Krujë

In 1190 Krujë became the capital of the first Albanian state in the Middle Ages, the Principality of Arbanon. Later it was the capital of the Kingdom of Albania, while in the early 15th century Krujë was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, but then recaptured in 1443 by Skanderbeg, leader of the League of Lezhë, who successfully defended it against three Ottoman sieges until his death in 1468. The Ottomans took control of the town after the fourth siege in 1478, and incorporated it in their territories. A 1906 local revolt against the Ottoman Empire was followed by the 1912 Declaration of Independence of Albania. In the mid-1910s Krujë was one of the battlefields of the conflict between the short-lived Republic of Central Albania, founded by Essad Toptani, and the Principality of Albania. In 1914, Toptani managed to seize the town, but during the same year it was reincorporated by Prenk Bibë Doda in the Principality of Albania. During World War II it was the centre of the activities of resistance leader Abaz Kupi. The museums of Krujë include the Skanderbeg Museum, located in the environs of the Krujë Castle, and the national ethnographic museum.

• Type — m • Name — Krujë • County — Durrës • Mayor — Artur Bushi • Party — PS • Elevation M — 600 • Area Munic — 339.02 • Population As Of — 2023 • Area Unit — 45.73 • Population Munic — 51191 • Population Unit — 8921 • Population Demonym — Krutan (m), Krutane (f) • Postal Code — 1501 • Area Code — (0)511 • Website — https: kruja.gov.al/

The name of the city is related to the Albanian word kroi, krua, meaning "fountain" or "water source", from Proto-Albanian * krana 2. The population of the municipal unit is 8,921. In 1922 the Director General of Health Services appointed the first director of health services in Krujë, Ihsan Korça while the last to hold the post before the establishment of the Socialist People's Republic of Albania was Abdulla Mehmeti. The first hospital and the first polyclinic of Krujë were built in 1946 and 1948 respectively. During 1968–69 a new medical laboratory and a department of surgery were added and expanded. In 1970 the Directorate of Hygiene and Epidemiology of the district was established in the town. In 1977-9 a new hospital and polyclinic were built, while in 1986 the first Obstetrics and gynaecology hospital of the town was opened. In 2008 the first hospital was rebuilt and renamed after its first director Stefan Gjoni.

• Illustration — Sari Saltik on top of Mt Kruja In antiquity Krujë was a site used for pagan rituals, while after the spread of Christianity a church dedicated to Saint Alexander was built near Mount Krujë. In the late 9th century David of Krujë is mentioned as one of the bishops, who participated in the Fourth Council of Constantinople. In the early 10th century Krujë had an Eastern Orthodox suffragan bishop, subject to the metropolitan bishop of Durrës. The Roman Catholic bishopric of Krujë was established in 1167, when its bishop was consecrated by Pope Alexander III. In 1284 the Byzantine Empire expelled the Catholic bishop of Krujë, while after Stefan Uroš II Milutin captured the town, he also expelled the Catholic bishop Andreas Croensis in 1317. In Illyricum Sacrum Daniele Farlati documented fourteen Catholics bishops of the town from 1286 to 1694, while Konrad Eubel documented four additional bishops. Bektashism was introduced in the region of Krujë in the early 18th century. During the Ottoman era a tekke dedicated to the Bektashi saint Sari Saltik was built near the church of Saint Alexander. In 1789–99 the Dollma tekke was built by the Dollma family near the castle. In 1807 Sheikh Mimi, sent by Ali Pasha to Krujë founded another tekke in the town. However, Sheikh Mimi was executed by Kaplan Pasha, who destroyed the tekke, which was restored by Baba Husayn of Dibër in the mid-19th century. In the early 20th century, Hasluck wrote that the population of Krujë ("Croia") appeared to be almost entirely Bektashi.

• Illustration — Skanderbeg Museum with the Fatih Sultan Mehmet mosque in the front The museums of Krujë include the Skanderbeg Museum and the national ethnographic museum. The Skanderbeg Museum, founded in 1982, was built in the environs of the Krujë Castle. Its collection includes mostly 15th century artefacts related to the Albanian-Ottoman wars, during which the castle was besieged four times by the Ottoman army. The national ethnographic museum of Krujë was founded in 1989 and is located in a 15–6-room villa of the Toptani family built in 1764. The main exhibits of the museum are objects of artisanship, whose age varies from 60 to 500 years.

Krujë's most important football club is KS Kastrioti, founded in 1926 and briefly renamed as Puna Krujë in 1951. The club's home ground is Kastrioti Stadium, which has a capacity of 8,500 people.

• Mustafa Merlika-Kruja – Prime Minister of Albania • Abaz Kupi – Albanian military officer • Ali Riza Dede, second Dedebaba of the Bektashi Order • Mimoza Ahmeti – Albanian woman poet • Jurgen Bardhi – Albanian professional footballer • Megi Luka – Albanian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe Albania 2015 • Gjergj Kastrioti, also known as Skanderbeg - Albanian national hero, who led a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire • Gentian Selmani (born 9 March 1998 in Krujë) is an Albanian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Albanian club Tirana and the Albania national football team. • Drita Ziri (born 26 May 2005 in Fushë-Krujë) - Miss Earth 2023 winner, the first Albanian to win the pageant as the youngest titleholder at age of 18, and the first Albanian woman to win one of the Big Four international beauty pageants.

Krujë is twinned with: • Cortona, Italy • Portocannone, Italy • Stari Grad, Sarajevo Bosnia and Herzegovina