How To Spend A Day in Tirana — ALONG DUSTY ROADS

Skanderbeg Square

Albania’s largest and most important public space, covering some 40,000 square metres, Skanderbeg Square is dripping with symbolism.

Originally conceived as an urban regeneration project by Italian fascist occupiers in the 1930s, it is named after Albania’s national hero – Skanderbeg – who resisted the Ottoman Empire for 25 years; the country fell under their rule following his death.

In 1968, marking five hundred years since he died, the regime unveiled a large statue of Skanderbeg on horseback.

This statue still proudly stands on the square’s southern edge but, on a cold February morning in 1991, thousands of Albanians gathered here to bring down an equally imposing statue of Enver Hoxha – one of the Albania’s defining historic moments and the symbolic end of ‘Europe’s last dictatorship’.

Whilst Skanderbeg Square has reflected and outlasted two ideologies, the vast square you’ll walk along bears little resemblance to its 20th-century version.

Edi Rama – the then-Mayor of Tirana and current Prime Minister of Albania – commissioned a bold redesign to pedestrianise the area and give it an overtly ‘European’ identity. This was in keeping with Rama’s overarching goal for the transformation of Tirana through buildings and urban projects, as well as nod to the new ideologies that will likely define the country’s next chapter.

Wholly financed by state funding from the very non-European Kuwait, the final result in 2017 was a massive, open and disorienting esplanade. The weird slope you’ll feel underfoot is actually deliberate: the square rises at a 2.5% gradient toward a central peak, allowing water from the fountains to wash over the colourful paving slabs and drain away.

The most interesting part of the redesign however is that all those stone slabs are sourced from different regions across Albania. Intended as a symbol of national unity, it also explains why you’ll sometimes see groups of people seeking out particular stones from their district and taking photos with them!

Where | You can find Skanderbeg Square here on Google Maps – if you’re in Tirana on a longer visit, it’s good idea to spend time during the day and the early evening.

You’ll also find several of the capital’s most important buildings around the square, including the National Opera, Bank of Albania, and several government ministries. Next to the Clock Tower, you’ll also find the small Et’hem Bej Mosque. Dating back to the late 18th century, it’s one of few religious buildings to survive Albania’s atheist period, reopening in 1991. It’s still an active place of worship, but visitors are permitted inside at certain times to view the frescoes for a small donation.

Know | If you take the hourly shuttle bus from Tirana Airport, you’ll be dropped off just next to the square. Find all details and costs in this post: How To Get From Tirana Airport to the City Centre