National History Museum in Librazhd-Qender

Some really interesting exhibits, especially the early years on the bottom floor. A bit lacking for post facist history but you can get that elsewhere.

Ground floor has ok presentation about Illyrian history with English language explanations. First floor exhibition on Communist era looked interesting, but had only Albanian explanations.

As of Oct 2022 they seem to still be in the process of setting it up. At least half of the exhibits dont have an English translation so Id recommend getting a guide. Overall bunkart2 was more interesting to me

Most of the museum is not translated to English. Everything only related/mentioned in Albanian

Very interesting place to visit, has items from bronze age to war time. Disability friendly with lots of seating areas. I would recommend a visit, lots of renovation works are currently being carried out but this does not affect your visit

Nice museum and collection of histories things. Take into account that if you dont speak albanese, the first storey details are translated and the other ones just a few

A little outdated and boring if you’re not able to read the Albanian language. Sometimes there’s info in English available, but for the majority of the museum’s collection it’s not. So I entertained myself looking at the items and pictures :). I bet it’s super interesting if you’re able to understand what it’s all about

Quite interesting, gives a good overview of Albanian history from the time of the Greeks and Romans until WW2. Set in a communist era building, so you get a good feel for the communist architecture and interior. Most sections have English signs but not all, so anybody who cant read Albanian will struggle with these sections. It was a bit unclear which way to go, some of the directional arrows were definitely wrong!

Very educational. Exibits on the upper level do not have English translation. For some reason, Ottoman period is missing.

Half of the museum is not translated to English. There wasnt any audio guide so there are some parts that you cant understand much. There were no maps to help the view neither. It was very hot, no air conditioning, just fans. Wouldnt recommend.

The museum has a impressive collection spanning many time periods. We expected the modern history to be the highlight but we’re surprised by the quality in the ancient section that included many statues and well preserved artifacts. Unfortunately certain sections are only in Albanian but a phone translation apps seem to work fine!

Very lovely museum. Minus one star because of the missing air condition. There are fans but they are not enough on a hot summer day.

There was only consistent English translation of info boards on the ground floor. After that it was pretty sparse. The exhibitions seemed pretty interesting - especially the communist section and the religious art section - however, not really knowing what or why things were made the experience pretty boring. I wouldn’t recommend.

Poor display and minimum decorations.Some of them were only in Albanian so I couldnt understand it.This museum is actually quite large.

There is no AC and no translation, so we didn’t understand anything at all! It’s too bad as Albania has such a complicated and rich history, and I learned nothing at all. The toilets were awfully dirty with no toilet paper.

No guide and many items removed and no English translation on majority of items

I can’t say enough good things about this museum. Stunning and unexpected. It’s high tech modern and full of brilliant objects dating from the Neolithic period. If you are into history museums or archeological then this is a must see museum. Sadly , I have no photos as it’s not allowed. To me the only negative. All museums should allow non flash photography.

The first negative experience is with entrance fees. They do not accept ISIC and reduce tickets are only for Albanian students 150LEK (instead of 500LEK), which I do not understand if the country is trying so hard to join the EU. It seems like the foreigners are not welcome here.There is no air condition, the air fans cant make an air colder. So be prepared that the temperature here is around 25-30°C. It is also forbidden to take a pictures.

Museum is nice, but theres not really a narrative thread to follow the history of the country. Rather sets of objects with a description. Some of the rooms dont have English texts.

Almost everything in the museum is in Albanian, the route was not that obvious (we searched a while to find the part on the cold war one floor down from the second world war). The museum is probably good if you can read Albanian, but if not, its not worth the visit.

Some interesting artefacts but only the ancient history displays have English descriptions and you will see similar in other countries national history exhibits. Sadly the displays specific to more recent Albanian history offer no information other than in Albanian. Shame as we wanted to learn more. Disappointing overall.

The "National Historical Museum" was inaugurated on October 28, 1981 and is the largest museum institution in Albania. The "National History Museum" building occupies a total area of ​​27,000 m2 and has an exhibition area of ​​18,000 m2 and a total volume of 81,000 m3. In the museum premises there are about 4750 objects, which belong to a relatively long period of time starting from the 4th millennium BC and up to the second half of the 20th century. The museum is designed to be presented through eight pavilions.

Beautifully preserved ancient artifacts and statues. Descriptions had English translations, complete journey through historical events. I defiantly have a more clear understanding in Albanian history. Definitely a must go

This is a large museum with a fascinating collection. It’s very much in an old-school style of museum presentation, with static displays and lots of text panels. Unfortunately multilingual audio guides are not available so touring the museum is a very passive experience. Given the richness of the artifacts we’re certain that we missed out on a great deal of fascinating information.There is a heavy emphasis on Stone & Bronze Age artifacts and history. These sections have the most English-language translations so are the most accessible for non-Albanian visitors.Beyond those displays there are only sporadic sections where English language panels are available. One such area is the period of Italian intervention in Albania beginning in the 1930s and into the Second World War. This section of the Museum offers insight into how the various anti-fascist groups formed, and how eventually Enver Hoxha’s faction became dominant. This led, in turn, to the establishment of one of the most brutal totalitarian dictatorships of the 20th Century.The lack of materials/stories about that brutal period is the most disappointing aspect of the museum. There are a number of empty galleries in the building; hopefully there are plans in the works to develop robust educational exhibitions highlighting the madness that was Hoxha-ism. For if we fail to learn the lessons of history we are doomed to repeat them.At 500L per adult this museum is a bargain and well worth a visit.*Note: the mueum is not air conditioned. While there are floor fans placed here and there if yiu visit on a hot day (as we didexpect to be very warm by the end of your visit.

Beautiful building, loved the iconography exhibition, but the narrative that seems to be overshadowing all of the other pavilions is nauseating in its nationalism. Interesting from a meta perspective on history-writing, if thats your thing, otherwise you can definitely skip this and find a different source to boost your knowledge of Albanias past.

There was a problem in air conditioning thats why it was hard to walk around but Ive enjoyed most of the sections.In some sections there was no English signs, should be added.

Some interesting artefacts but there arent many English translations on the the 1st and 2nd floors. Also in the summer it is a total hot box - the ambient inside must have been at least 40c and it was pretty uncomfortable.

The museum is super interesting but sadly there are a lot of information that is not translated to English. I hope it gets better in the future because you can see how much Albanians want to share their culture and welcome tourists.

Museum expedition was interesting but hardly understanding because there wasnt enough info and half was albanian.The rooms were too warm.

Okayish museum. Considering the fact that mainly tourists will visit - there are huge parts of the exhibition that were not translated in English. Mainly the “younger” history of Albania. But since it was a lot of text anyways and the photos gave a good impression, I’d say it’s fine. You can learn about the younger communist history in bunkart 1 instead. Entrance fee is 500 LEK pP.

Very nice collection with the majority of displays presented with both Albanian and English content. If you like museums, allow 4 hours to see all 3 floors.

Interesting visit, but a guide is mandatory

The museum is actually quite detailed, dating from prehistoric times to the Communist period. Most of the older exhibits have English explanation, however the newer things are only in Albanian. Also, Hoxha is not really mentioned. The gift shop leaves something to be desired for. 5 eur for adults. Can spend as much time as you want. We walked rather quickly through, spending about 45 minutes. Unfortunately the nice Soviet Era mosaic on the outside of the building is undergoing renovations so you cant see it. Bathrooms on site.

Very interesting well display of arts and facts in English as well . Hope the richest people in Albania considering this place as their history and donates some money to fix heating and air conditioning 🙏🏼

Nice museum. It is large, so I would recommend to clear up your time for the next 2 to 3 hours. The contents were very interesting, although drying the Zog family era there was no documentation just a few slides. But be careful since some artifacts are not protected by anything so it is very easy to break something, even unintentionally. Overall nice museum. The gift shop is very interesting with antique scarfs and more.

Only a fifth of museum content is translated to English. I was interested to learn about the communist era but there was no english information. The ancient history section is interesting and updated. Nobody bothered to press play on numerous TVs that were supposed to show video material. 1-2 hour walkthrough. In the gift shop they are literally selling their 100 year old artifact clothing pieces for next to nothing.

Museum is located in communist era building and it seems that much of exposition is also from this time. Building seems to be not heated and local supervisors are quite cold. Museum has a rich collection of antiquity, up to Byzantine/Latin struggles and there is not much after the conquest of Ottomans. I urge to visit souvenir store- lady there was very nice, helpful. She is selling some quite valuable, old ethnographic items and some items from local craftsmen.

Good enough for an hour or so. First floor covering ancient history of Albania is well done, with plenty of English signage, but the modern history exhibits upstairs are almost entirely in Albanian only. The hours on Google are wrong. Currently, theyre open 9am to 4pm Tuesday-Saturday, 10am to 3pm on Sunday, and closed Mondays. The building is undergoing renovation, but is still open.

A must to visit to understand the complex and so mixed Albanian culture.This museum presents a rapid and superficial presentation of the last 2,500 years of war, peace, development, political and religious changes with an extra large room dedicated to comunism critisisum.

Very informative museum, regarding history of Albania. Display was good, divided into different sections. Building from outside is very beautiful. You will need atleast one hour, but I will suggest give it some more time.

Enormous collection and array of exhibitions. Many signs were also in English. Affordable admission (250 LEK). Wish there had been more interpretive materials.

Very interesting and important museum for each visitor of Tirana. A fee is only 200 lek and most of the objects have explanion in English. Dont miss it (!)

Fairly mediocre museum. Be aware that not everything is explained in English. The building doesn’t have air conditioning so when I was there (in the summerthe temperature of some of the rooms was quite hot.If you need to kill some time it’s worth a try - the entrance ticket is 200LEK so....

Its worth a visit; just could do with a little bit more info in English to help the tourist understand Albanias history.

Strong focus on ancient Albania, with galleries devoted to prehistoric, Greek and Roman times with some nice mosaics and statues on the ground floor, with English translations.The higher you go (it has 3 levelsthe more the quality drops as does the translations. Minimal information on the communist regime, or of Hoxha.Also poor air conditioning means the higher you get the more uncomfortable it becomes, not encouraging you to linger.

It costs 200 leke and has some very fine items especially in the ancient time pavilions. I would have expected more in contemporary history but sadly it sort of stops after WW2. It has a magnificent display of icons on wood worth the price of the ticket alone but you are not allowed take pics there. The icons were unbelievable: a collection from Gjirokaster, Berat and Korca among other places

Interesting displays charting Albanias history from ancient to modern times. Not expensive so worth a browse. Some beautiful Greek busts. English translations for most sections although unfortunately not for all the more modern bits.

What an excellent exhibition of Balkan human history. Many artefacts are present dating from the stone age through to the modern era. The fascist occupation of the Second World War is particularly interesting and well presented. The museum is expansive, but does lack English interpretations in places. The exhibits more than make up for it.

The most important museum in Tirana according to my guide. However, do note that the 2nd and 3rd floor lack english explanation as it was originally not meant for tourist.The lady on the upper floor was kind enough to explain to me as much as possible the different exhibits. Cheers.

Nice museum with an extensive amount of impressive historical artifacts ranging from Greek to Roman, Albanian and Communism. If you are a history buff you will enjoy it but the English translations might leave you longing for more info. The exhibits are nicely displayed but they are not interactive in any manner. My kids were certainly bored but it is a nice museum. It cost 200 LEK each for admission.