13 Sights in Tirana, Albania (with Map and Images)

Fortress of Justinian or simply known as Tirana Castle is a castle in Tirana, Albania. Its history dates back before 1300 and is a remnant from the Byzantine-era. The fortress is the place where the main east–west and north–south roads crossed, and formed the heart of Tirana. The current fortification has three known towers and it is undergoing a process of restoration, for touristic purposes. Inside the fortified walls of the former fortress, there are many buildings that can be visited, including restaurants, hotels, and cultural institutions.

Wikipedia: Fortress of Justinian (EN)

The Clock Tower of Tirana, was built in 1822 in Tirana, Albania by Et'hem bey Mollaj, a Bejtexhinj poet who also finished the Et'hem Bey Mosque next to the clock tower. Watchmaster Ismail Tufina was the first to assemble the Tirana clock mechanism in 1822. It is a monument of culture of first category, approved on 24 May 1948.

Wikipedia: Tirana Clock Tower (EN)

The Hajji Et'hem Bey Mosque is a mosque in Tirana, Albania. Closed under communist rule, the mosque reopened as a house of worship in 1991. Without permission from the authorities, 10,000 people attended and the police did not interfere. Frescoes outside and in the portico depict trees, waterfalls and bridges.

Wikipedia: Et'hem Bey Mosque (EN)

The Pyramid of Tirana is a structure and former museum located in Tirana, the capital of Albania. It opened as a museum in 1988 and became a conference center in 1991 following the collapse of Communism. During the 1999 Kosovo War, the building was used as a NATO base. In 2018, a new project was unveiled that would turn the pyramid into a youth IT center for Creative Technologies with a focus on computer programming, robotics, and start ups under the name of TUMO Center Tirana. The renovated structure, transformed by MVRDV, was opened to the public in May 2023.

Wikipedia: Pyramid of Tirana (EN), Website

Sulejman Pasha Bargjini was an ethnic Albanian general, nobleman and Governor of the Ottoman Empire. He was originally from Bargjin, but he settled in the village of Mullet, Albania and probably served as a Janissary, he was given the title Pasha. As an ethnic Albanian, he had fought for the Ottomans against the Safavids in Persia. After that he had built a mosque, a bakery and a hammam. He founded the settlement of Tirana, now the capital of Albania, in 1614 as an oriental-style town of those times. According to some local legends, he named the town he founded after Tehran, the capital of Persia. This, however, is a folk etymology without basis in fact, as Tirana was already mentioned in Venetian documents as early as 1418.

Wikipedia: Sulejman Bargjini (EN)

The Parliament of Albania or Kuvendi is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Albania; it is Albania's legislature. The Parliament is composed of no less than 140 members elected to a four-year term on the basis of direct, universal, periodic and equal suffrage by secret ballot. The Parliament is presided over by the Speaker, who is assisted by at least one deputy speaker. The electoral system is based on party-list proportional representation. There are 12 multi-seat constituencies, corresponding to the country's counties.

Wikipedia: Parliament of Albania (EN)

The Kapllan Pasha Tomb is a Muslim Türbe of Albania, located in the center of Tirana. It is a Cultural Monument of the first category and was so declared by the government of Albania in 1948. It was built in the early 19th century, with carved stones and has an octagonal shape. The columns are made of stone, and placed also on stone bases and capitals with plant decor on the surface. The former ruler of Tirana was interned here in the 19th century, but was later repatriated back to Istanbul, Turkey.

Wikipedia: Kapllan Pasha Tomb (EN)

The National Theatre of Albania was the main theatre in Tirana, Albania. In March 2020, the National Theatre of Albania was selected by Europa Nostra among the 7 most endangered monuments in Europe, as an exceptional example of modern Italian architecture from the 1930s and one of the most prominent cultural centers in Albania, facing impending threat of demolition. On 17 May 2020, the National Theatre building was demolished.

Wikipedia: National Theatre (Albania) (EN), Website

The Tanners' Mosque is a historic mosque located near the Tanners' Bridge in Tirana, capital of Albania. Built in the neighborhood of the handicraft-trade Tanners' guild around the seventeenth century in the Ottoman Empire, it was damaged by a lightning shot but continues to function thanks to improvements made by the family Resmja which even today continues to care for.

Wikipedia: Tanners' Mosque (EN)

The Pioneers of Enver was a pioneer movement functioning in Albania during its communist period. Formed as Debatik, an acronym for United Boys of Communist Ideas on 10 February 1942, the movement continued as Organization of Pioneers. After the Second World War, it was supervised by the Labour Youth Union of Albania, the youth wing of the Party of Labour of Albania.

Wikipedia: Pioneers of Enver (EN)

The Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Albania, commonly known as the Albanian Orthodox Church or the Orthodox Church of Albania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church. It declared its autocephaly in 1922 through its Congress of 1922, and gained recognition from the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1937.

Wikipedia: Albanian Orthodox Church (EN)

The Mosque of Mahmud Agha Kokonozi or New Bazaar Mosque is a mosque in Tirana, Albania. It is an Ottoman-era mosque built in 1750 and one of the few mosques that survived the communist dictatorship under the Hoxhaist regime.

Wikipedia: Kokonozi Mosque (EN)

The Museum of Secret Surveillance, also known as House of Leaves is a historical museum in Tirana, Albania. It opened on 23 May 2017 in the building that served as the Sigurimi's headquarter during the communist era.

Wikipedia: Museum of Secret Surveillance (EN)