Some Monuments and old church in Shkodra

Abstract

The history of the Albanian nation contains several gaps due to natural disasters and other fatal occurrences. Several documents from the written archives of the Albanian medieval times are deficient or missing. Those data gaps can be filled only by medieval monuments, works of art which indirectly represent the medieval civilization. The large number of monuments, their artistic quality, and of ten gigantic proportions, show that church architecture was greatly developed in the Illyrian-Albanian lands during the medieval times. Roman Gothic architecture flourished in Northern Albania, due to the continuing close connection of the Northern provinces with the Western churches. The impact of this architecture is also observed in regions temporarily ruled by Westerners. Through centuries, these Christian religious monuments have suffered not only from the devastating natural phenomena, but also from the devastating human interventions. These monuments should not be seen as isolated, amorphous items, but as an organic, and integral part of the cultural tourism and economic development of our country. In this paper, we will address several Christian religious monuments of Shkodra, which represent an exceptional value of our cultural monumental heritage from the medieval times.

Keywords: Monument, Church, response, development, architecture.