunning, we travel a lot and have seen many castle but Lekuresi castle is one of my favourite. Highly recommended to visit.

Martin Breuss (20 months ago)
The views from the top of the hill are amazing! The castle has some sort of cafe included, however that was closed during the time I was there. The panorama is worth the climb in any case, just beware that there's no easily discernible hiking path to get there (I went more or less cross-country...).

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Makser

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Derbent is the southernmost city in Russia, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian steppes to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms.

Derbent has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old. As a result of this geographic peculiarity, the city developed between two walls, stretching from the mountains to the sea. These fortifications were continuously employed for a millennium and a half, longer than any other extant fortress in the world.

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The Sassanid fortress does not exist any more, as the famous Derbent fortress as it stands today was built from the 12th century onward. Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sassanid empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus.

The site continued to be of great strategic importance until the 19th century. Today the fortifications consist of two parallel defence walls and Naryn-Kala Citadel. The walls are 3.6km long, stretching from the sea up to the mountains. They were built from stone and had 73 defence towers. 9 out of the 14 original gates remain.

In Naryn-Kala Citadel most of the old buildings, including a palace and a church, are now in ruins. It also holds baths and one of the oldest mosques in the former USSR.

In 2003, UNESCO included the old part of Derbent with traditional buildings in the World Heritage List.

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