Lighthouses of Albania

Albania faces west on the Adriatic Sea and Strait of Otranto south of Montenegro and north of Greece. The country gained its independence from the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire in 1912. After World War II it was governed by a repressive communist dictatorship and generally closed to visitors, an isolation that came to an end after the Communists were pushed out of power in 1992. Although it is one of Europe's poorest and least known countries, tourism is beginning to develop, especially on the southern coast.

Durrës and Vlorë are the major ports. The Albanian word for a lighthouse is far; kep is a cape or headland, gji is a bay, and ishull is an island.

In 2004, the Italian Navy provided assistance to Albania in upgrading its aids to navigation.

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume E of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 113.

What's Hot:

General Sources
Durres Light
Kep i Durrësit Light
photo copyright Tim Partlett; used by permission

Lighthouses
Kep i Rodonit (Cape Rodoni)
Date unknown (station established by the Ottoman Empire in 1884). Active; focal plane 40 m (131 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 10 m (33 ft) "white square column," according to NGA. No photo available. A Google satellite view probably shows the station, but the tower is not visible. Rodonit is a sharp, mountainous cape that projects about 8 km (5 mi) into the Adriatic Sea in northern Albania. We need more information on this historic light station; we don't know if anything survives of the Ottoman lighthouse. Located on the heights above the cape. Site status unknown. ARLHS ALB-016; Admiralty E3705; NGA 14296.
* Kep i Durrësit
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 126 m (413 ft); two white flashes every 10 s. 14 m (46 ft) octagonal cylindrical stone tower with gallery. The lighthouse is unpainted white stone. Tim Partlett's photo appears above, and Google has a satellite view. Kep i Durrësit (Cape Durres) is a headland sheltering the harbor of Durrës, Albania's principal port of entry. Located on the heights above the palace of King Zog I, which is one of the best known attractions in Durrës; visitors report it is possible to walk a short distance uphill from the palace to find the lighthouse. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS ALB-002; Admiralty E3711; NGA 14304.
Kep i Lagit
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 13 m (43 ft); one long white flash every 6 s. 8 m (26 ft) octagonal masonry tower, painted white. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Kep i Lagit is the promontory at the south end of the Gji i Durrësit (Durres Bay), about 15 km (9 mi) across the bay due south of Durrës. Located on the point fo the cape. Site status unknown. ARLHS ALB-014; Admiralty E3719; NGA 14320.
Ishull i Sazanit (Sazan Island, Saseno)
Date unknown (station established by Greece in 1871). Active; focal plane 193 m (633 ft); white flash every 10 s. 12 m (39 ft) round tower with keeper's house. No photo available. Sazan Island, known as Saseno in Italian, is located strategically in the mouth of the Gji i Vlorës, Vlorë Bay. The island was occupied by Britain after the Napoleonic Wars, then by Greece from 1864 to World War I and by Italy from 1923 to 1943. Thus the lighthouse could be of Greek or Italian origin. Located at the northwestern tip of the island. Accessible only by boat, and the island, site of a former Soviet air base, is a restricted military area. Site and tower closed. ARLHS ALB-004; Admiralty E3723; NGA 14328.
Kep i Treporteve
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 18 m (59 ft); white flash every 5 s. 10 m (33 ft) octagonal stone tower, painted white. A building near the lighthouse may be a keeper's house. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located on the northeast side of the entrance to the Gji i Vlorës, about 8 km (5 mi) east of Sazan Island and the same distance northwest of Vlorë. Site status unknown. ARLHS ALB-007; Admiralty E3727; NGA 14344.
Gji Dukatit (Kep i Pasha Liman)
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 21 m (69 ft); two white flashes every 5 s. 8 m (26 ft) square masonry tower with gallery, painted white. No photo available, but Google has a satellite view. Located on a headland sheltering the small port of Orikum, at the southern end of the Gji i Vlorës. Site status unknown. ARLHS ALB-013; Admiralty E3731; NGA 14360.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

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Posted October 12, 2006. Checked and revised January 8, 2008. Lighthouses: 6. Site copyright 2008 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.