In Tirana, there is a wide variety of museums and galleries. While some are more interactive and contemporary, others simply feature showcases and information panels. One of the capital’s most popular tourist destinations, the newly opened Bunk’Art Museum offers a firsthand experience of the oppressive atmosphere of the Cold War.
The National History Museum (Muzeu Historik Kombëtar, open Tue-Sat 10-17, entrance 200 lek) is located in the northern part of Skanderbeg Square and is easily identifiable by its enormous mosaics that portray various figures from Albanian history in the socialist realism style.
The collections of the museum are vast. If you have an interest in history, schedule enough time to explore it. The exhibition will transport you from the “flint” to the end of the 20th century. English and German summaries are included with the detailed descriptions. Sadly, there are no English explanations available for the most interesting and contemporary exhibition, which focuses on the communist era.
The National Gallery of Art (Galeria Kombëtare e Arteve; entrance 200 leks; open 10-18 except on Mondays and Tuesdays) features artwork produced since the late 19th century when Albanian artists started incorporating non-religious motifs, primarily drawn from an idealized portrayal of rural life in the country. The exhibition is organized chronologically, with a section on socialist realism followed by a collection of modern art created after 1990, including pieces by Edi Rama, the prime minister currently in office.
The fact that Tirana‘s history extends back to antiquity is not widely known. The Tirana Mosaic (Mozaiku i Tiranës, open 8-17, free admission), discovered in 1972, is the only surviving proof of this. It is housed in the recently constructed, but historically Roman, home of a likely first-century AD wine grower. After the house was transformed into a basilica, the mosaic was made between the fourth and fifth centuries AD. It’s about a fifteen-minute walk west of Skanderbeg Square, close to the inner city ring road.
Of all the museums in Tirana, Bunk’Art (Wed-Mon 9-16, entrance 500 leks, English descriptions) is the most fascinating. The contemporary display, which features English captions, effectively captures the oppressive ambiance of Albania’s communist state terror era.
The museum features two exhibitions. Bunk’Art 1 is housed in a former underground fallout shelter outside of the city, where the state authorities and the leadership of the Albanian Party of Labour would have sought safety if a nuclear war broke out. The entrance is already striking; you enter the bunker through a lengthy tunnel and emerge into a sort of courtyard with only a small entrance door leading inside. The hall housing the temporary parliament and the preserved chamber of Enver Hoxha, the dictator, can both be found here. Items and informational boards about the Albanian army and state security during the Second World War and the socialist era are displayed alongside the exhibition itself.
The bunker’s narrow, rough hallways won’t be very comfortable for those who are claustrophobic. You can get to the bunker by taking a bus that leaves from Skanderbeg Square‘s Clock Tower and heads towards the Porcelan neighborhood. It’s only a five-minute walk from the last stop Teleferik.
The second exhibition, Bunk’Art 2, is situated directly in the middle of the area close to Skanderbeg Square in the former location of the dreaded Sigurimi state security, which is now the Ministry of the Interior. The exhibition, which primarily consists of objects, recordings, and captioned photographs from the socialist era, focuses on the terror of the police and secret service.
Another fascinating museum in Tirana is the House of Leaves (Shtëpia me Gjethe, Mon-Sun 9-19, entrance 700 leks, descriptions in English), which opened in 2017. It is located in a shabby building opposite the Orthodox Cathedral, half covered in climbing plants (hence the name). It was used for interrogations by the Gestapo during World War II and later the headquarters of the eavesdropping section of the Communist secret police Sigurimi. It is the surveillance of citizens in a totalitarian state that the museum is trying to bring to the younger generations.
Private Museum of Women (Muzeu i Gruas, open Mon-Fri 10-17h, Saturday 10-16, entrance from Rruga Shyqyri Berxolli) was established in 2021 and is the work of Albanian activist Elsa Ballauri. She aims to introduce visitors to the life of Albanian women in different historical periods, from antiquity to the 20th century. For foreigners, the collection of objects relating to the interwar period, when the first schools for women were established in Albania, or the era of the communist dictatorship, is probably the most interesting. The exhibits include photographs of Albanian women executed or persecuted by the regime.
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