The national hero Gjergj Kastriot - Skenderbeu was born on May 6, 1405, in a noble family of Dibra, as was Gjon Kastriot's.

He was taken hostage by Sultan Murat and fought for the Ottoman Empire as a general until 1443, the year in which he left during a battle, returning to Kruja. In 1444, he gathered all the Albanian princes in the League of Lezha, where it was unanimously decided to fight for the possession of the Albanian lands against the Ottoman Empire.

At the head of the Albanian army, after the first victory against the Ottomans in the battle of Torviolli, Skënderbeu would reap 22 great victories against the Ottoman Empire, in the years of the war at the head of his own army, which had Kruja as its headquarters. 

The national hero would be known for his relentless struggle in a key place between east and west. He would be recognized as loyal to the King of Naples in the Treaty of Gaeta, where he supported King Ferdinand of Naples in the civil war of 1460–1461. In 1463 he was the commander of the crusade forces of Pope Pius II, while he died on January 17, 1468, at the age of 63.

Gjergj Kastriot Skenderbeu is considered by many Western European countries as the hero who prevented the Ottoman Empire from conquering Western Europe and as the model of Christian resistance against the Muslim Ottomans.

In honor of his birthday, a series of activities are held today in the square named after the hero in Pristina. /KosovaPress/