Bunk'Art 2

Useful Information

Location:	Rruga Abdi Toptani, Tiranë 1001. (41.3270225, 19.8195506)
Open:	All year daily 9:30-20. [2024]
Fee:
Classification:	Secret Bunker
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:
Guided tours:
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Bunk'Art 2, Street Abdi Toptani, Tiranë, Tel: +355-87-207-2905.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

NOV-2014	BUNK'ART 1 opened to the public.
19-NOV-2016	BUNK'ART 2 opened to the public.

Description

Bunk'Art 2 was the second bunker which was transformed into a museum in Tirana. Built between 1981 and 1986, it was one of the latest big projects carried out by the communist regime within the project of bunkerization. It is the bunker of the Ministry of Internal Affairs code named Objekti Shtylla (Pillar Object). The main principle of this bunker is a deep pit with a huge concrete shell inside, covered by meters of soil. The thick layer of reinforced concrete reaches a thickness of 240 cm. Inside the huge bunker the space was separated into 24 rooms, a suite for the Minister of Internal Affairs, and a large communication center. It was built to withstand a potential chemical and nuclear attack. As it was intended for the personell of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, access was only possible from inside the ministery.

In 1971, the 12th Plenum of the Central Committee of PPSH started with the bunkerization program. A small country with 1.1 Million inhabitants planned the construction of 220,000 bunkers, in other words one bunker for 5 people, ever family gets its own bunker. At the end "only" 173.371 bunkers were built, and most of them were small, have massive design flaws and construction flaws. They are the defences of a regime that had completely sealed itself off from the outside world. The program started in 1975 and lasted for eight years and caused hundreds of work accidents among the soldiers who constructed the bunkers. It's an impressive monument of paranoia combined with too much power.

For the transformation into a museum separate entrances were needed, in other words, an entrance as well as an exit were constructed. A concrete dome covers the staircase which leads down to the level of the bunker. The style fits the bunker quite well, and most people think it was the original entrance, but actually this was a secret bunker and this dome is not secret in any way. The exit, which is mostly for emergency, is much simpler and shows a different construction principle.

BUNK'ART is a bunker which was transformed into a museum and an art exhibition. The BUNK'ART project started 2014 with the opening of BUNK'ART 1. It consisted of a video museum exhibition dedicated to the history of the Albanian communist army and to the daily lives of Albanians during the regime. It is located in the atomic bunker of the dictator Enver Hoxha, on the outskirts of Tirana. BUNK'ART 2 was opened two years later with additional exhibitions. It is located in a bunker in the middle of the city. One is the history of the Albanian Ministry of Internal Affairs between 1912 and 1991, another about the Sigurimi, the political police used by the regime of Enver Hoxha to subdue his people. The originator of this museum was the Italian journalist Carlo Bollino. It has a staff which does the historical research and is led by the journalist Admirina Peçi. The project is supported by the Albanian NGO “Qendra Ura”.