19. June 2025
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Museums & Exhibitions

House of Leaves (Tirana)

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

House of Leaves

700 ALL
House of Leaves
4.8

Rating

 4.8/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very detailed and illustrative exhibition
  • Original Secret Surveillance building
  • Centrally located

During my trip to Albania, I learned a lot about the situation of the country during the socialist times. Especially the two museums located in former bunkers, Bunk’Art 1 and Bunk’ Art 2, taught me a lot about that topic. Another key place in that regard was the House of Leaves, which is also named Museum of the Secret Surveillance or Shtëpia me Gjethe in local language. Let’s take you to a visit to that place in Central Tirana.

 

House of Leaves – Location & Admission

The museum is located very centrally in Tirana. In fact it is right across the road from the Resurrection Cathedral, which I already shared with you. There are numerous public transport options nearby. The closest bus stop is Parku Rinia, which is served by lines 1A and 1B.

The museum is opening daily from 9:00 to 16:00. According to Google, the closing time is 19:00. Adult admission is 700 ALL, roughly 7.20 EUR.

 

House of Leaves – The Visit

The museum opened in 2017. It is located in a two story villa, which was originally built in 1931. During the socialist times, it was the headquarter of Sigurimi, the Directory of State Security of Albania. The House of Leaves thereby looks at secret surveillance from different aspects. Initially, you learn about the organisation of spying your own people as well as technologies used. Thereby, you also learn about the history of the country.

However, the museum also focuses of on the victims of the regime. The most obvious point is a list of all convicted political prisoners. However, you also see a place were people have been executed. Overall, the museum is very illustrative. All documentation is in Albanian and English, so that there is no language barrier.

 

House of Leaves – Services

The staff in the museum was very friendly and helpful. The level of documentation is very good.

 

House of Leaves – My View

The House of Leaves won the European Museum of the Year Award in 2020. This is absolutely deserved. I learned a lot during my stay in Tirana and especially in that museum. Despite the building does not look that large from the outside, it comes with a very detailed and educative exhibition. I absolutely recommend to visit it if you happen to be in the Albanian capital.

 

Flyctory.com in Albania

Here are all my postings related to Albania:

 

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