The helmet with a goat’s head: what we know about Skanderbeg’s arms in Vienna
Vienna holds a helmet with a gilded goat’s head attributed to Gjergj Kastrioti. Here is what the museum says, what scholars say and what remains uncertain.
Heritage
Ancient history, the Illyrians, and the traditions and symbols handed down to us.
vëmendjastoicizmishëndetiqetësiapsikologjiemocionetlibratzemraushqimizakonetkohaditaritë mësuaritbesimetqëllimetshkrimiPomodoropushimetkuptimiViktor Frankl
7 articles
Iso-polyphony: the song everyone holds up
Two voices sing the melody, the others hold the "iso". The polyphonic song of southern Albania is part of the intangible heritage of humanity.
The Congress of Manastir (1908): how the alphabet we write with today was chosen
Until the early twentieth century, Albanian was written in several alphabets. In November 1908, in Manastir, delegates from many places gathered to settle the question.
The League of Prizren (1878–1881): when Albanians gathered so as not to be divided
In June 1878 about 80 delegates gathered in Prizren, fearing that Albanian lands would be divided among neighbouring states. What they asked for, what they achieved and how it ended.
Gjon Buzuku’s Meshari: the oldest printed book in Albanian
In 1555 a Catholic priest from northern Albania completed a translation of the main parts of the liturgy. It is the oldest known book printed in the Albanian language.
Besa: the given word as a law of the heart
Besa means keeping your word, even when it costs you. During the Holocaust it saved lives: Albania ended the war with more Jews than it had at the start.
Teuta: the Illyrian queen Rome saw as a threat
In 229 BC Rome crossed the Adriatic with an army for the first time. Facing it was an Illyrian queen. Her story reaches us mainly through her enemies.