The Museum of Memory is a new project that aims to give Shkodra another step in cultural tourism, also regarding the history of monism that the northern city suffered greatly. On Monday, the project of the Spanish architect, Jesús Hernández, was presented, which also transforms the square of the city's central Mosque.
The reconceptualization of the Place of Testimony and Memory by incorporating it into a complex named the Museum of Memory is the new project that aims to give Shkodra another step in cultural tourism, also regarding the history of monism that the northern city suffered greatly. On Monday, the project of the Spanish architect, Jesús Hernández, was presented, which also transforms the square of the city's central Mosque.
The architect who also conceived the national photography museum, "Marubi", said that the new project is divided into four parts. According to him, the current building of the Place of Testimony and Memory should be preserved.
"The museum currently functions as a memorial, but we think a new memorial is needed. There should be another new part at the center, which is the memorial that currently does not exist. A new narrative, a new program is required for the Museum. The rest will serve as an educational center," he said while explaining the complex.
According to the architect, the existing building has a long and sad history. “The building can speak for itself, we just have to listen,” he said of the former Internal Affairs Department where a number of great intellectuals of Shkodra since 1945 when, through a state decision, the purpose of the building was changed.
According to Hernández, the Memorial will be completely open and free. "There will be a wall with all the names of the victims. The memorial tower will be a space for meditation and remembrance. It has just Basque light and water with a lot of symbolism," he said.
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In this presentation, Prime Minister Edi Rama said that along with the reconstruction of the area around the Shkodra Mosque, these are now two concrete projects. According to him, the investment will turn these two buildings into two key reference points for citizens, visitors and tourists of the northern capital of the country.
"The exhibition of "The crimes of the communist dictatorship, as well as the telling of the tragic history of religion in Albania, are an obligation to generations and an added value of a cultural destination like Shkodra," Rama said.
The Museum of Memory, according to him, in the sense of the relationship with the past and the necessity to have an open exhibition of all those terrible wounds that the communist dictatorship opened in Shkodra.
"And the second to create an absolutely new situation within the perimeter of the heart of Shkodra, transforming the currently closed park of the Great Mosque into a space that both highlights the significant building of the mosque and serves the community as a meeting point where all ages are intertwined and where the services of the mosque on the one hand and the relationships of an entire city find their place," he said.
According to the Government's vision, the Museum of Memory will be another significant link in the chain of these spaces as 'Bunkart' of the Leaf Museum in Tirana.
"We will cooperate with the Muslim community and the mufti of Shkodra and all those who want to be part of this initiative to secure funding for the large mosque square, which will turn the Shkodra Mosque into one of the most spectacular places of worship not only in Albania but worldwide," he said.
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Shkodra, Benet Beci, said that the Place of Testimony and Remembrance will serve as a dignified memorial for all those who have suffered, giving the city a space to remember its difficult history.
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"We will also have a museum for all visitors, where our past will be studied and communicated intensively. I thank the Catholic Church, the Franciscan mission and the Poor Clares for their willingness to contribute to this proposal," he said. According to Beci, another important project is the square of the "Ebu Bekër" mosque, which will create a dignified public space for the believers and citizens of Shkodra.
"This project will combine the cult object with public spaces and will bring new opportunities for the development of the city, including underground parking and commercial spaces. I would like to thank the Mufti of Shkodra for his cooperation in this project and for the opportunity he is giving us to develop community properties in order to create public spaces," he said. According to Beci, with these two projects they will create beautiful and functional spaces as in the case of "Marubi", Shiroka and the Entrance Park, leaving a lasting mark on the city's memory.
