Sights · 37 of the best in Tirana
Bunk’Art 2
Under the city centre
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Sharon Hahn Darlin · CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia CommonsAbout Bunk’Art 2
Bunk’Art 2, a few steps from Skanderbeg Square, was an anti-nuclear bunker completed in 1986 for the Ministry of Internal Affairs; look for the bunker dome on the street. Its 24 rooms along cramped concrete corridors tell the history of the police and the Sigurimi, the secret police, from 1912 to 1991, with photographs of victims, documents and recreated interrogation rooms. It is sobering, essential viewing. Allow about an hour; tickets can be combined with Bunk’Art 1.
The ministry’s shelter
Bunk’Art 2 was the second of Tirana’s great bunkers to open as a museum. It was completed in 1986, behind the former Ministry of Internal Affairs, just off Skanderbeg Square, as an anti-nuclear shelter for the ministry that ran the police and the Sigurimi, the secret police.
You enter through a concrete dome on Rruga Abdi Toptani, decorated with photographs of victims, and go down into 24 rooms along narrow, low corridors.
You enter through a shattered bunker dome on a city street, then go down into the world of the Sigurimi.
A history of fear
The exhibition traces the history of the Albanian police and the Sigurimi from 1912 to 1991: the founding of the force, the war years and then the long communist period, when surveillance, arrests, labour camps and internal exile touched almost every family. Recreated interrogation rooms, original documents, uniforms and equipment make it concrete and personal.
One room shows the minister’s quarters, a reminder of who would have been protected here if war had come.
A few practical points
It is right in the centre, a two-minute walk from the Clock Tower, which makes it easy to fit into a day of sightseeing. The corridors are narrow and can feel confined, so it may not suit everyone.
Our advice: visit Bunk’Art 2 first, then walk ten minutes to the House of Leaves: together they tell the story of how the communist state watched and punished its own people.
Why it's on our list
- In the centre
- History of the Sigurimi
- About an hour
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Bunk’Art 2 before you go.
Plan your visit
- Where Rruga Abdi Toptani, by Skanderbeg Square
- Allow About an hour
- Combine with The House of Leaves
- Note Narrow corridors underground
What’s nearby
Distances from Bunk’Art 2 are approximate, measured in a straight line (as the crow flies). Times are approximate too: walking at about 80 metres a minute, cycling at about 15 km/h and driving at typical city-traffic speeds. Traffic and routes vary.
Nearest taxi ranks
- Taxi rank, Rruga 28 Nëntori250 m3 min walk
- Taxi rank, Rruga Dëshmorët e 4 Shkurtit250 m3 min walk
Key sights
- Et’hem Bey Mosque100 mWalk 1 minCycle 1 minCar or taxi 3 min
- Skanderbeg Square100 mWalk 1 minCycle 1 minCar or taxi 3 min
- Clock Tower of Tirana100 mWalk 2 minCycle 1 minCar or taxi 3 min
- Tirana Castle250 mWalk 3 minCycle 1 minCar or taxi 4 min
- House of Leaves300 mWalk 3 minCycle 1 minCar or taxi 4 min
- National Historical Museum350 mWalk 4 minCycle 1 minCar or taxi 4 min
- The Pyramid of Tirana450 mWalk 6 minCycle 2 minCar or taxi 4 min
- New Bazaar (Pazari i Ri)550 mWalk 7 minCycle 2 minCar or taxi 5 min
- Postbllok – Checkpoint700 mWalk 8 minCycle 3 minCar or taxi 5 min
- Grand Park & Artificial Lake4.4 kmCycle 18 minCar or taxi 16 min
Getting around
- Tirana International Airport (TIA)13 kmCar or taxi 41 min