Butrint National Park

Butrint National Park, in Albania, was created in March, 2000. It protects 29 square kilometres of historic landscape, archaeology and environment.

The Butrint National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in southern Albania. It is one of the most important archaeological sites in the country with an archaeological sequence that runs from the Bronze Age to the 19th century. A number of major monuments are still extant, the city walls, late-antique baptistery, Great basilica, theatre and Venetian castles. In addition to the archaeological remains the site is robed in natural woodland with a complex ecosystem that depends on the nearby presence of the freshwater Lake Butrint and Vivari Channel which drains the Lake into the Ionian Sea. It is this combination of historic monuments and natural environment that makes Butrint such a unique place, a 'landscape with monuments' as beloved of the Grand Tourists of the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Park was created by the Albanian Ministry of Culture, under the direction of Edi Rama the Albanian Minister of Culture between 1998 -1999 and UNESCO, ICCROM and ICOMOS. The underlying intention was to create a sustainable cultural heritage resource involving local communities and national institutions to serve as a model for other parks around Albania. Under the leadership of Director Ylli Cerova, the Park has become the leading light in cultural heritage management in Albania. The Park is now a major centre for archaeological summer schools run by the Butrint Foundation in a number of collaborative programmes. There is an active programme of events in the theatre, concerts and performances, and outreach programmes for local schools and colleges. Some 55,000 tourists visited the archaeological site in 2005.

However there are major concerns lately that an English team lead by Prof. Richard Hodges excavating this site for years is trying to take control the management of the site. However, such libellous stories are based purely in the realm of fantasy.

External links

*http://www.butrint.org/ Official website of the Butrint National Park
*http://www.butrintfoundation.co.uk Website of the London based charity The Butrint Foundation
* [http://www.seerecon.org/press/pr000523.htm World Bank Grant helps the Butrinti National Park] the UNESCO World Heritage Site in Albania