Korçë is home to five museums, demonstrating the significance of this city to Albania’s culture. Truly unique is the Museum of Medieval Art with its Orthodox icons. Surprisingly modern exhibitions of photography or Asian art can also be visited. The Museum of Education, which provides insights into Albanian literature, will be appreciated by history and literature buffs.
The National Museum of Medieval Art (Muzeu Kombëtar i Artit Mesjetar, open Tue-Sun 9-14 and 17-19, entrance 700 lek) is something you shouldn’t miss when visiting Korçë. In fact, it is one of the most interesting museums in the whole of Albania and will be enjoyed even by those who are not exactly fans of exhibitions or the Middle Ages.
The museum’s collection numbers an impressive 7,500 works of art, of which about four hundred are on display. It includes Albania’s largest collection of icons, made by famous Albanian painters such as Onufri and the Zografi brothers. The works have been collected from churches and monasteries throughout southeastern Albania. While the Byzantine era is the main focus of the exhibition, ethnographic artefacts from the 20th century are also on display.
TIP: When you are tired of the tour, take a break in the newly established Japanese park (Japonez Park) which is located next to the museum building.
Equally interesting is the Museum of Education (Muzeu Kombëtar i Arsimit), which is housed in the building where the first Albanian school, the so-called Mësonjëtorja, was opened in 1887. Here you can learn a lot about the history of Albanian writing. Two designs of the unique Albanian alphabet, invented in the 19th century by Naum Veqilharxhi and Kostandin Kristoforidhi before Albanians officially adopted the Latin alphabet, are on display.
You wouldn’t expect to find an exhibition of Asian art in eastern Albania, but there is one indeed. The Museum Bratko (Muzeu i Artit Oriental Bratko, open Tue-Sun 9-14 and 15-20) was established after American-Albanian photographer George Dimitri Boria donated his private collection of Oriental art, collected during his stint in post-war Japan, to his hometown.
Lovers of artistic photography will enjoy the Museum of Gjon Mili (Muzeu i Fotografisë Gjon Mili, open Tue-Sun 9-14 and 15-20), an American photographer and native of Korçë, who rose to fame with his strobe-assisted long-exposure portraits.
Archaeological Museum (Muzeu Arkeologjik i Korçës, Tue-Fri 9-14 and 17-19, Sat-Sun 9-12 and 17-19) exhibits mainly prehistoric objects found in southeastern Albania. The exhibition is situated in a typical house from the 19th century.
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