Vlora will have the Jewish museum in 2025. The museum designed by the Israeli studio Kimmel Eshkolot will be inserted inside a historical building and will reflect the history of the Jewish community in Albania from Roman times to the present day, writes the Italian media Atribune.

The museum is based on three key elements: the carefully restored period building with the addition of a new area; an area for outdoor exhibitions; as well as an area that connects the two. Each of the structures is carefully positioned to allow pedestrians between ‘Perlat Rexhepi’ Street and ‘Ceno Sharra’ Street.
The hall that looks like an open space will be created in the square in front of it, leaving new spaces which, in addition to renewing the urban plan of that area of the city, also contribute to the dialogue between it and the museum. Furthermore, the entrance will create an alley that suggests visiting the historic building, revealing an interior part of the museum, visible through a glass door.

The walls of the museum will be made of stone with thermal quality in order to play a key role in saving energy. The same will be used in the construction of the new area for which local stone will be used. Only the outer area will be dressed with what is called Jerusalem stone.
The exhibition spaces will be flexible so that different structures can be experimented with and will have a ceiling equipped with acoustic panels. 

Jews in Albania, a story with ancient roots

Jewish settlements in Albania date back to 70 AD, in the middle of the Roman era. According to Albanian historian Apostol Kotani, the descendants of those first Jews founded the country’s first synagogue in Saranda, between the 4th and 5th centuries of urban planning, the Jewish community also found some prosperity. In the 13th century, Durrës dealt with the salt trade.
While the activities of the Jews in Vlora date back to 1426, when with the support of the Ottomans, one of their communities settled in the Adriatic city, dealing with the trade of spices, leather, fabrics with Turkey. In the 16th century, the most important Jewish communities were those of Vlora and Berati, there were smaller ones in Kavaja, Himara, Delvina, Elbasani. The following centuries passed peacefully, until the time of the fall of the Ottoman Empire. During the Albanian nationalist uprisings of 1911, the Jewish community was accused of collaborating with the Albanian nationalist rebels, and as a result of the retaliation, many Jews left the country.
At the end of the 1930s, under the Italian occupation, there were only 204. The racial laws (also applied in Albania) and the subsequent German occupation, however, did not succeed in exterminating the Jews from the country, because they were generously protected by the local Christian population and Muslims, to the point that many Jews from Europe chose to emigrate to Albania. Escaping the danger of the camps, from 1945 the Jewish community was under the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha, but they did not experience discrimination or persecution. Since 1991, almost all Albanian Jews immigrated to Israel and today there are only a few dozen, almost all in Tirana.

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