National Historic Museum

National Historic Museum

Visiting Hours:
9.00-13.00 and 15.00-18.00
Holiday: Monday
Address: Bul Deshmoret e Kombit’, sheshi Skenderbej, Tirana


National Historic Museum was inagurated on 28 October 1981. It is the biggest albanian museum institution.There are 4750 objects inside the museum. Striking is the Antiquity Pavilion starting from the paleolithic period to the late antiquity, in the 4-th century A.D with almost 400 first class objects.The middle age pavilion with almost 300 objects, documents clearly the historical transformation process of the ancient illyrians into early arbers.


This pavilion reflects the albanian history until the 15-th century. Other pavilions are those of national Renaissance, Indipendence and Albanian State foundation, until 1924.The genocide pavilion with 136 pavilion with 136 objects founded in 1996. The iconography pavilion with 65 first class icon was established in 1999. the best works of 18-th and 19-th century painters are found here like; Onufer Qiprioti, Joan Cetiri, Konstandin Jermonaku, Joan Athanasi, Kostandin Shpataraku, Mihail Anagnosti and some unknown authors.


In 2004 the albanian antifashism pavilion 220 objects was restablished. In 2005 albanian etnography pavilion was added in one museum halls in 2005 objects. Among the impressive values of the above mentioned pavilions is the evidence of prehistoric culture in Albania, archaic period and pre-urban illyrian period, illyrian period and many objects relating to the interwining of greek and roman cultures.

The bronze and silver palque in a mythological scene, found at Selcë monumental graves of the 3-th century B.C, some classical period sculptures coming from Durres and Apollonia, many wonderful terracotta and bronze works, the marble head of Apollon of the 1-st century A.D, a Praxiteles relic, found in Butrint and known with the connventional name Dea of Butrint. In the ancient period special is the extraordinary value of wonderful pebble mosaic of the 4-th century B.C made with opus dermitaculis technique called Durres Beauty but also Antigonea mosaic of the 4-th century B.C that represents the early Christian period cult.


The museum has some objects from the early and late middle age, such as heraldic emblems of the albanian princes, cathedrals columns, relief, icons by the greatest albanian iconographs, such as Onufri 16-th century, David Selenica and Konstantin Shpataraku 18-th century. Gllavenica epitaph, in hemp cloth, embroidered with gold of 1373, made by albanian prince Gjergj Araniti, occupies a particular place.

The ottoman invasion period is treated as a process converginig with albanian league of Prizren in 1878, beginning of National Renaissance, crowing with declaration of indipendence of albanian free state in 1912. National Historic Museum preserves many original objects that belong to important personalities of albanian history.