Burgajet Castle, Ruined fortified house in Burgajet, Mat District, Albania

Burgajet Castle was a large fortified house, a kulla or saraj, on a hill above the village of Burgajet, ten kilometres east of Burrel in Mat. Jason Tomes described a solid rectangular building with two small wings facing a courtyard. Today only ruined fragments remain: two tall broken wall sections, one with a slender cylindrical piece and a dark arched opening, and a rectangular stone face with two dark window openings above overgrown shrubs and ferns, reached by shallow stone steps.

The Zogolli family held Burgajet as their seat and claimed origins in the 15th century, though the house standing by the 19th century was built before 1860. King Zog I, his father Xhemal Pasha Zogu and half-brother Xhelal Bey Zogu were born there. Yugoslav forces set it alight in 1920, and the communist authorities demolished the ruins in 1945, using the marble stones to pave Burrel's sidewalks.

The Zogolli (Zogu) family headed the Mat tribe of about 20,000 people and ruled the region as feudal lords; the village and the kulla were its administrative centre, since the area had no town. The family kept several residences across the country and lived in Tirana after the fires. After communism, they rebuilt Xhemal Pasha's grave.

The site is marked by remaining marble stones but requires a moderate uphill walk through the village of Burgajet to reach it. Wear sturdy footwear and allow time for exploring the steep terrain at your own pace.

Jason Tomes noted that Burgajet was the biggest house for miles and the only one with glazed windows, its interior filled with salon chairs, draperies and table-lamps imported from Austria. The ruins later appeared on the two highest values of a 1930 stamp series.