Gjirokastër Castle is a castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

 in Gjirokastër

Gjirokastër

Gjirokastër is a city in southern Albania with a population of 43,000. Lying in the historical region of Epirus, it is the capital of both the Gjirokastër District and the larger Gjirokastër County...

, Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

 (historically known as Argyrokastro, a name then applied also to the castle).

The castle dominates the town and overlooks the strategically important route along the river valley. It is open to visitors and contains a military museum featuring captured artillery and memorabilia of the Communist resistance against German occupation, as well as a captured United States Air Force plane to commemorate the Communist regime's struggle against the "imperialist" western powers.

The citadel

Citadel

A citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes incorporating a castle. The term derives from the same Latin root as the word "city", civis, meaning citizen....

 has existed in various forms since before the 12 century. Extensive renovations and a westward addition was added by Ali Pasha

Ali Pasha

Ali Pasha of Tepelena or of Yannina, surnamed Aslan, "the Lion", or the "Lion of Yannina", Ali Pashë Tepelena was an Ottoman Albanian ruler of the western part of Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territory which was also called Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioannina...

 of Tepelene after 1812. The government of King Zog expanded the castle prison in 1932.

Today it possesses five towers and houses a clock tower, a church, a cistern, the stage of the National Folk Festival

Gjirokastër National Folklore Festival

Gjirokastër National Folklore Festival is an artistic festival taking place every five years in Gjirokastër Castle in Gjirokastër, southern Albania. The festival showcases Albanian traditional music, dress, and dance from Albanian inhabited lands throughout the Balkans and Southern Italy...

, and many other points of interest.

The castle's prison was used extensively by Zog's government and housed political prisoners during the Communist regime.