The Labeatic Kingdom had long been a thorn in the side of the Romans; they began in 229 BC. The first time a Roman army was sent to Illyria in the 4th century BC. The First Illyrian War began, and Queen Teuta's Illyrian armies had to admit defeat to the Romans before Scodra. The Labeatic kingdom collapsed, and the dynasty only ruled over the city area. 168 B.C. It was also taken by the Romans in 400 BC and the then king Genthios was interned in Iguvium in Italy.
In 1479, Shkodra was conquered by the Ottomans after a long siege of Rozafa Castle, and Shkodra became the capital of the vilâyet of the same name. To the extent that the residents had survived the siege and had not already fled the city, they left the city with the withdrawing Venetian troops and were settled in the remaining Venetian territory.
Skadar lies between the Skadar Lake and the rivers Kir, Drin and Buna. The border with Montenegro is only 34 kilometers away. The 2400 years old city has always been regional administrative center. Today Shkodra is Headquarters Bashkia (township) and capital of Qarks Shkodra.
After a few days of mostly cloudy skies with light rain showers, the sun is back, so we prepare ourselves for further excursions around Lake Skutari and, after a brief consultation with the hosts of the Campsite Legjenda, also on the lake, the largest of the Balkan Peninsula.
Our routes through Albania had led us through Shkodra several times, so we had, of course, also noticed the mighty fortress Kalaja e Rozafës (more rarely also Kështjella e Rozafës), to the left at the main road towards Tirana, which we wanted to visit extensively during our present stay.
On a hill, steeply above the Buna and Drin rivers, from the Legjenda campsite to be seen well and just 10 minutes on foot reachable, you will reach the ruined castle Rozafa.