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Petrela Castle History: Petrelë Castle (Albanian: Kalaja e Petrelës) is a castle in Petrelë, central Albania. Its history dates back to Justinian I. Petrelë Castle is 329 metres (1,079 ft) above sea level. The castle of Petrelë has a rich history, containing a tower which was built in the 6th century AD. It is one of the tourist locations close to Tirana that attracts a great number […]

Erzen River The Erzen (definite Albanian form: Erzeni) is a river in central Albania. The length of Erzen is 109 km (68 mi), while the catchment area is 760 km2 (290 sq mi) including the southern Tirana District and eastern Durrës. The ancient Illyrian name of the river was Ardaxanos, which is a derivative of *daksa “water”, “sea”, also found in the name of the island Daxa, of the Illyrian tribe Dassareti and of the Chaonian tribe Dexari. It is mentioned for the […]

Brigade Palace History: The idea to build a royal palace on one of the hills of Sauk, near what was later to become the Grand Park of Tirana, was first conceived by King Zog I in the 1930s. Because of the limited funds of the nascent Albanian state, the then Minister of Finance, Mufid Libohova, entered into negotiations with […]

Indipendence Monument The monument placed in Rinia Park next to the capital’s central boulevard was inaugurated on 28th November 2012 as a symbol of Albania’s century of independence. The monument, some 6.5 metres high, 5.5 metres wide and weighing 15 tons, was created by artists Visar Obrija and Kai Kiklas in Austria. This monument is a […]

Postbllok Checkpoint Monument The “Postbllok” memorial is a work built by former political prisoner and intellectual Fatos Lubonja and artist Ardian Isufi. Postbllok is a monumental work with the aim of remembering and not forgetting the crimes and suffering caused by the communist dictatorship in Albania. The Postbllok installation was inaugurated on March 26, 2013 […]

National Gallery of Art History: The National Gallery of Arts is a state institution under the care of the Ministry of Culture. The beginnings of the National Arts Gallery can be traced back to the endeavors of a group of Albanian artists and the Arts Committee of 1946. It has changed location several times. The […]

Tirana University Building History: Berat Castle (Albanian: Kalaja e Beratit), also referred to as the Citadel of Berat and castle quarter, is a fortress overlooking the town of Berat, Albania. It dates mainly from the 13th century and contains many Byzantine churches in the area and Ottoman mosques.It is built on a rocky hill on the left bank of the river Osum and is accessible […]

Presidential Office Building History: The Presidential Office (Albanian: Presidenca) houses the Office of the President of Albania and is the principal workplace of the President. It consists of the immediate staff of the president, as well as support staff reporting to the president. It is located in the capital city of Tirana. The Presidential Office Building was constructed at first to […]

Mother Theresa Square History: The Mother Teresa Square (Albanian: Sheshi Nënë Tereza) is the second largest square in Tirana, Albania. It is named after the Albanian-born Indian Roman Catholic nun, missionary and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mother Teresa. The square was planned by the Italian architect Gherardo Bosio, and built together with the main Boulevard in 1939 to 1941, during the Italian occupation of Albania, in a Rationalist style. When the square was first constructed, […]

Tirana Clock Tower History: The clock tower was built by the Ottoman Turks in an Islamic style and with simply a bell from Venice to be rung every hour. Ismail Tufina was the first watchmaker of the clock tower in 1822. In 1916 during World War I the clock was damaged. It took until 1928 to put a new mechanism. The new mechanism […]