Top 10 Sights & Landmarks in Gjirokaster, Gjirokaster County

One of the most beautiful and best preserved houses of Gjirokastra. The Zekate House is a grand example of the typical (tower-house), belonging to the wealthiest families in Gjirokastra in 19th century. It belonged to Beqir Zeko, a general administrator of Ali Pasha. It was built in 1811-1812. Where you are in the top of it, the view of river valley is amazing. This 3 storey house has very strong defensive features, and that is why she is still so powerful until nowadays. The ground floor contains storage rooms, the kitchen and the cistern. The first floor has two rooms used as living quarters for branches of the family, while the third floor has a grand reception room and two other smaller rooms. The principal room is very typical of the grandest of these dwellings with frescoed walls, a carved ceiling and an ornate fireplace. This house gives visitors a vast understandings of the vernacular architecture. The entrance fee is € 1.00.

If you really want to know the best model of local architecture in 19th century, a visit to Skenduli house is a must. Everything is totally original and is the most authentic building in Gjirokastra. This is the best preserved house in old city of Gjirokastra, more than 300 years old (built in 1823). The owner of the house, Nasip Skenduli, a descendant of the family that originally build the house, is an amazing story teller. He will explain you everything about the house and the preserving process in years. It used to be the original Ethnographic museum during communist time, but now the owners have their house back and keep it open for visitors. What makes this house so special? Its structure shows that this has been the richest houses in Gjirokastra, because it had 9 fireplaces, (more fireplaces more richer the family was); 6 bathrooms, 12 rooms, 44 doors, 64 windows, and 4 hamam (turkish bath). Many rooms are preserved in their original shape and this is amazing.

The Cold War Museum (also called the Color War Tunnel) is an underground bunker that served as an emergency shelter in the latter part of Albania’s communist era (1944-1990). This bunker, and the innumerable small bunkers found throughout the country, reflects the paranoia of Albanian’s communist dictator, Enver Hoxha. He feared a foreign invasion, especially after Albania’s breakup with Soviet Union in the early 1960s. Built in secret in the early 1970s, the bunker is 800 m long and has 59 rooms. Unlike Tirana’s bunker museum, Gjirokastër’s bunker has been left in its original state, making it less informative but much more atmospheric and genuine. This bunker was designed to accommodate many different functions in case of a nuclear attack. There are rooms for government ministries, local government, interrogators, and party elite, as well as places for sleeping, power generation, and water storage. Much of original furniture was looted from the site in 1990 but pieces still remain.

The home of the world-famous Albanian writer, Ismail Kadare, has been turned into a museum, and is open to the public. This is where Ismail Kadare was born and spent his childhood. The house will be familiar to everyone who has read his book ‘Chronicle in Stone”, in which Kadare describes every corner of this house. As you visit the house you can imagine Kadare as a little boy, sitting close to the windows and witnessing the terrors of World War II. The house was first built in 1799, and classified as a Cultural Monument in 1991. Recently the building was repaired and rehabilitated under the auspices of UNESCO and Albanian’s Ministry of Culture. The Museum was opened to the public on 28 January 2018, on the occasion of Kadare’s 80th birthday. Kadare House is in the middle of the historical Palorto neighborhood and easy to find. Inside the house are some original objects belonging to the family. The entrance fee is 200 leke.