Entry to Private Courtyard, Berat, Albania
Berat, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, comprises a unique style of architecture with influences from several civilizations that have managed to coexist for centuries. Like many cities in Albania, Berat comprises an old fortified city filled with churches and mosques painted with grandiose wealth of visible murals and frescoes.
The name "Berat" is probably derived from an Old Slavonic term, meaning "white city". It is believed to have been the site of the ancient city "Antipatreia" In the Republic of Venice the city was known as Belgrado di Romania (Rumelian Belgrade), while in the Ottoman Empire it was also known as Belgrad-i Arnavud (Albanian Belgrade) to distinguish it from Belgrade in Serbia.
Berat lies on the right bank of the river Osum, a short distance from the point where it is joined by the Molisht river. The old city centre consists of three parts: Kalaja (on the castle hill), Mangalem (at the foot of the castle hill) and Gorica (on the left bank of the Osum). It has a wealth of beautiful buildings of high architectural and historical interest. The pine forests above the city, on the slopes of the towering Tomorr mountains, provide a backdrop of appropriate grandeur. The Osumi river has cut a 915-metre deep gorge through the limestone rock on the west side of the valley to form a precipitous natural fortress, around which the town was built on several river terraces.
According to an Albanian legend, the Tomor mountain was originally a giant, who fought with another giant (mountain) called Shpirag over a young woman. They killed each other and the girl drowned in her tears, which then became the Osum river. Mount Shpirag, named after the second giant, is on the left bank of the gorge, above the district of Gorica.
Berat is known to Albanians as the city of "One above another Windows", or The City of Two Thousand Steps. Berat was proclaimed a 'Museum City' by the dictator Enver Hoxha in June 1961.
Entry to Private Courtyard, Berat, Albania
Berat, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, comprises a unique style of architecture with influences from several civilizations that have managed to coexist for centuries. Like many cities in Albania, Berat comprises an old fortified city filled with churches and mosques painted with grandiose wealth of visible murals and frescoes.
The name "Berat" is probably derived from an Old Slavonic term, meaning "white city". It is believed to have been the site of the ancient city "Antipatreia" In the Republic of Venice the city was known as Belgrado di Romania (Rumelian Belgrade), while in the Ottoman Empire it was also known as Belgrad-i Arnavud (Albanian Belgrade) to distinguish it from Belgrade in Serbia.
Berat lies on the right bank of the river Osum, a short distance from the point where it is joined by the Molisht river. The old city centre consists of three parts: Kalaja (on the castle hill), Mangalem (at the foot of the castle hill) and Gorica (on the left bank of the Osum). It has a wealth of beautiful buildings of high architectural and historical interest. The pine forests above the city, on the slopes of the towering Tomorr mountains, provide a backdrop of appropriate grandeur. The Osumi river has cut a 915-metre deep gorge through the limestone rock on the west side of the valley to form a precipitous natural fortress, around which the town was built on several river terraces.
According to an Albanian legend, the Tomor mountain was originally a giant, who fought with another giant (mountain) called Shpirag over a young woman. They killed each other and the girl drowned in her tears, which then became the Osum river. Mount Shpirag, named after the second giant, is on the left bank of the gorge, above the district of Gorica.
Berat is known to Albanians as the city of "One above another Windows", or The City of Two Thousand Steps. Berat was proclaimed a 'Museum City' by the dictator Enver Hoxha in June 1961.