In the Principality of Kastriots, it is believed that Gjergj Kastrioti – Skënderbeu was born, the National Hero of the Albanians, a great strategist and statesman, who led the fight for freedom and independence against the Ottoman occupation, for the political-state union of the Albanian people. He was the penultimate child in the large family of Gjon and Vojsava. They had four sons (Stanisha, Reposh, Konstanini and Gjergji) and five daughters (Mara, Jella, Angjelina, Vlajka and Mamica). Gjergj Kastrioti-Skënderbeu personifies an entire epoch of the national history of the Albanians, which bears his name: their more than a century-long struggle against the Ottoman invasion (end of the 14th century – beginning of the 16th century) for the defense of land, wealth and freedom. Under his leadership, the Albanian resistance rose to a high and organized level. It marked a decisive turning point in the country’s political development towards strengthening their national consciousness. The figure of Skënderbeu has constantly attracted the attention of soldiers, statesmen and in general the European public opinion, who sought to draw lessons from the fighting experience of Albanians, especially when their own countries fought against foreign invaders. This is the source of the diverse and multilingual literature dedicated to the figure of this hero across all four corners of the world. When the Ottoman invasion stood like a sword over Central Europe, when national liberation movements broke out in the Balkan Peninsula, etc., historians, writers and poets used the figure of the Albanian hero as an inspiring banner for mobilizing their people in the fight for freedom. A permanent testament of the appreciation and deep respect that other people have for Skanderbeg, alongside numerous publications about him, are the squares and streets of Rome, Paris, Brussels, Geneva and other cities around the world, where there are monuments and busts of him, or bearing the name “Gjergj Kastrioti – Skënderbeu”. (In the photo: Portrait of Skenderbeu in the work of M. Barleti “History of the life and deeds of Skenderbeu”)
Text: The history of the Albanian people – Vol. I , Academy of Sciences of Albania, “Toena”, Tirana, 2002, pages 392-493.
Photo: © Xhoxhi L., personal archive
Graphic processing: AHCF
