Surrounded by mesmerizing sceneries, lush greenery and adventures, with its fortified center, Berat houses many Albanian treasures of historical and cultural significance. A tribute to the country’s unique architecture, religious tolerance, and Ottoman-era buildings, this city is a true gem.

Unique Sites

Bogova Waterfall

Bogova Waterfall is a natural monument and one of the most beautiful in the country, visited by thousands of tourists during all seasons and especially in winter, which becomes even more beautiful with the presence of ice. The waterfall is 20 meters high and falls into a 12 meter deep blue pool.

The crystal waters, the tempting sound of the waterfall falling down the slopes, the greenery that surrounds it, as well as the presence of ice make it extraordinary and evocative for tourists. The Bogova waterfall is a magnet for all visitors to Mount Tomori, a stop where in summer they quench the heat in the cold waters and in winter they are amazed by the beauty that it offers, at this time of the year where the presence of ice gives a spectacle.

Ethnographic Museum

The Ethnographic Museum is housed in a beautiful, traditional XVIII century Berat house and displays 1400 artifacts. The ground floor mimics the Medieval Bazaar and displays various typical Berat objects such as clothing, tools, household items, and many original artifacts of the time. On the upper floor, visitors will get a chance to see the rooms of a traditional Berat house from XVIII and XIX centuries.

Bachelors’ Mosque

Built in 1827 for Berat’s unmarried craftsmen, the Bachelor’s Mosque is located in the heart of the Mangalem quarter. This mosque is famous for its paintings, its frescoes with floral motifs, and its architectural style. The shape and dimensions are in perfect proportion to the Mangalem neighborhood’s house ensemble.

Mangalem Quarter

The Mangalem Quarter, located at the foot of Berat’s hilltop castle, is the city’s most representative area for Ottoman-period architecture. The majority of the quarter’s original buildings (from XVIII and XIX centuries) still have antique decorations and furniture from that era. Mangalem is an excellent example of an inclining landscape that has organically created a unique slope overlooking the town known as “the city of a thousand windows”.

The Castle

Berat Castle is a historical monument where civilizations overlap and history finds tangible evidence from antiquity to the end of the Ottoman period. Its foundations date back to IV century BC, and archaeological traces can be found from the Illyrian, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman eras. Within the castle, which has an area of almost 10 hectares and a perimeter of 1400 meters, there is a neighborhood of nearly 300 people, making this a rare castle that still has a heartbeat and life since ancient times.

The architecture of the houses dates from the Ottoman period of XVIII and XIX centuries. As well, there are 12 churches, some of them with elaborate frescoes, and the ruins of two medieval mosques. In its center, on the premises of the cathedral, The Dormition of St. Mary (XVIII century), make sure to find the Onufri National Iconographic Museum.