Situated south of Tirana, Berat is Albania’s most beautiful city; lying in a picturesque setting on the banks of the Osum River, it is ringed by the Tomorr and Shpirag Mountains.
The Communist style of architecture has only had a limited impact on Berat, as President Hoxha Enver by declaring it to be a museum-city, protected its historic-quarter and its buildings. Also known as the “City of a Thousand Windows”, the old-city’s streets, with their many-windowed, whitewashed houses, have preserved its former ambience.
Berat’s main tourist attraction is the castle-quarter, perched on a cliff, overlooking the old-city.
Walking along the narrow streets of the castle, among its historic buildings one can still find some of the originally 14 churches, and its mosque.
The St. Todhri’s Church was built in the 16th century; the St. Mëri’s Church, which today houses the Onufri Museum, dates from 1797, and was erected on the site of an earlier 10th century church. Two small churches outside the castle-wall – the 14th century Holy Trinity Church and the 13th century St. Michael’s Church – have survived to this day.
Other noteworthy attractions in the old-city are the Ethnographic Museum, the 15th century King’s Mosque, the 16th century Lead Mosque (Xhamia e Plumbit), and the 19th century Bachelors’ Mosque. Both the old-city, and the castle-quarter, have been placed – on a probationary basis – on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List