“Opening the Gates” is a project that highlights the cultural monuments in the city of Shkodër.

Implemented by the M.I.R.A Association and supported by the Albanian Ministry of Economy, Culture, and Innovation, the project is part of a call for financial support for the proposals in the fields of art, culture, and cultural heritage.

“Opening the Gates” brought attention to the house of the Muhamet Shurdha family, a Cultural Monument, of Category I, declared as such since 1977. This house is over 200 years old and represents the late 18th-century and early 19th-century house typology, featuring interior decorative ornaments, an octagonal ceiling with a circular rosette, and preserved painted walls with rare architectural values.

The house today retains irreplaceable objects and documents that testify to historical and cultural events related to the family’s involvement in trade and maritime activities.

The Muhamet Shurdha family is among many of those Shkodër families that sheltered Jewish families during the WWII.

The project “Opening the Gates” is inspired by the small gates that used to connect the gardens of old Shkodran houses. These gates typically linked the gardens behind the houses, thus connecting neighbors with each other.

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