This is a combination historical museum and art exhibition. It is set in the actual bunker that the totalitarian dictator Enver Hoxha had constructed to shelter him and his leadership cronies from a nuclear, chemical or biological warfare attack.

After getting to the outskirts of Tirana (bus is the best option here) you walk through a 200 metre tunnel (originally built for vehicle access to the bunker complex) to the entry kiosk. After paying a 500L adult entry fee you can pay 200L more for an app-based audio guide.

(Note: if you don’t have earphones for your smart phone you will not be given the code required to activate the audio guide. We were very frustrated that this information was not available in any promotional information that we consulted before our visit. While we can’t be certain, we’re quite sure an audio guide would have enhanced the experience significantly).

Once you’re past the entry kiosk you walk another approximately 200 metres (on a slight uphill incline) to the bunker entrance. You are immediately struck by the brutalism of the construction; this is a place that was built for holocaust survival, not aestheics or creature comfort.

Without an audio guide we were left to read the various interpretive panels throughout the large exhibition. By and large the panels are presented in an “old-school” interpretive style - heavy on facts (names; dates) while for the most part light on compelling narrative and storytelling. In the exhibits where storytelling is used (such as the saga of the aircraft crash that left 26 American medics and nurses stranded in Albania during WWII, and their subsequent escape) the exhibtion really comes to life.

There are also some quite fascinating and compelling art pieces on offer. Near the end of the installation there are two particulalry powerful pieces. One, a room of mirrors that illustrates the interplay between militaritic language and modern digital modalities (like video games). And the second, an extraordinarily emotive animated piece projected on a concrete wall over one of the final stairwells as you near the exit. On the latter case it’s well worth taking 2 ½ minutes to watch the whole piece (we watched it twice).

While we feel that there is an enormous amount of unrealized potential here, we’re also aware that the installation has only been open since 2016. We hope that there are plans to continually improve the exhibits as they tell an important story.

Well worth a visit.