Krujë (Albanian definite form: Kruja; see also the etymology section) is a town and a municipality in north-central Albania.

Located between Mount Krujë and the Ishëm River, the city is 20 km north of the capital of Albania, Tirana.

In 1914 Toptani managed to seize the town but during the same year it was reincorporated by Prênk Bibë Doda in the Principality of Albania.

The name of the city is related to the Albanian word kroi, krua, meaning "fountain" or "water source", from Proto-Albanian * krana < * krasna.

Early medieval artifacts of Krujë include dress items and weaponry found in fifth- and sixth-century cemeteries, which display the high status and the wealth of the burials.

Originally a middle-sized fortress like other urban centers, Krujë expanded to a town probably from the sixth to the ninth century AD.

[13] After its recapture it was incorporated in the Sanjak of Albania and formed an administrative unit with the status of Subaşilik as attested in the regional register of 1431.

[14] On 28 November 1443 Skanderbeg gained control over Krujë by deceiving its subaşi with forged sultan's letter, and raised the first Albanian flag on the same day.

From 1450 until 1477 Krujë was defended successfully by the Albanian troops four times against the Ottoman army, which eventually captured it in 1478 during the fourth Siege of the city.

[18] The Wāli of Shkodër, Sali Zeki Pasha sent four battalions of the Ottoman army stationed in the city against the rebels of Krujë.

[20] In 1914 Essad Toptani, a member of the notable Toptani family of the region and officer of the Ottoman army, captured the town and incorporated it in the Republic of Central Albania making it a center of his movement, but in June of the same year it was reincorporated by Prênk Bibë Doda in the Principality of Albania.

[18][21] On 20 December 1914 the local anti-Essadists, led by Abdi Toptani and Mehmet Gjinali, formed the Union of Krujë, which quickly extended its authority in central Albania.

Mustafa Merlika-Kruja, a native of Krujë, who became the Prime Minister of the new regime ordered the formation of a 300-man gendarmerie force to defend the town against resistance groups.

[24] In the end of November 1944, the last German troops stationed in the area were defeated and LNÇ battalions entered the town.

[18] The town is located in the northern part of the outer Albanides tectonic unit, which consists of anticlines of Mesozoic carbonate platforms.

However, Sheikh Mimi was executed by Kaplan Pasha, who destroyed the tekke, which was restored by Baba Husayn of Dibër in the mid-19th century.

Its collection includes mostly 15th century artefacts related to the Albanian-Ottoman wars, during which the castle was besieged four times by the Ottoman army.