National Historical Museum of Albania

National Historical Museum of Albania to close for reconstruction

The National Historical Museum of Albania in Tirana will close its doors for four years. The museum’s official Facebook account states that the reason for the closure is reconstruction. It will last from March 15 to March 15, 2028.

The restoration of the museum is a priority project in documents, but in practice, progress has been very slow until the abrupt closure. According to documents, the museum is part of the list of national cultural heritage institutions damaged from the 2019 earthquake.

“The new project for the restoration and reconstruction of the National Historical Museum of Albania is a single project. Therefore, technical solutions sought for the restoration of damages and possible reinforcement of damaged structures with technical solutions for the restoration, reconstruction, and renovation of the building focused on updating museology and its functionality. The project takes into consideration the approved project ‘Reinforcement and rehabilitation intervention of 12 objects in the Municipality of Tirana, Kruja, Lezha, Kavaja, Mirdita,” the document states.

It also emphasizes that the National Historical Museum has objects of Albanian cultural heritage in its collections.

“An interesting part of which belongs to periods from the Paleolithic to late antiquity (4th century BC). These are in the Archaeology Pavilion, with over 400 objects. The museum has eight pavilions. The ancient pavilion, the medieval pavilion, the National Renaissance Pavilion, the Pavilion of Independence, the icon pavilion, the National-Liberation Antifascist War Pavilion, the Pavilion of Communist Terror, Mother Teresa Pavilion,” the document states.

Reconstruction phases over the years

Also, referring to the documents, the intervention at the museum foresees several phases and the deadlines for each of them:

  1. Packaging and evacuation of objects – Expected duration of work: maximum 4 cumulative months in various phases of the implementation period)
  2. Consolidation of the existing structure (including demolition work) – Expected duration of work: maximum 12 months
  3. Restoration of the exterior and interior courtyard stone facade and windows/doors – Expected duration of work: maximum 9 months
  4. Roof repair – Expected duration of work: maximum 5 months

Also, a 42-year-old mosaic at the entrance of the museum completed the restoration process two years ago.

The National Historical Museum of Albania opened its doors on October 28, 1981 and is the largest museum institution in the country.

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