Drisht Castle

Drisht Castle is a castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 near the village Drisht, in the municipality Postribë

Postribë

Postribë is a municipality in the Shkodër District, Shkodër County, northwestern Albania....

, Shkodër District

Shkodër District

The District of Shkodër is one of the thirty-six districts of Albania, part of Shkodër County. It has a population of 185,646 , and an area of 1,973 km². It is in the north of the country, and its capital is Shkodër...

, Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

.

Drisht Castle, which stands on a hill 800 metres above sea level, was originally a fortress built to defend Shkodra. In the 9th century, it was part of the defences of the Zeta principality.

The current castle was built in the 13th century during the Byzantine rule. In the 14th century the castle became independent of Shkodra. In 1442 the castle was taken by the Venetian forces and later retaken by Skanderbeg

Skanderbeg

George Kastrioti Skanderbeg or Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu , widely known as Skanderbeg , was a 15th-century Albanian lord. He was appointed as the governor of the Sanjak of Dibra by the Ottomans in 1440...

, the Albanian national hero.

There are the remains of 11 houses inside the castle walls.