In Gjirokastra, Albania, foreign visitors have been expressing their curiosity on the town's communist heritage which includes, among others, bunkers tunnels able to shelter the staff of leading institutions in Gjirokastra during any potential attack. The curiosity was so big that mugs with Enver Hoxha's photo (Albanian's communist leader for more than 40 years) started to be produced.
.This phenomenon attracted the interest of the Gjirokastra Conservation and Development Organization (GCDO) from Gjirokastra. The main challenge was: can these never used concrete buildings built for times of war be considered heritage? Believing that traces of history, despite of their age, have to be understood, GCDO started the research of the so called "communist tunnel" two years ago
A survey of the underground tunnel with 57 rooms was carried out. In order to fully comprehend how this tunnel was built archival research was undertaken. Documents, which were never published before, were found in the State Archive of Gjirokastra. 21 orders related to military activities as complied and approved by the Executive Committee (similar to a Municipality) in the 23.12.1972.They show at the time concerns related to the coordination of the defensive constructions as well as the military training activities of the civilian population in the district of Gjirokastra.
GCDO will soon publish a bilingual brochure over the result of its research along with a proposal to make the communist tunnel open for visitors.
Secretary
