International Museum Day/ 5 museums to visit in Albania

2025-05-18 21:15:00, Kulturë CNA

International Museum Day has been celebrated around the world every May 18 since 1977. This date was established by the International Council of Museums, ICOM of UNESCO, and aims to raise public awareness of the role of museums in the development of society.

Here are 5 museums that you should visit throughout Albania:

International Museum Day/ 5 museums to visit in Albania

The National Historical Museum is the most important museum institution in Albania. It is located in the center of Tirana, in “Skënderbej” Square and was built in 1981 as the largest house of the history of the Albanian nation. It houses over 6200 museum objects from the period from the 4th millennium BC to the second half of the 20th century. From time to time, various cultural activities are held in the museum premises. The museum houses important objects that testify to the development of the Albanian nation.

International Museum Day/ 5 museums to visit in Albania

The House with Leaves was built in the 1930s to function as an obstetric clinic, but with the start of World War II, it fell into German hands and was transformed into a Gestapo center. In the 1950s, it was transformed into the technical-scientific branch of the State Security (the communist secret police). Since then, the House with Leaves has become a frightening legend. In 2017, the opening of the museum gave Albanians the opportunity to see an undiscovered dimension of the communists up close for the first time. The museum exhibits objects, environments, equipment, recreations and images of State Security wiretapping, completing a chilling panorama of the violation of life under communism.

International Museum Day/ 5 museums to visit in Albania

The National Museum of Education in Korça is located in the building of the first Albanian school, opened on March 7, 1887 by the patriotic teacher Pandeli Sotiri. This building, which was originally the private home of the Korça patriot Diamant Terpo, has enjoyed the status of the National Museum of Education since 1967, and has been declared a Cultural Monument since 1973.

International Museum Day/ 5 museums to visit in Albania

The Archaeological Museum of Durrës was opened on 13 March 1951 in the city of Durrës and is one of the most important museums in Albania. The majority of the museum consists of 3204 objects found at the ancient site of Dyrrhachium and includes an extensive collection from the Ancient Greek, Hellenistic and Roman periods. Key artifacts include Roman funerary stelae and stone sarcophagi and a collection of miniature busts of Venus, evidence of the time when Durrës was a center of worship of the goddess.

International Museum Day/ 5 museums to visit in Albania

The Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg National Museum is located in Krujë and is one of the most visited in Albania. This museum exhibits many original objects, documents and bibliographies, authentic reproductions that clearly speak about the history of the Albanian people in the 15th century and beyond. It includes pavilions such as the pavilion of antiquity and the early Middle Ages, the pavilion of the Albanian principalities, the Ottoman invasion and the confrontation with this invasion, the pavilion of medieval castles, the Albanian resistance, the chancellery of Skanderbeg, the library, the hall of princes, the art gallery and finally the pavilion of heritage and echoes. In these pavilions, objects made of ceramic, bronze, iron, copper, various facsimiles, original icons, writings, a bell from 1462, an original sword from the 15th century, etc. / CNA