Visit the old city of Berat and the great Berat castle.
Follow your guide important places inside its strong walls steeped in history.Then head down to the city and meander through the narrow streets of the Gorica and Mangalem neighborhoods. These historical quarters exude charm, offering a captivating stroll with architectural wonders at cultural heritage.
The lands of Berat, according to archaeologists, have been inhabited by civilized people since the 7th century BC. Two stone hammers date the beginning of life in it before the Bronze Age (2600-1800 BC).
Archaeological evidence shows that in the c. VII-VI BC A pre-urban settlement developed here, with its pottery workshops and a differentiated social life. On the borders of legend and history, this settlement is said to have been the ancient Orestiada, so called because a tribe of Pelasgians, the Orestes, lived there, the first of whom was Orestes, the son of Agamemnon. The actual city was founded in 313-310 BC. as a city-castle of Dasaretia, called Antipatrea by King Cassander in memory of the general viceroy of Leka the Great. This is the first name of the city. After the Roman occupation in the c. II P. Kr. it was called by them Albanorum Oppidum (Fortress of Arbers). In the century V, under the Byzantine empire, was strengthened and changed its name to Βουλγερολις (Bulgarian city, Slv. Belgrade) in the 10th century.
