WATER CISTERNS IN HISTORICAL HOUSES - GJIROKASTËR

Abstract

Gjirokastra features 1200 stone buildings, making it one of the most important cultural heritage sites in Albania. In 1961 Gjirokastra was declared a Museum City, and in 2005 it became part of the World Heritage List (UNESCO). Born in a period of turmoil, the ‘City of Stone’ was first mentioned in a chronicle on the uprising against the Byzantine Empire in 1336. In these difficult periods people were forced to balance defensive concerns with other life needs, such as water, food, etc. The defensive needs prevailed, and the people chose to establish the town in the most protected, but also the driest, part of the Drinos Valley. Given these conditions, the provision of water was a problem that required an urgent solution. For this, people devised an ingenious method of collecting rainwater in private cisterns, a technique we still find in all kinds of homes built in Gjirokastra from the end of the 18th century until World War II. Water collection was such an integral part of life for the people of Gjirokastra that it shaped even the design of their homes, as well as their daily routine, such as cleaning/treating the cisterns and distributing the rainwater. Water cisterns contribute to our understanding of sustainable architecture and the way people throughout history have creatively used natural resources. We are dealing with organic architecture strongly related to local characteristics, materials, topography, geography and particular needs of that place, as well as the technical skills of that time. Today the efficient use of natural resources is of main interest, and the maintenance and restoration of these monuments is urgently needed. Such studies, therefore, help us understand the nature and technique of these buildings increase the effectiveness of restoration interventions and teach us more about our heritage.