Tirana with 104 years of history as the capital

The leadership that emerged from the Congress of Lushnja - one of the decisive meetings for the continuity of the Albanian state - found it impossible to settle in Durrës. What was known as the Government of Durrës, which did not extend its power to the whole of Albania, was against the Congress and was also protected by the Italian forces.

On their way to Durrës, the delegates of the Congress of Lushnja, held in January 1920 together with the Government headed by Sulejman Delvina, would settle in Tirana on February 11, 1920. This town with the appearance of a village the Ottomans would make it a temporary capital. But, a year later, Tirana would become the permanent capital.

According to the data of the National Historical Museum, on February 11, 1920, the people of Tirana enthusiastically welcomed the Supreme Council and the Government, which was installed in the very building where the people of Tirana had raised the flag in 1912.

"The high authorities of the Albanian state who came out of the Congress, on their march (which started on February 6), passed through Kavajë and, unable to enter Durrës, which was occupied by Italian forces, turned towards Shijak, to arrive in Tirana", it is written in the text of the Museum about Tirana as the capital. According to this institution, the reasons why it was decided to go to Tirana were the absence of foreign forces, the geographical position in the center of the country, the patriotism shown many times by the population of the area and the presence of some buildings that could be used as offices.

"In this dangerous journey, the main role was played by the Minister of the Interior, Ahmet Zogu, who had his armed supporters. According to the memories of his contemporaries, it was his non-retraction in front of the Italian forces, who tried to stop the elected representatives in Lushnja, that was a key moment for the success of this enterprise. One year after the announcement as the permanent capital, in 1922 Tirana was separated as a sub-prefecture from the prefecture of Durrës and became a separate prefecture.

"In 1923 it had 12.453 inhabitants. In 1924, Tirana became the arena of the internal political war - the June Revolution and the return of Ahmet Zogu, who was put at the head of the state, first as president of the Presidential Republic (1925-1928) then as king (1928-1939) ", is written in the text of the MKH.

On Sunday, when the anniversary of Tirana as the capital was marked, the General Directorate of Archives presented an exhibition on the beginnings and journey of the capital.

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The documentary and photographic exhibition "Tirana the capital" was opened in the premises of the Presidency building during the festive ceremony with open doors, organized by the President of the Republic, Bajram Begaj. According to the DPA, the exhibition illustrated through documents and photos the journey of the capital determined in the works of the Congress of Lushnja, as well as the formalization of this decision with the arrival in Tirana of the members of the High Council, such as: Aqif Pasha, Mihal Turtulli and Abdi Toptani.

"Among the presented materials, those present had the opportunity to learn about some fragments of the history of the capital (1604-1937) under the authorship of Osman Myderrizi, with the telegram sent to the cities of the country for the raising of the flag in Tirana (November 28, 1912), with photos of the building where the government was located after the Congress of Lushnja, with an image of the old City Hall", it is written in the clarification of the General Directorate of Archives.

During the time that Ahmet Zogu led Albania, Tirana had begun to change its appearance from an Ottoman-style kasaba to a city where western urbanism was breathing. The best architectural studios in Italy were engaged to design the development of the city. The center of the city in broad plan is from that time as well as some of the most iconic buildings. After 1945, when the communist regime took over the country, government buildings and residential buildings were added to the capital in a style that many architects found ugly. However, after the fall of communism in the early 90s, the urban degradation of the city took off like never before. Now Tirana, as far as architecture is concerned, is also at risk of its core due to the interventions of recent years.