Sights · 37 of the best in Tirana
Palace of Culture
Khrushchev laid the first stone
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Andrew Milligan sumo · CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia CommonsAbout Palace of Culture
The Palace of Culture closes the east side of Skanderbeg Square with its long colonnade. Nikita Khrushchev symbolically laid the first stone in 1959, and the building was finished in 1963, on land once covered by Tirana’s Old Bazaar and a 19th-century mosque, both demolished for the project. Today it houses the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet and the National Library. It has changed little since, and it is a striking piece of socialist architecture; have a coffee under the arches and watch the square.
Why it's on our list
- Begun 1959, finished 1963
- Opera and National Library
- Café under the arches
Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Palace of Culture before you go.