The Cold War Museum in Gjirokastër has unveiled a new exhibition inside the city’s historic underground bunker.
The central hall now features uniforms worn by soldiers, generals and officials during Albania’s communist era. Visitors can also see banned books, newspaper articles from the 1950s to the 1990s, and publications by former communist leader Enver Hoxha.
Albana Ismaili, the museum’s coordinator, said the exhibition offers visitors a closer look at the tunnel’s military history. The Albanian military used the tunnel for many years. The museum has therefore created a small collection of military uniforms from that period. It includes uniforms worn by soldiers, generals and government officials. The exhibition also features several works by Enver Hoxha and books that the communist regime banned.
Ismaili said visitors had often asked the museum to create an exhibition of this kind. The museum worked with the Gjirokastër Municipality and the Cultural Heritage Agency to bring the idea to life. The Cold War Museum attracts visitors throughout the year. Summer, however, brings the largest groups of tourists. Most of them come from abroad.
A tourist from Poland said Gjirokastër had impressed him. He had already visited the castle before exploring the underground tunnel.
“Gjirokastër is fantastic. I visited the castle, and now I am in this tunnel. We were lucky to see this exhibition with the uniforms. It was very interesting to learn how the tunnel operated in the past,” he said.
The museum welcomed 14,932 visitors from around the world between January and August. The new exhibition gives visitors another way to explore Albania’s Cold War history. It also helps the museum preserve stories from the country’s communist past.
The collection offers a glimpse into the people, institutions and daily life of that period. It adds historical context to one of Gjirokastër’s most distinctive attractions.
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