Not far from the center of Tirana, in Bërzhita is situated the Museum of the Armed Forces.

Once a military compound, today a museum which covers an area of ​​10 hectares, where about 1100 objects are exhibited.

The museum is conceived in several areas. On the outside are heavy military objects from the communist period, which have not been operational since a long time.

This is a project of a special nature and the challenges have been many for the architect and curator Gjergji Islami.

“This is a project of a special nature as it is not just a museum, but a genuine public space with relatively large dimensions that is added to the city,” said the architect and curator Gjergji Islami.

Now a relic in the Bërzhita museum is the most modern plane that the Albanian state ever had, the Mig 21, manufactured in China, an expensive investment of the former social system, which never had to attack the enemy.

“The Mig 21 jet fighter, is equipped with three 20 cm caliber cannons and state-of-the-art missiles for that time,” said Karafil Celibashi, Head of the Communication and Education Sector.

About 90% of the objects in the museum belong to the communist period. A special pavilion is that of side weapons.

“The pistol has killed 20 million people, so it was the reason for the murder of 20 million people,” says Edmond Çollaku, head of the Collections Management Section.

The construction of the museum started in 2019 and was completed a few weeks ago. The area it is situated makes it accessible to any visitor who is interested in getting to know the history of Albanian armaments over the centuries.

/a.p./