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Old photos of Tirana

10 photographs of Tirana, from 1933 to 2022 — each pinned to the exact place it was taken.

Have an old photo of Tirana? A family album, a postcard, a print from the attic. Pin it to the map and it becomes part of the record.
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What the photos show

The 10 photographs of Tirana on PlaceWas span 4 decades, from 1933 to 2022. 2 of them were taken before 1980; the other 8 are recent views of the same streets and landmarks.3 spots were photographed more than once, so you can compare the same street, square or building across the years.10 of the photos carry a written caption explaining what is in the frame. Every picture is pinned to the place it was taken, so the map below shows where the photographers stood.

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Places in Tirana through time

Spots photographed more than once — compare the same place across the years.

Universiteti Politeknik i Tiranës, Tirana — photos through time
Universiteti Politeknik i Tiranës 5 photos · 2000–2022
Colourful appartment building in Tirana, Tirana — photos through time
Colourful appartment building in Tirana 3 photos · 2005–2015
EU: No. 21. Tirona. - Vista parcial (1933), Tirana — photos through time
EU: No. 21. Tirona. - Vista parcial (1933) 2 photos · 1933

Stories from Tirana

What contributors wrote about these photographs.

EU: N.º 22. Tirona - Mezquita. Detalle. (1933), Tirana, 1933
EU: N.º 22. Tirona - Mezquita. Detalle. (1933) 1933 A detail of a mosque in Tirana, Albania, appears in this 1933 photograph, numbered 22 in a series, from the period when the city was still a relatively young capital, having succeeded Durrës as seat of government little…
EU: No. 21. Tirona. - Vista parcial (1933), Tirana, 1933
EU: No. 21. Tirona. - Vista parcial (1933) 1933 A partial view of Tirana, Albania, numbered 21 in a photographic series, was taken in 1933, showing the young Albanian capital in the years after it was named the country's seat of government in 1920.
Tirana, Tirana, 2000
Tirana 2000 A street scene in Tirana, Albania, photographed in 2000, a decade after the fall of Albania's communist government. The capital was undergoing rapid change during this period as the country opened to the wider world.
Colourful appartment building in Tirana, Tirana, 2005
Colourful appartment building in Tirana 2005 A brightly painted apartment building in Tirana, Albania, photographed in 2005. Many of the capital's Communist-era blocks were repainted in vivid colors in the early 2000s as part of an urban renewal effort led by…
Tirana in 2006, Tirana, 2006
Tirana in 2006 2006 A street scene in Tirana, the capital of Albania, catalogued here to 2006. Tirana underwent extensive redevelopment in the years following the end of communist rule in 1991, part of which shaped the mix of older and…
Universiteti Politeknik i Tiranës, Tirana, 2010
Universiteti Politeknik i Tiranës 2010 The Polytechnic University of Tirana is one of Albania's leading institutions for engineering and technical education, based in the country's capital. This photograph of the campus was taken in 2010.
Национальный музей истории. Тирана. Албания, Tirana, 2015
Национальный музей истории. Тирана. Албания 2015 The National Historical Museum on Skanderbeg Square in Tirana, photographed in 2015. Opened in 1981, it is Albania's largest museum and its facade carries the large mosaic mural known as 'The Albanians.'
Ethem Bey Mosque, Tirana, Albania, Tirana, 2022
Ethem Bey Mosque, Tirana, Albania 2022 Built in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the Et'hem Bey Mosque in central Tirana survived Albania's communist-era suppression of religion as a protected cultural monument, reopening for worship in…
1930s · 2 photos
2000s · 3 photos
2010s · 4 photos
2020s · 1 photo