TIRANA, February 8 /ATA/ The Clock Tower, a monument with special historical and cultural values in the castle of Kruja, is being reconstructed after being damaged by the earthquake of November 26, 2019.
Accompanied by Minister of Culture Elva Margariti, Prime Minister Edi Rama saw today the works that are being carried out for its reconstruction.
“The famous iconic tower of Skanderbeg’s history is being reconstructed after it was damaged by the earthquake”, said Rama.
Minister Margariti said that, “The first step taken by the Albanian government was drafting of the project for the emergency phase, a project that was carried out without being able to access the work because it was dangerous for the movement of the whole part of the stones. In cooperation with the Swedish government with the fund of Prince Klaus, this project enabled the further advancement in regard to implementation of this structure “.
“The structure is accessible both outside and inside and this has given us the opportunity to design a detailed final restoration project with more precision. We have started to advance with the fund of the American government, the Ambassador’s Fund, which for the first time is given to Albania with the full amount of 800 thousand USD for all post-earthquake objects”, underlined Margariti.
The minister also said that, “We will start with a geological study of the area under the tower. This will make it possible to continue with implementation of the full restoration.”
Minister Margariti said that, “In two months time, we shall complete the geological study around the tower area and we shall continue with implementation with the Ambassador’s Fund in the Clock Tower. At this stage, the tower is monitored by sensor for every movement. We have combined many digital elements for the first time and this has led to significant improvements in heritage interventions.”
For almost 16 centuries, identified as the centre of the state of Arbri, the fortress of the city of Kruja has been built on a rocky hill with a height of 557 meters. Our national flag was raised there for the first time on November 28, 1443 by Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg./p.s./
