Walk into almost any Albanian home, square or café and you will find Skanderbeg: on a statue, a painting, a coin or a T-shirt. Gjergj Kastrioti, known as Skanderbeg, is Albania’s national hero, and his story explains why.
From hostage to commander
Gjergj was born in the early 15th century into the Kastrioti family, Albanian nobles in the area around Krujë. As a boy he was sent to the Ottoman court as a hostage, where he was trained as a soldier and rose to become a respected commander. The Ottomans called him Iskender Bey, after Alexander the Great, which became “Skanderbeg”.
Raising the flag at Krujë
In 1443, during a campaign against the Ottomans’ enemies, Skanderbeg left the Ottoman army, returned to Albania and took the fortress of Krujë, where he raised his family’s flag: a black double-headed eagle on red. In 1444 he brought Albanian nobles together in the League of Lezhë, the first time they had united under one leader.
25 years of resistance
For a quarter of a century Skanderbeg defeated or held off much larger Ottoman armies, including famous sieges of Krujë. His success made him famous across Europe. He died of illness in Lezhë in 1468, and Krujë fell a decade later, but his example lived on through centuries of foreign rule and inspired the Albanian national movement that won independence in 1912.
Skanderbeg today
His statue stands in Skanderbeg Square in the heart of Tirana, and the castle at Krujë is a museum to his life. For Albanians everywhere he is a symbol of unity and courage. Our embroidered Skanderbeg hoodie, Skanderbeg trucker cap and Skanderbeg T-shirt carry his image with the eagle, so you can wear that story every day.
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