Kruja is a town located 20 km north of the capital of Albania, Tirana. It was originally inhabited by the ancient Illyrian tribe of Albani and later served as the capital of the first autonomous Albanian state in the Middle Ages and the Kingdom of Albania. Kruja was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the early 15th century but recaptured by Skanderbeg, who successfully defended it against three Ottoman sieges until his death in 1468. The Ottomans took control of the town after the fourth siege in 1478. Today, Kruja is home to a famous castle and the National Skanderbeg Museum located within the castle walls.

2. Kruja is a town and
a municipalityin north
central Albania. Located
between Mount Krujë and
the IshëmRiver, the city is only
20 km northfromthe capital of
Albania, Tirana .

4. Krujë was inhabited by the ancient Illyriantribe of the Albani. In 1190
Krujë became the capital of the first autonomous Albanianstate in
the middle ages, the Principality of Arbër Laterit was the capital of
theKingdomof Albania, while in theearly 15th centuryKrujëwas
conqueredby the Ottoman Empire, but thenrecaptured in 1443 by
Skanderbeg, leader of the League of Lezhë, who successfully defended
it against three Ottomansieges until his deathin 1468.TheOttomans
took control of the townafterthefourth siege in 1478, and
incorporated it in their territories.

5. Ottoman Empire was followed by the 1912 Declaration of
Independence of Albania. In the mid-1910s Krujë was one of the
battlefields of the conflict between the short-lived Republic of
Central Albania, founded by Essad Toptani, and the Principality
of Albania. In 1914 Toptani managed to seize the town but during
the same year it was reincorporated by Prênk Bibë Doda in the
Principality of Albania. During World War II it was the center of
the activities of resistance leader Abaz Kupi.
HISTORY

6. The Krujëcastle is a castle in the city
of Krujë, Albania and the center
of Skanderbeg's rebellion against
the Ottoman Empire. Inside the castle is
the Teqe of Dollme of the Bektashi, the
National Skanderbeg Museum, the
remains of the Fatih Sultan Mehmed
mosque and its minaret, an ethnographic
museum and a Turkish bath.
THE MUSEUM

7. ҉In antiquity Krujë was a site used for pagan rituals,
while after the spread of Christianity a church
dedicated to Saint Alexander was built near Mount
Krujë. In the late 9th century David of Krujë is
mentioned as one of the bishops, who participated in
the Fourth Council of Constantinople. In the early
10th century Krujë had an Eastern
Orthodox suffragan bishop, subject to the
metropolitan bishop of Durrës. The Roman Catholic
bishopric of Krujë was established in 1167, when its
bishop was consecrated by Pope Alexander III. In
1284 the Byzantine Empire expelled the Catholic
bishop of Krujë, while after Stefan Uroš II
Milutin captured the town, he also expelled the
Catholic bishop Andreas Croensis in 1317