Berat Berati

Position and municipal structureDeep dive

Berat is the ninth most populous city of Albania and serves as the seat of both Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air it lies 70 kilometres south of Tirana, 71 kilometres north of Gjirokastër, 70 kilometres west of Korçë, and 33 kilometres east of Fier. The city occupies the southern part of the country, surrounded by mountains and hills, with Mount Tomorr to the east designated as a national park.

The municipality of Berat was created at the 2015 local government reform through the merger of five former municipalities — Berat, Otllak, Roshnik, Sinjë, and Velabisht — each of which became a municipal unit. The total area of the municipality is 421.6 square kilometres, and the 2023 census recorded a population of 62,232. The river Osum, 161 kilometres long in total, runs through the city before emptying into the Seman within the Myzeqe Plain.

The old city centre divides into three distinct quarters: Kalaja, situated on the castle hill; Mangalem, at the foot of that hill; and Gorica, on the left bank of the Osum. The Osum has cut a 915-metre-deep gorge through limestone on the west side of the valley, forming a natural defensive feature around which the town developed across several river terraces. Berat is joined at its edge by the Molisht river, a tributary of the Osum.

Names and etymologyDeep dive

The name Berat derives through Albanian sound changes from the Old Slavonic Bělgrad or Beligrad, meaning 'White City'. The same root produced the medieval Latin forms Belogradum and Bellegradum, the Turkish Belgrad, and the Italian Belgrado. In the Republic of Venice the city was known as Belgrado di Romania, meaning 'Rumelian Belgrade', while in the Ottoman Empire it was distinguished from Belgrade in Serbia by the designation Belgrad-i Arnavud, 'Albanian Belgrade'. In contemporary Aromanian it is called Birat.

Before the Slavic name took hold, the city bore other identities. It is believed — though not confirmed — to have been the site of the ancient city Antipatreia (Latin: Antipatrea), meaning 'City of Antipater'. During the early Byzantine Empire the settlement was called Pulcheriopolis, meaning 'City of Pulcheria'. The shift to the Slavic-derived Berat occurred under Ottoman rule, replacing the medieval Bel[i]grad.

Illyrian and ancient originsDeep dive

Ceramic finds dating to the 7th century BCE provide the earliest evidence of settlement on the rocky hill of Berat by the Illyrians. Berat has been identified with ancient Antipatreia, though the precise founding date is unknown. It is uncertain whether the city's formal foundation resulted from Illyrian urban development of the mid-4th century BCE or from Cassander of Macedon, who took control of southern Illyria around 314 BCE; if Cassander founded it, that date would serve as the terminus post quem.

Antipatreia appears in the record of the Illyrian Wars and Macedonian Wars as a city of Dassaretia in southern Illyria. Around 217 BCE the Illyrian dynast Skerdilaidas and the Macedonian king Philip V contested the Dassaretan towns including Antipatreia, Chrysondyon, Gertous, and Creonion. Philip V eventually took the city. Roman historian Livy records that in 200 BCE the Roman legatus Lucius Apustius 'stormed and subdued Antipatrea by force of arms and, after killing the men of military age and granting all the plunder to the soldiers, he demolished the walls and burned the city.' Livy described Antipatreia as the largest settlement in the area, with significant walls, referring to it as the only urbs rather than a castella or oppidum. In Roman administrative terms it was included within Epirus Nova, in the province of Macedonia.

Medieval control: Bulgarians, Byzantines, and EpirotesDeep dive

Following the fall of the western Roman Empire, the town became part of the unstable frontier of the Byzantine Empire and suffered repeated Slavic invasions along with much of the Balkan Peninsula. The First Bulgarian Empire under Presian I captured Berat in the 9th century; it was at this point that the settlement received its Slavic name Bel[i]grad, meaning 'White City', which persisted through the medieval period. The town became one of the most important settlements in the Bulgarian region of Kutmichevitsa. Bulgarian governor Elemag surrendered the city to Emperor Basil II in 1018, returning it to Byzantine hands. The Second Bulgarian Empire retook Berat in 1203 during the reign of Kaloyan. During the 13th century it fell to Michael I Ducas, ruler of the Despotate of Epirus.

Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos wrote to Albanian leaders of Berat and Durrës in 1272, asking them to abandon their alliance with Charles I of Naples, who had incorporated Berat into his Kingdom of Albania. The leaders forwarded the letters to Charles as a gesture of loyalty. Michael VIII nonetheless recaptured Berat in 1274 and, joined by Albanians supporting Byzantium, marched unsuccessfully against the Angevin capital at Durrës.

Between 1280 and 1281, Sicilian forces under Hugh the Red of Sully besieged Berat. In March 1281 a Byzantine relief force from Constantinople under Michael Tarchaneiotes drove off the besiegers. In 1337 Albanian tribes in the regions of Belegrita — near Mount Tomorr — and Kanina rose in rebellion and seized the fortress of Tomorr, despite privileges granted by Andronikos III Palaiologos. John VI Kantakouzenos records that Andronikos led an army composed mainly of Turkish mercenaries, defeated the Albanians, killed many and took prisoners. In 1345, or possibly 1343, Berat passed to the Serbian Empire. After its dissolution in 1355 the city came under successive governors: John Komnenos Asen (1345–1363), Alexander Komnenos Asen (1363–1372), and Balsha II of Zeta (1372–1385).

Ottoman conquest and the Muzaka principalityDeep dive

The Ottomans captured Berat in 1385, before the Battle of Savra. According to some sources, Ottoman forces may have remained there intending to use the city as a base from which to take Valona. By 1396 the Albanian Muzaka family had taken control, and Berat became the capital of the Principality of Berat. In 1417 the city formally became part of the Ottoman Empire.

In 1455 Skanderbeg led an Albanian force of 14,000 soldiers, supplemented by a small number of Catalan troops, in an unsuccessful attempt to recapture Berat from an Ottoman force of 40,000. The attempt failed. During the early period of Ottoman rule that followed, the city fell into severe decline; by the end of the 16th century it contained only 710 houses. Recovery began in the 17th century, and Berat became a significant craft centre specialising in wood carving.

Religious and demographic change under Ottoman ruleDeep dive

During the first part of the 16th century Berat was a Christian city with no Muslim households. Urban population grew little between 1506 and 1583, increasing by only 17 houses. A Jewish community of 25 families, expelled from Spain, settled in Berat between 1519 and 1520. By the latter part of the 16th century the city contained 461 Muslim houses, and a further 187 belonged to newcomers from surrounding villages including Gjeqar, Gjerbës, Tozhar, Fratar, and Dobronik. Tax exemptions offered to Muslim urban craftsmen in exchange for military service drove rural Muslim converts to settle in the city.

Followers of the Jewish messianic figure Sabbatai Zevi existed in Berat's Jewish community during the mid-17th century. The community also engaged in welfare activities; in 1596 Berat Jews secured the release of war-related captives held in Durrës. From 1670 onward Berat became a Muslim-majority city; of its 30 neighbourhoods, 19 were populated by Muslims. Factors driving this shift included pressure to convert in certain neighbourhoods and a shortage of Christian priests able to provide religious services. By the early 17th century urban life in Berat had begun to reflect Ottoman and Muslim patterns.

In the late Ottoman period the city's population stood at an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 inhabitants. Orthodox Christians numbered approximately 5,000, of whom around 3,000 spoke Aromanian and the remainder spoke Albanian. During a First World War census conducted by Austro-Hungarian occupation forces, the Berat region recorded 6,745 Orthodox Christians and 20,919 Muslims.

Albanian national revival and 19th-century revoltsDeep dive

During the 19th century Berat played a significant role in the Albanian national revival. Christian merchants in the city supported the Albanian movement. The Albanian revolts of 1833–1839 had a direct impact on Berat; in October 1833 the city's castle was surrounded by 10,000 people. Berat's mütesellim, Emin Aga, was compelled to relinquish control to the revolt's leaders. On 22 October 1833 the leaders drafted demands to the Sublime Porte: they would no longer supply soldiers to the Ottoman government and insisted that Albanian officials administer Albanian territories. The Ottoman government accepted these demands, nominating Albanian officials and declaring an amnesty.

In August 1839 a new uprising broke out. Inhabitants attacked Ottoman forces and besieged them inside the castle, while the rebellion spread to the Sanjak of Vlorë. The rebels petitioned Sultan Abdulmejid I to appoint Albanian officials and to install Ismail Pasha, a nephew of Ali Pasha, as governor. In September 1839 the rebels captured the castle, but the Ottoman government again postponed applying reforms in Albania. Berat subsequently became a significant base of support for the League of Prizren, the late 19th-century Albanian nationalist alliance, and was represented in the formation of the southern branch of the league at Gjirokastër.

The city's administrative status shifted across this period. In the early modern era it was the capital of the Pashalik of Berat, founded by Ahmet Kurt Pasha. After Ibrahim Pasha of Berat was defeated by Ali Pasha in 1809, Berat was incorporated into the Pashalik of Yanina. In 1867 it became a sanjak within the Janina vilayet, replacing the declining Vlorë as the administrative centre of the sanjak. The city and its sanjak were dominated by the Albanian Vrioni family.

The Second World War and Communist periodDeep dive

During the Second World War, Jews were concealed in the homes and basements of 60 families from Berat's Muslim and Christian communities. Albanian Muslims in the city permitted Jewish people to worship in the local mosque; a Star of David reportedly remains visible on the walls of that mosque. From 23 to 30 October 1944, the second session of the Council of National Liberation of Albania was held in Berat, at which the Anti-Fascist National Liberation Committee became the Provisional Democratic Government of Albania, with Enver Hoxha as prime minister and minister of defence.

During the Communist era Berat served as a place of internal exile for those classified as public enemies, along with their families. From the 1950s onward the city was used as a political internment centre, from which internees could not leave without permission and were required to sign in daily at the Security Office or the police. A 1963 Deportation-Internment Commission report recorded 30 people interned in Berat, including some held due to risk of escape and others convicted of ordinary offences. Relatives of those who had fled abroad or who sympathised with Titoist Yugoslavia were also deported to Berat. In 1967 Albanian author Ismail Kadare was sent to Berat, where he spent two years.

Enver Hoxha proclaimed Berat a 'Museum City' in June 1961. In the modern period a Romani community of an estimated 200 to 300 people lives in Berat and its outskirts, with others in nearby villages; some seasonally migrate to Greece for work. Aromanian-speakers and Greek-speakers are also present in the town and nearby villages.

Berat Castle and its churchesDeep dive

Berat Castle stands on a rocky hill on the right bank of the Osum, accessible only from the south. After the Romans burned it in 200 BCE, the walls were strengthened in the 5th century under Byzantine Emperor Theodosius II, rebuilt in the 6th century under Justinian I, and rebuilt again in the 13th century under Michael Komnenos Doukas, Despot of Epirus. The main entrance on the north side is defended by a fortified courtyard; three smaller entrances also exist. The fortress was large enough to house a considerable portion of the town's population.

The castle's internal population was Christian. It contained approximately 20 churches, most built during the 13th century, and a single mosque for the use of the Muslim garrison, of which only ruins and the base of the minaret survive. The Church of St. Mary of Blachernae, dating from the 13th century, contains 16th-century mural paintings by Nikollë Onufri, son of the painter Onufri. The 14th-century Church of the Holy Trinity is built in the form of a cross and retains Byzantine murals. The Church of St. Michael dates from the 13th century and stands outside the ramparts. The Church of St. Theodore, near the entrance, has wall paintings attributed to Onufri himself.

The most prominent structure within the castle is the Cathedral of St. Nicholas, which has been restored and now functions as the Onufri Museum. Onufri was the most significant Albanian painter of the 16th century, known for mastery of fresco and icon techniques and credited as the first painter to introduce a new colour described as shiny red, which the French called 'Onufri's Red'. He also introduced greater realism and individual expression in facial depiction. The first inscription recording his name was found in 1951 in the Shelqan church. An inscription in the Kastoria church dated 23 July 1547 reads: 'I am Onufri, and come from the town of Berat.' The museum holds works by Onufri, his son Nikolla, other painters, icons, and examples of religious silversmith work. The Berat Gospels in the museum date from the 4th century; they are copies, with the originals preserved in the National Archives in Tirana.

Mosques, the Halveti Tekke, and other landmarksDeep dive

The King Mosque, known in Albanian as Xhamia e Mbretit, is the oldest mosque in Berat, built during the reign of Bayazid II between 1481 and 1512. It is notable for its ceiling and now functions as a museum. The Lead Mosque, Xhamia e Plumbit, was built in 1555; its name derives from the lead covering of its cupola, and it serves as the centre of the town. The Bachelors' Mosque, Xhami e Beqareve, was built in 1827. It has a portico and external decoration featuring flowers, plants, and houses. The name refers to young shop-assistants — typically unmarried — whom Berat's merchants used as a private militia.

The Halveti Tekke, Teqe e Helvetive, is thought to have been built in the 15th century and was rebuilt by Ahmet Kurt Pasha in 1782. It belongs to the Khalwati Sufi order. Near the tekke is a site purported to be the grave of Sabbatai Zevi, the Ottoman Jewish figure who converted to Islam after being banished to Dulcigno, present-day Ulcinj. A Jewish history museum named the Solomon Museum is located in southern Berat and contains exhibits about the Holocaust in Albania and Jewish survival during the war.

The Gorica Bridge connects two parts of Berat across the Osum. Originally built from wood in 1780, it was rebuilt in stone in the 1920s. The seven-arch structure is 129 metres long and 5.3 metres wide, and stands approximately 10 metres above average water level. A local legend holds that the original wooden bridge contained a dungeon in which a girl was incarcerated and starved to appease spirits responsible for the bridge's safety. The Berat National Ethnographic Museum opened in 1979 and holds everyday objects spanning the city's history, including non-movable furniture, household items, wooden cases, wall-closets, chimneys, an olive press, a wool press, and large ceramic dishes. A ground-floor hall contains a model of a medieval street with traditional shops.

UNESCO designation, autocephaly, and cultural significanceDeep dive

Berat was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. The designation reflects the coexistence of religious and cultural communities over several centuries, documented from the 4th century BCE into the 18th century, and the architectural quality of traditional Balkan housing construction dating to the late 18th and 19th centuries. The city is regarded as one of Albania's main cultural centres.

Berat is the site where the autocephaly of the Albanian Orthodox Church was proclaimed in 1922. Several of the city's churches contain works by the 16th-century painter Onufri. The city is colloquially known among Albanians as the city of 'One above another Windows', a reference to the large windows of the old decorated houses, and also as 'The City of Two Thousand Steps'. A comparable epithet of overlapping windows is sometimes applied to Gjirokastra. The Albanian Orthodox Church has a 15th-century mosque and a number of churches within the town.

Berat's economy historically centred on craft guilds. By 1750 there were twenty-two guilds; the most important were those of the tanners, cobblers, and other leather-workers, alongside metal-working, silver-smithing, and silk-making guilds. In the present day the city's economy includes Albania's military industry, with the nearby Kuçovë base and a disused factory at Poliçan, alongside a developing tourist economy. The city hosted the Albanian University in Berat, a private institution that terminated its programmes in 2019.