The Palace of Culture of Tirana () was built on the Pazari i Vjeter area of

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

by request of

Enver Hoxha Enver Halil Hoxha ( , ; 16 October 190811 April 1985) was an Albanians, Albanian communist politician who was the authoritarian ruler of Albania from 1944 until his death in 1985. He was Secretary (title)#First secretary, First Secretary of t ...

. For this construction, both the old

bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, such as in t ...

and the historic

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

of Mahmud Muhsin Bey Stërmasi were destroyed under the rulership of the Albanian Labour Party in adherence to the communist country's declaration of

state atheism State atheism is the incorporation of positive atheism or non-theism into political regimes. It may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments. It is a form of religion-state relationship that is usually ideologically l ...

. The Ottoman mosque had been built from 1837 to 1840 and had a tiled roof as well as a striking minaret with a sherefe. The first stone of the new building was symbolically put by

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

in 1959. The work was finished in 1963. The architecture is very similar to many

communist era A Communist Era is a sustained period of national government by a single party following the philosophy of Marxism–Leninism. Many countries have experienced such a period of Communist rule. Current communist states China The Chinese Communist ...

social buildings in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

. There have been virtually no renovations to the building since its construction. The Palace of Culture includes the

National Library of Albania The National Library of Albania ( al, Biblioteka Kombëtare e Shqipërisë) is an Albanian national library headquartered in the capital, Tirana. It was founded in 1920 and inaugurated on December 10, 1922. History The Library Commission of Alb ...

and the

National Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Albania The National Theatre of Opera and Ballet of Albania ( Albanian: ''Teatri Kombëtar i Operas dhe Baletit - TKOB'') is a theatre in Tirana, Albania. It is the largest theatre in the country, and hosts music and dance performances year round. Histor ...

Notes and references

Socialist realism Buildings and structures completed in 1963 Government buildings in Tirana {{Albania-struct-stub

See also

Notes and references