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Ruins of Old Kukës/ The history of an underwater city that is being restored for visitors
2025-10-28 10:02:50 / MISTERE&KURIOZITETE
In northern Albania, beneath the waters of Lake Fierza, lie the ruins of a once bustling city, Old Kukës. Old Kukës was flooded in the 1970s when the Fierza hydroelectric dam, one of the largest energy projects in the country, was built.
Today, its ruins remain a living testament to the history and culture of the area.
But, due to drought and lack of rainfall, the emergence of the ruins of Old Kukes, which have been submerged in water for four decades, is becoming a recurring phenomenon that attracts the attention of the media, but also foreign and domestic tourists who choose to visit this city.
To reach Old Kukës, you must cross the New Kukës Bridge, a structure that serves as a connecting node between the two sides of the lake and the national road. Many foreigners stop there to take photos and videos of the bridge that connects the banks of the Drin River to the National Road. The 30 million dollar investment makes this bridge an economic hub that connects Albania with Kosovo.
As soon as you cross this bridge, the shores appear from where you can clearly see traces of the ruins of Old Kukës, which have now acquired a special tourist and historical value.
The lack of rainfall and prolonged drought have significantly lowered the level of Lake Fierza, which has led to the emergence of some of the ruins of Old Kukës.
According to residents, these shores by the lake have also become an attraction that attracts the attention of tourists, especially foreigners who stop to listen to the stories of the elderly and to "touch" up close some facts and stories about how an entire city disappeared underwater.
The ruins of Old Kukës are not just stone remains, they are living testimony to history that reminds us that time can change everything, but not the traces of a city.
Beslim Karakushi, now 83 years old, is one of the former employees of the Fierza hydroelectric power plant and says that Old Kukës was considered the Myzeqeja of the northern city because it was a manufacturing place.
" I worked as an assembler, also at the hydroelectric power plant. Back then, they treated us well, they gave us a salary and a half for the hardships of the work, so we worked 8 hours but were paid for 12 hours. After this hydroelectric power plant, in the 70s we had projects for five hydroelectric power plants. We had Old Kukës as Myzeqe, because it was a producing place, but the time came for the government to decide to "produce" water ," Karakushi recounts.
He claims that "the flooding began in 1972, but the ruins of Old Kukes are emerging for two reasons: drought and we waste water on electricity, there is no water reserve. The Skavica hydroelectric power plant used to stabilize the water level."
According to him, the highest heights in the square of Old Kukes were the base of the Skanderbeg bust, the ruins of the "Gjallica" hotel, the walls of houses, etc.
"The water level has dropped significantly, thus exposing the foundations of Old Kukës. Several warehouses that served at that time for state enterprises, the bridge near the Kulla e Lumes, which once connected Kukës with Prizren, but also fragments of buildings around the old city of Kukës are now visible ," says Karakushi.
He claims that, together with other villagers, they often return to see this phenomenon up close, which takes them back to their years working at the hydroelectric power plant, and for the elderly, to their childhood spent there.
83-year-old Karakushi says that some of the highest parts of Old Kukës have fallen to the lower level, as the residents label this part of the lake.
According to Karakushi, this phenomenon is caused by the lack of rain, snow, and global warming that has changed temperatures in every season.
This is due to drought and the drop in the level of Lake Fierza, very close to the "death point", a level of 252 meters according to the Albanian Energy Corporation./ATAH
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