Lezhë Castle

Lezhë Castle (Albanian:Kalaja e Lezhës) is a castle dominating the city of Lezhë, northern Albania. Its highest point is 186 m. Lezhë Castle is at an elevation of 322 m. Lezhë Castle began from illyrian fortifiations. It was rebuilt by the Venetians in the 1440s and the Ottomans in 1522. In the late Middle Ages, the castle belonged to the Dukagjini family. The two brothers Tanush Thopia and Progon Dukagjini (sons of Lekë I) through an agreement which preserved their trade rights and estates around the castle placed the city and the castle under Venetian control in 1393 as a means to defend it against Ottoman expansion. The Venetians formally ceded the castle to the Ottomans in 1506.