A few years ago, one of the most famous communist buildings in the center of Tirana was threatened with demolition, but in the end, instead of being demolished, it underwent a major reconstruction.
The Enver Hoxha memorial once displayed personal belongings and huge photographs of the dictator who cut off Albania from the outside world for 40 years during his harsh Stalinist rule. Although he expanded literacy and health care, he left most Albanians in poverty.
After the fall of the regime, the pyramid hosted a nightclub, a TV station, and even NATO officials during the 1999 Alliance intervention to end the war in neighboring Kosovo.
Foto: Bildagentur-online/Universal Images Group, Getty Images
The last remnant of the repressive past in the center of the Albanian metropolis, photo from 2018.
Now the former museum, whose reconstruction was undertaken by the Dutch architect Winy Maas, is preparing to host hundreds of young Albanians who will be interested in learning in the field of computer technology.
Photo: MVRDV / Ossip van Duivenbode
