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All Albania Tirana Bunk'Art

Bunk'Art

Once the fallout shelter of a dictator, this sprawling bunker is now a combined history museum and contemporary art gallery.

Tirana, Albania

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Display in one of the original bunker rooms.   DenisaRucaj
Bed in the private bunker room of the Interior Minister at Bunk’Art 2.   Albinfo
Entrance to the underground bunker   Albinfo
At the Bunk’Art entrance.   DenisaRucaj
Down the bunker hall.   Albinfo
Underground theater, original to the bunker and now used for performances, lectures and events.   Albinfo
Art work at Bunk’Art. The space opened to the public in 2014.   Anila amataj
Office of Enver Hoxha in Bunk’Art.   Clay Gilliland
One of the staged rooms in the bunker, built in the 1970s.   DenisaRucaj
Uniform, historic photos and artifacts in one of the bunker rooms.   DenisaRucaj
Bunker entrance at Bunkart 2, in downtown Tiranë.   Albinfo
One of the 700,000 bunkers scattered across Albania built under the rule of Enver Hoxha.   Andreas Lehner
  Collector of Experiences / Atlas Obscura User
Bunk’Art 2   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
Bunk’Art 2   Jaszmina Szendrey / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Underneath Tiranë, the capital of Albania, there is a five-story bunker of spidery hallways and over 100 rooms. Originally codenamed “Objekti Shtylla,” the shelter was built in the 1970s under the orders and direction of Enver Hoxha, communist leader of Albania for over four decades. What was once intended to protect Hoxha and his cabinet in the event of a nuclear attack is now a mixed-use art and culture center, but with a keen eye towards preservation and remembrance of the dark years under Hoxha’s rule.

Known as Bunk’Art, 24 rooms of the sprawling shelter have been converted into a history museum and contemporary art gallery. The result of the combined efforts of the Albanian government and a nonprofit art collective called Qendra Ura or “Center Bridge."

Inside are living quarters and meeting rooms, staged as they would have been at the time, for Hoxha, his officers, and their soldiers. One room, originally the dictator’s own office (it’s a little swankier than the other quarters) plays his voice on a loop if you pick up the phone receiver and listen.

Hoxha died a few years before the bunker was completed, and it was never actually put into service. It was completely unknown to the public, the only way in and out was from inside the secretive ministry. Entrance and exit tunnels were built in 2014 to open it up, which add to an anticipatory eerie quality when visiting.

But once inside there is a world of bright and evocative contemporary art, right alongside the stark fallout rooms and photographic displays. In addition to providing space for visual artists, the old bunker theater is used for frequent concerts, lectures, and other events. You can see additional photographs, and find out more about the bunker, here.

Related Tags

Bunkers Art Installations Cold War Military

Know Before You Go

Bunk'Art is on the eastern edge of Tiranë in central Albania. They are generally open from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Bunkart 2 is also open for tours, located in the center of the city at Rruga Sermedin Said Toptani. For more information, you can check their Facebook page at the website link to the right.

Community Contributors

Edited By

Blindcolour, MagnumPI, tomstevenson78, Jaszmina Szendrey...

  • Blindcolour
  • MagnumPI
  • tomstevenson78
  • Jaszmina Szendrey
  • Collector of Experiences

Published

March 30, 2017

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  • https://www.thetravellingtom.com/things-to-do-in-tirana
  • http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/nuclear-bunker-albania-tirana-art-gallery
  • http://www.atlasobscura.com/events/bunkart
Bunk'Art
Rruga Teki Selenica
Tirana
Albania
41.35199, 19.851275
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