TIRANA, Feb. 6 – Built around the 1800s by Ali Pasha of Ioannina as a dowry to his sister Shahnisha, the fortress of Libohova in the southern Albanian district of Gjirokastra is expected to undergo renovation by the Institute of Monuments of Culture. Experts have drafted a project to restore this object which in recent years has turned into a shelter for cattle.
Altin Pango, an engineer of the Gjirokastra Regional Directorate of Monuments says the main intervention involves the restoration of walls and the removal of vegetation.
The regional directorate is also implementing a project to restore the Manor of Mufit Bej Libohova, located right at the centre of the town, with a few great plane-trees in front of the main entrance.
Castle of Libohova
(of Shahnisha)
The fortress of Shahnisha is the crown jewel of the city of Libohova. The fortress was built by Ali Pasha Tepelena as a wedding gift for his sister, Shahnisha, but at the same time as a fortified building. The structure boasts very thick and high walls that were built on some existing antique walls dating from the VI century, the same period of the construction of the castle of Gjirokastra. The project was prepared from the same Italian architects, that projected another fortress for Ali Pasha, in Porto-Palermo peninsula that was built as a gift for the wife of the Pasha, Vasilikia. This castle and its related memorial tombs form a very important monumental complex. The municipality of Libohova and the monuments office of Gjirokast철completed the partial restoration of some of the fallen walls in the past years, but there are still many interventions needed, while the entrance needs to be freed from the inhabitants, who are using the fortress as a space for their animals. With the full restoration and a lighting system, the fortress would definitely gain some of its old splendor and would serve as the main attraction for tourists.
