This month we commemorate our National Hero, Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu (May 6, 1405 – January 17, 1468), the most important figure of the Albanian people and the personification of an entire era of national history.
Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu, National Hero of the Albanians, great strategist and statesman, led the fight for freedom and independence against the Ottoman occupation and the political-state union of the Albanian people.
The struggle of the Albanians led by their leader marks a decisive turning point in the political organization of the country as well as in the strengthening of national unity. After liberating Kruja, on November 28, 1443, he raised the Kastriot flag and on March 2, 1444, in the Cathedral of Shënkolli in the city of Lezha, Skënderbeu held the First National Assembly. As the leader of the Assembly, he emphasized the necessity and importance of the union of Albanians. It was the assembly where the foundations of national unity were laid. The massive mobilization of Albanian forces that began in Dibër, expanded throughout the country, which turned into a general uprising in a short time. Within the first months, several principalities and most of the Albanian lands were liberated. The Albanian forces led by Skënderbeu won a series of battles against the Ottoman armies, such as in the fields of Pollog, Dibra, Ohrid and Domosdova, the gorges and valleys of Shkumbin, the fields of Uji Bardhë, Livadi near Ohrid, Vajkal, etc.
After years of struggle and resistance to the Ottoman occupation, leading the Albanians’ struggle for freedom, Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu died in Lezhë. His figure became a source of inspiration during the wars for the freedom and independence of the Motherland and especially during the National Renaissance.