ATTRACTIONS OF THE CULTURAL ROUTE OF MIRDITA
INFOKULLA
Infokulla is a private initiative and a gift of the "Albanian-Austrian Partnership - Marianne Graf (AAP)" to Mirdita Municipality.
The Municipality of Mirdita manages the Info tower - the tourist information office with full responsibility and authority, cooperating with the support of Marianne Graf, and develops various activities, including initiatives in eco-tourism.
THE CHURCH OF SAINT MARY (NDERFANES), GZIQ
The Church of Saint Mary, also known as the church of Nderfana (Gziq), has historical and cultural importance not only for the inhabitants of Mirdita, but for the history of the entire country.
Damaged and rebuilt over the years, the church is positioned on a small hill and west of the village of Gziq.
Initially, the first archaeological data were obtained in 1901 by the medievalist Theodor Ippen.
Among other data, the attention was drawn more by a single-headed eagle carved on a marble slab and which he rightly called heraldic.
MONASTERY CHURCH OF RUBIK
The medieval Benedictine monastery is positioned in a favorable location, on a prominent rocky plot of a natural bend of the Fan river, above the town of Rubik (Mirdita district, Lezhë county).
Above all, the monastery had the ability to control from a dominant position the water and land itineraries: the water route that, using the river, connected the coast with Arbanon up to the heights of Oroshi, and the land route that is referred to as l'Itinerarium Lissus-Naissus.
CHURCH OF SAINT ALEXANDER (SHËN LLEZHRIT), OROSH
The seat of Oroshi, isolated in those mountains, is, and it can be said, quite distant from the nearest villages, with only the cemetery nearby, with a view of the church. It is established that, in the time of Turkey, the abbots were no more than village priests, under which were the communities of Orosh and Spaçi.
The income was provided by the few lands that were left to the Abbey and by the donations of Propaganda Fides, which appointed the abbots.
After a tiring journey through steep paths filled with hospitality, but also with surprising traps, Edith Durham feels at home in Mirdita.
ARBËR WINERY
Albania has one of the oldest winemaking traditions in Europe, dating back to the Bronze Age.
During the Roman and Byzantine periods, wine production in the country increased significantly, although under Ottoman rule there was a decline in production.
During the communist dictatorship, there were several wineries and wineries that were managed only by the regime (not private owners). The most common autochthonous Albanian grape varieties are: Kallmeti, Shesh, Debin, Vranac and Vlosh.
THE AQUEDUCT OF DOMGJON
The fortified settlement, which in the local tradition is known as the "City", was located in the present-day village of Domgjon, west of the valley of Fan i Vogël.
According to researcher Apollon Baçe: The construction of residential centers in the first centuries of our era, on flat terrain, the use of bricks and hydrolyzable mortar gave an impetus to the construction of aqueducts.
SPAC PRISON (RE-EDUCATION UNIT 303)
In the 1930s - 1950s, Spaçi was an active copper and pyrite mine
In 1968 Spaçi Prison was opened as "Reeducation Facility 303" - combining prison with forced labor in the mines.
This prison camp was opened in Spaç in 1968. The convicts were housed in 7 large barracks made of sheet metal and wood. Almost 100 convicts lived in one barrack. The command was stationed outside the perimeter of the camp.
STONE HOUSE OF ZEF NDOCAJ IN KODËR SPAÇ VILLAGE
Zef Ndocaj's apartment was declared a Cultural Monument by the Ministry of Education and Culture in 1973.
This house, as well as others in the province of Mirdita, have distinctive features, which are precisely the clear protective features and the way of their realization.
Everything is subject to the main goal, providing a protected living: the plot, the compositional scheme of the apartment with alcoves located in height, the external architectural formulation with closed masses, the introduction of stairs Inside, the gate, the roof shelter, etc.
RUBIC PICTOGRAMS
Rubik pictograms are located 3.5 km west of the city of Rubiku, on the outskirts of the village of Bulshize e Eperme in the place called Gryka e Gĺdhezhës.
A few meters below the mouth of Gĺdhezha, in an ordinary rock shelter, Rubik's painting was realized.
MATRIZA CASTLE
The Byzantine historian of the c. VI, Procopius of Caesarea, informs us that Justinian (527-565) built or rebuilt 58 fortifications in New Epirus and 36 in Old Epirus, a good part of which are found in our country.
In the book "On constructions", he mentions, among other things, "castrum Matris", as one of the forts that was built at the beginning of the 6th century by Justinian I in New Epirus, to protect against barbarian floods. Rubik Castle guards the mouth of the small river called Rubik, which originates in Zhupa Mountain and flows into the Fana River in the city of Rubik.
The castle is located on the northern bank of the river. On the southern bank, at almost the same height, there is another medieval fortification guarding the mouth of the river.
