TIRANA, Jan. 7 – The Ministry of Culture and the National Council of Restoration approved the restoration plan of Berat Castle’s surrounding walls after a meeting which took place on December 18, 2015.
The restoration process of the surrounding walls of a 4th century castle in the UNESCO World Heritage site of Berat, located in southwestern Albania, has already begun.
The collapse, which happened a few weeks ago, was caused mainly by heavy rains and was described by local culture official as “not severe,” while the alarm over the protection of cultural heritage in treasured destinations was fueled by the Forum for the Protection of the Cultural Heritage’ warning given by a few weeks ago.
The restoration specialists started rebuilding the walls using old castle’s stones in a short period of time after the collapse occurred; preventing the collapse of the castle’s remaining walls.
Back in 2014, Berat was selected by the European Commission as one of the Albanian cities to receive an investment amount of €1.7 million, which was used to rehabilitate the infrastructure of the UNESCO-protected site of Berat.
Situated at an altitude of 214 meters, Berat Castle, also known as Kalaja e Beratit, dates from the 13th century and contains various Byzantine churches as well as Ottoman mosques. The castle walls were burned down by the Romans in 200 B.C., but were later restored under the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II. The walls have been restored several times after 200 B.C.: During the 6th century under the Emperor Justinian I and once again during the 13th century under the Despot of Epirus, Michael I Komnenos Doukas. Nowadays the castle still remains one of the most beautiful sights of Albania, even though its current condition is considerably damaged.
During the last years, many archeological sites in Albania have collapsed while other touristic attractions in various Albanian cities have been slightly destroyed, raising a lot of questions whether the government is taking the right actions to protect some of the most precious parts of Albania, which for many years now, have been one of the main reasons why tourists all over the world decide to visit Albania.
