Armed Forces Museum

About Armed Forces Museum

By the ULTIMATE Tirana Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

The Armed Forces Museum opened in December 2023 on a vast site at Bërzhitë, about 13 kilometres south of Tirana. Outside, planes, tanks, a helicopter, artillery and even navy ships are parked in the open air; inside, pavilions trace Albania’s military history from the Illyrians and Skanderbeg through independence, the monarchy and the Second World War to NATO membership, with around 3,600 objects. Allow two hours, and combine it with Petrelë Castle on the same road. You will need a car or a taxi to get there.

A new museum

The Armed Forces Museum opened in December 2023 on a large site at Bërzhitë, about thirteen kilometres south of the centre. Its mission, in its own words, is to collect, preserve and make accessible the military heritage of the Albanian armed forces.

In the open air

The first thing you see is the hardware parked outside: aircraft, tanks, armoured personnel carriers, artillery, a helicopter and even navy vessels, many of them Chinese- or Soviet-built machines from the communist decades, when Albania prepared obsessively for invasion.

Tanks, a helicopter and navy ships parked in a field outside Tirana: Albania’s military history, from the Illyrians to NATO.

Inside the pavilions

Indoors, around 3,600 objects tell the story chronologically: the Illyrians and antiquity, the age of Skanderbeg, the Ottoman pashaliks, independence in 1912, the monarchy of King Zog, the Second World War and the partisan struggle, the long communist period and, finally, membership of NATO in 2009. Weapons, uniforms, documents and symbols are displayed in a main hall and several pavilions, and new exhibits continue to arrive.

Our advice: drive or take a taxi, allow two hours, and combine the museum with Petrelë Castle on the same road for lunch with a view over the Erzen valley.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Armed Forces Museum before you go.