The Historic Centres of Berat and Gjirokastër (Albanian: Qendrat historike të Beratit dhe Gjirokastrës) encompasses the cities of Berat and Gjirokastër in southern Albania. Gjirokastër was added to the UNESCOWorld Heritage Site list in 2005 while Berat was added as a site extension in 2008.[1][2] They are inscribed as rare examples of an architectural character typical of the Ottoman period.[3]
Berat is often referred as the city of a thousand windows and considered one of the architectural treasures of Albania. Traces from Illyrians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Ottomans are still evident and well preserved in the city with castles and mansions, old churches and mosques and impressive wall paintings, icons and murals.[4][5] Throughout the centuries, Berat was the place where various religions and communities coexisted in peace.
Gjirokastër, referred as the city of stone, stretches on the steep side of the Drino River valley overlooking the historic landscape with picturesque stone architecture framed by mountains at every side. As most of other cities in Albania, Gjirokastër bears architectural treasures of various civilizations that previously conquered the region.
1 with Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine 2 This is the extension of the site that has been inscribed in North Macedonia since 1979. The area around the town of Pogradec at the shores of Lake Ohrid was inhabited by the Illyrians in the 5th century BC, followed by the Romans and the Slavs. Traces of the Roman road Via Egnatia are evidence of an important passage route in the region. The ruins of the paleo-christian church of Lin together with its floor mosaics reveal the presence of Christianity. The historical centre of Pogradec represents an example of 19th to 20th century Albanian vernacular architecture.