Susan Westling

The fifth regular meeting of the 2025-2026 season of the Fredonia Shakespeare Club was hosted at the home of Nicki Schoenl. President Karin S. Cockram welcomed Club members to the meeting.

After a brief business meeting concluded, a paper by Susan Westling on the Historic Centers of Berat Gjirokastra in Albania.

The historic centers of Berat and Gjirokaster in the southern region of the Republic of Albania are two cities added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 2005 (Gjirokaster) and 2008 (Berat) as they are rare examples of intact architecture of the Ottoman period.

Berat is called the city of a thousand windows. Although its founding date is unknown, experts believe it was founded around 314 BCE. During the early Ottoman rule, Berat fell into decline and began to recover by the 17th century, when it became a major craft center specializing in wood carving. It was a multi-religion city, with Christians dominating until the 1520’s when small groups of Jews expelled from Spain began arriving. By the late 16th century, Muslims were almost as abundant as Christians in Berat, while the Jewish community continued to grow. All of these religious groups lived in harmony, and as the city’s Muslim population increased, by the 18th century it became one of the most important cities of the Ottoman period. In the late Ottoman period, the population of Berat was nearly 15,000, 5,000 of them being Orthodox Christians, and only 2,000 spoke the Albanian language.

The original Berat Castle was burned down by the Romans in 200 BC, with the walls restored in the 6th century by the Byzantine Emperor, and the entire structure rebuilt in both the 6th and 13th centuries. The main entrance on the north side consists of a fortified courtyard. It was large enough to house a large portion of the city’s inhabitants in the 13th century, and included 20 Albanian Orthodox churches, many of which have been damaged or destroyed throughout the years, and one Mosque, which is now in ruins.

Berat Castle is not just a historic site — it’s a living community. With its impressive stone walls, Byzantine churches, and panoramic views, this fortress has guarded the city for centuries.

But what makes it truly unique is that people still live here. As you wander its cobbled alleys, you’re walking through history and daily life at the same time.

Around 100 families live within its walls, and their structures have been continuously occupied since the 13th century. The walls are over 1.5 kilometers long, offering unmatched views of the Osum River, Mount Tomorr, and the entire valley.

The Holy Trinity Church is a medieval Byzantine-era Albanian Orthodox church. Inside the church are two columns with reused capitals (thought to have been taken from classical ruins in the city). An inscription inside the church contains the name of Andronikos Angelos Palaiologos (Governor of the province of Berat from 1302 to 1326), indicating that the church must have been built during the 13th or 14th century with his financial support.

The Church of St. Mary of Blachernae was built on the foundations of a ruined 5th century church that existed at the same place in the 13th century, and houses impressive 16th century frescos and icon by Nikolle Onufri. Nikolle is the son of Onufri, the most important post-medieval Albanian painter.

The Church of St. Michael was built in the 13th century, along with the little Church of St. Theodore with many Onufri wall paintings and an iconostasis of carved wood with two icons of Christ and the Virgin Mary. The latter church is now a Onufri museum.

Berat also has several Mosques, including the Bachelor’s Mosque built in 1827. The Bachelors were unmarried young shop assistants that acted as private militia for Berat merchants. The oldest mosque is the King Mosque, built in the late 14th century, and is noted for its beautiful ceiling. At the center of Berat is the Lead Mosque, built in 1555, called that due to its lead ceiling. There is also an unofficial Muslim house of worship as it is part of the unrecognized Sufi order called Halveti Tekke, which was built in the 15th century and rebuilt in 1782.

Gjirokaster is known as the city of stone due to its picturesque stone architecture framed by mountains at every side.

Archeologists have found pottery in Gjirokaster dating to the early Iron Age, and the first known inhabitants were a Greek tribe. The first fortifications date to the 5th to 6th centuries CE.

The first actual settlement was the Gjirokaster Fortress, which was taken by the Ottomans in 1418. During the Ottoman period, many neighborhoods grew up around the Fortress, and the city boasted 2000 houses, eight mosques, three churches, 280 shops, five fountains and five inns. Today, the Gjirokaster Fortress contains five towers and houses, the new Gjirokaster Museum, a clock tower, two tekke, a cistern, and the stage of the National Folk Festival. Gjirokaster features an Ottoman bazar originally built in the 17th century, dominated by the Gjirokaster Mosque built in 1757, and more than 500 homes preserved as cultural monuments.

The only remaining Mosque is the Gjirokaster, which was used as a training hall for circus acrobats who made use of the high domed ceilings to hang their trapezes during Albania’s communist regime.

The Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior is an Orthodox church built in 1784 still remains, and is a three-aisled basilica with stone tile roofing, replicating some of the city’s unique architectural features.

Albania has a rich and storied history as a melting pot of cultures and key terrain in the region.