Roots Albania in Shkodra: audio stories about 12 places
Roots Albania has audio stories about 12 places in Shkodra (Albanian: Shkodër), in northern Albania. The app covers 211 places in ten Albanian cities, in 28 languages, and needs no account: open Shkodra, pick a place and play its story.
In the order the app shows them, with the Albanian name after the English one.
Ebu Bekr Mosque (Xhamia Ebu Bekr)
Orthodox Cathedral of Shkodra (Katedralja Ortodokse e Shkodrës)
Shkodra Historical Museum (Muzeu Historik i Shkodrës)
Marubi National Photography Museum (Muzeu Kombëtar Marubi)
Gjuhadol Promenade (Pedonalja Gjuhadol)
Cathedral of St Stephen (Katedralja e Shën Shtjefnit)
Site of Witness and Memory (Vendi i Dëshmisë dhe Kujtesës)
Shkodra Lead Mosque (Xhamia e Plumbit e Shkodrës)
Rozafa Castle (Kalaja e Rozafës)
Shirokë Village (Fshati Shirokë)
Mes Bridge (Ura e Mesit)
Drisht Castle (Kalaja e Drishtit)
Is there an audio guide for Rozafa Castle?
Yes, as audio stories. Rozafa Castle (Kalaja e Rozafës) is place 9 of the 12 Shkodra places in Roots Albania: it has a short introduction and a story of about six minutes, in 28 languages, with a male and a female voice.
In one line: A castle on the rock 130 metres above Shkodër, raised by the Illyrian Labeates in the 4th century BCE and enriched by Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans.
Shkodra Lead Mosque, Mes Bridge and Drisht Castle have their own stories too.
Roots Albania is not a guided tour: you choose the place on the city's map of places and play its story yourself.
How to use Roots Albania in Shkodra
Open Roots Albania and choose Shkodra. The city has its own map of places with all 12 places on it; tap a place to play its short introduction or its story of about six minutes. You can listen in 28 languages, in a male or a female voice, and there is no account.
Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection. The stories are written by local people.
Every place below has a short introduction and a story of about six minutes in the Roots Albania app. The names, the coordinates (latitude, longitude), the type, the period and the one line descriptions are taken from the app's catalogue on 15 September 2026; a place without a one line description here has none short enough to print.
1. Ebu Bekr Mosque
Albanian name
Xhamia Ebu Bekr
Coordinates
42.0677416, 19.5140218
Type of place
religious
Period
modern
In one line
Shkodër's largest Sunni mosque, rebuilt by the Muslim community near the site where the Fushë Çela Mosque stood before the atheist regime destroyed it in 1967.
2. Orthodox Cathedral of Shkodra
Albanian name
Katedralja Ortodokse e Shkodrës
Coordinates
42.06868056, 19.51495556
Type of place
religious
Period
modern
3. Shkodra Historical Museum
Albanian name
Muzeu Historik i Shkodrës
Coordinates
42.06931667, 19.50926667
Type of place
museum
Period
modern
4. Marubi National Photography Museum
Albanian name
Muzeu Kombëtar Marubi
Coordinates
42.0685809, 19.5155712
Type of place
museum
Period
modern
5. Gjuhadol Promenade
Albanian name
Pedonalja Gjuhadol
Coordinates
42.067805, 19.516878
Type of place
cultural
Period
Ottoman
6. Cathedral of St Stephen
Albanian name
Katedralja e Shën Shtjefnit
Coordinates
42.06542, 19.51992
Type of place
religious
Period
modern
In one line
The Catholic Cathedral of Saint Stephen, built beginning in 1858 under the direction of an Austrian engineer, was one of the largest churches in the Balkans of that time.
7. Site of Witness and Memory
Albanian name
Vendi i Dëshmisë dhe Kujtesës
Coordinates
42.065, 19.516944444
Type of place
historical
Period
communist
In one line
The former headquarters of the Shkodër Internal Affairs Branch, where the Sigurimi i Shtetit interrogated political suspects from 1946 to 1991.
8. Shkodra Lead Mosque
Albanian name
Xhamia e Plumbit e Shkodrës
Coordinates
42.046481, 19.499435
Type of place
religious
Period
Ottoman
In one line
An Ottoman mosque raised by Mehmet Pasha Bushati between 1773 and 1774, distinctive for its twelve lead domes.
9. Rozafa Castle
Albanian name
Kalaja e Rozafës
Coordinates
42.0465304, 19.4939106
Type of place
historical
Period
ancient
In one line
A castle on the rock 130 metres above Shkodër, raised by the Illyrian Labeates in the 4th century BCE and enriched by Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans.
10. Shirokë Village
Albanian name
Fshati Shirokë
Coordinates
42.0590016, 19.4575375
Type of place
cultural
Period
Ottoman
In one line
A fishing village five kilometres west of Shkodër, on the shore of the largest lake in the Balkans.
11. Mes Bridge
Albanian name
Ura e Mesit
Coordinates
42.11448, 19.574976
Type of place
architectural
Period
Ottoman
In one line
An Ottoman bridge of limestone with 13 arches and a length of 108 metres, built by Mehmet Pasha Bushati around 1768 over the river Kir.
12. Drisht Castle
Albanian name
Kalaja e Drishtit
Coordinates
42.1235, 19.6112
Type of place
historical
Period
medieval
In one line
The ruins of the medieval city of Drivastum, 10 kilometres northeast of Shkodër, which for a thousand years was a religious, commercial and military centre of northern Albania.
