The Minister of Culture, Elva Margariti, announced that the Castle of Bashtova will soon become the most sought-after cultural heritage destination. “It is already undergoing restoration thanks to the reconstruction program after the earthquake,” Margariti wrote on social networks.

Bashtova Castle is a quadrangular medieval castle, positioned where the Shkumbin River flows into the Adriatic. The castle rises on flat ground, next to Egnatia Street. Historians are divided as to which period the construction of the castle belongs to. Some claim it was built during the period when the country was under Venetian rule, while others say the Venetians built on the ruins of an existing fortress, which may have been from the sixth century, when the area was under the Byzantine Empire, during the Justinian dynasty. 

The structure has 3 entrances, with 9 meter high walls surrounding a 60×90 meter space. To the north and east there are circular towers, each 12 meters high. The special feature of this Castle lies in the fact that it is the only one in the Balkans that was built in the field.

Bashtova Castle will be restored with the support of the EU4Culture program of the European Union.

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