Early development house from the 3rd century AD The area of Tirana has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times with the earliest recognised reference found at the
Cave of Pëllumbas belonging to the Palaeolithic period.
Illyrians were the first population of the area and formed most likely the core of the
Illyrian kingdom of the
Taulantii, which in classical antiquity was centered in the hinterland of
Epidamnus. When the Romans arrived in Illyria after their victory of the
Illyrian Wars, they populated and integrated the area into their empire under the political control of the city of Rome. The oldest surviving discovery from this period is a
Roman house dating to the 3rd century, which was transformed into an
aisleless church with a mosaic floor. A
castle, possibly known as
Tirkan, was built by the Byzantine Emperor
Justinian I between the 4th and 6th century and later restored by Ahmed Pasha Toptani in the 18th century. was founded in the 6th century by
Justinian I. Tirana is mentioned in
Venetian documents in the 1350s as well as in 1418:
"...the resident Pjeter, son of late Domenik from the village of Tirana...". It is later mentioned in 1572 as
Borgo di Tirana. According to
Hahn, the settlement had already started to develop as a
bazaar and included several
watermills, even before 1614, when
Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler, built the
Old Mosque, a small commercial centre, and a
hammam (Turkish bath). This is confirmed by oral sources, which state that there were two earlier mosques 300–400 m from the Old Mosque, towards today's
Ali Demi Street. The Mosque of Reç and the Mosque of Mujo were positioned on the left side of the
Lana River and were older than the Old Mosque. They started to be known as the
llacifac and were the first Christians to arrive after the creation of the town. In 1807, Tirana became the centre of the
Subprefecture of Krujë-Tirana. After 1816, Tirana languished under the control of the
Toptani family of
Krujë. Later, Tirana became a sub-prefecture of the newly created
Vilayet of Shkodër and the Sanjak of Durrës. In 1889, the
Albanian language started to be taught in Tirana's schools, and the patriotic club Bashkimi was founded in 1908. is visible in the background. It was destroyed in
World War II.
Modern development On 28 November 1912, the national flag was raised in
Vlorë by
President Ismail Qemali, marking the symbolic birth of Albania as a sovereign country. The next years, however, were marked by turmoil. During the
Balkan Wars. On the 27th November 1912 after over 400 years of
Ottoman occupation, the Serbian army occupied Tirana and annexed into the
Kingdom of Serbia's Durrës County. In response to
massacres of Albanians during Serbia's rule, Tirana took part in uprising of the villages led by
Haxhi Qamili. Tirana was liberated in 1913 after the
Treaty of London which forced the Serbian army to retreat out of
Albania's borders. In August 1916, the first city map was compiled by the specialists of the Austro-Hungarian army. Following the capture of the town of
Debar by
Serbia, many of its Albanian inhabitants fled to
Turkey, the rest went to Tirana. On 8 February 1920, the
Congress of Lushnjë proclaimed Tirana as the temporary capital of Albania, which had gained independence in 1912. The city acquired that status permanently on 31 December 1925. In 1923, the first regulatory city plan was compiled by Austrian architects. The centre of Tirana was the project of
Florestano Di Fausto and
Armando Brasini, well-known architects of the
Mussolini period in Italy. Brasini laid the basis for the modern-day arrangement of the ministerial buildings in the city centre. The plan underwent revisions by Albanian architect Eshref Frashëri, Italian architect Castellani and Austrian architects Weiss and Kohler. The modern Albanian parliament building served as an officers' club. It was there that, in September 1928,
Zog of Albania was crowned King Zog I, King of the Albanians. Tirana was the venue for the signing of the Pact of Tirana between Fascist
Italy and Albania. During the rule of King Zog, many
Muhaxhirs migrated towards Tirana, which led to a growing population in the capital city in the early 20th century. In 1939, Tirana was captured by Fascist forces, who appointed a
puppet government. In the meantime, Italian architect
Gherardo Bosio was asked to elaborate on previous plans and introduce a new project in the area of present-day
Mother Teresa Square. A failed assassination attempt was made on
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy by a local resistance activist during a visit to Tirana. In November 1941, two emissaries of the
Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ), Miladin Popović and Dušan Mugoša, called a meeting of three Albanian communist groups and founded the
Communist Party of Albania, and
Enver Hoxha soon emerged as its leader. The town soon became the centre of the Albanian communists, who mobilised locals against Italian fascists and later
Nazi Germans, while spreading ideological propaganda. On 4 February 1944, the
Gestapo, supported by the forces of
Xhafer Deva, executed 86 anti-fascists in Tirana. On 17 November 1944, the
town was liberated after a
fierce battle between the Communists and German forces. The Nazis eventually withdrew and the communists seized power. in 1988, two years prior to the
Fall of communism in Albania From 1944 to 1991, massive socialist-style apartment complexes and factories were built, while
Skanderbeg Square was redesigned, with a number of buildings demolished. For instance, Tirana's former Old Bazaar and the
Orthodox Cathedral were razed to the ground in order to build the Soviet-styled Palace of Culture. The northern portion of the main boulevard was renamed
Stalin Boulevard and his statue was erected in the city square. Because private car ownership was banned, mass transportation consisted mainly of bicycles, trucks and buses. After Hoxha's death, a
pyramidal museum was constructed in his memory by the government. Before and after the proclamation of Albania's policy of self-imposed
isolationism, a number of high-profile figures paid visits to the city, such as Soviet leader
Nikita Khrushchev,
Chinese Premier
Zhou Enlai and
East German Foreign Minister
Oskar Fischer. In 1985, Enver Hoxha's funeral was held in Tirana. A few years later,
Mother Teresa became the first religious figure to visit the country after the end of Albania's long
anti-religious atheist stance. She paid respects to her mother and sister resting at a local cemetery. Starting at the campus and ending at Skanderbeg Square with the toppling of Enver Hoxha's statue, the city saw
significant demonstrations by
University of Tirana students demanding political freedoms in the early 1990s. On the political aspect, the city witnessed a number of events. Personalities visited the capital, such as then-U.S. Secretary of State
James Baker and
Pope John Paul II. The former visit came amidst the historical setting after the fall of communism, as hundreds of thousands were chanting in Skanderbeg Square Baker's famous saying of "Freedom works!". Pope John Paul II became the first major religious leader to visit Tirana. During the Balkans turmoil in the mid-1990s, the city experienced dramatic events such as the unfolding of the
1997 unrest in Albania and a
failed coup d'état on 14 September 1998. In 1999, following the
Kosovo War, Tirana Airport became a NATO airbase, serving its mission in the former Yugoslavia.
Contemporary . After the
fall of communism in Albania, many areas saw new development. During his term from 2000 to 2011, the former
mayor of Tirana,
Edi Rama, undertook a campaign to demolish illegal constructed buildings across Tirana as well as along the river banks of
Lanë to bring the area to its pre-1990 state. In an attempt to widen roads, Rama authorized the bulldozing of private properties so that they could be paved over, thus widening streets. Most main roads underwent reconstruction, including the Unaza,
Rruga e Kavajës and the main boulevard. Rama also led the initiative to paint the façades of Tirana's buildings in bright colours, although much of their interiors continued to degrade. Rama's critics claimed that he focused too much attention on cosmetic changes without fixing any of the major problems such as shortages of drinking water and electricity. In June 2007,
George W. Bush traveled to Tirana on an official state visit, becoming the first
U.S. President to visit the former communist country. In 2008, the
Gërdec explosions were felt in the capital as windows were shattered and citizens shaken. In January 2011, the
Albanian opposition demonstrations were triggered in front of the governmental buildings in Tirana protesting against political corruption and state capture, particularly associated with the former prime minister
Sali Berisha's government. In September 2014,
Pope Francis made an official state visit to Tirana simultaneously becoming the second pontiff to visit Albania, after Pope John Paul II in 1992. Following the municipal elections of 2015, power was transferred from the
Democratic Party representative
Lulzim Basha to the
Socialist Party candidate
Erion Veliaj. Albania then underwent a territorial reform, in which defunct communes were merged with municipalities. Thirteen of Tirana's former communes were integrated as administrative units joining the existing eleven. Since then, Tirana is undergoing significant changes in infrastructure, law enforcement and new projects, as well as continuing the ones started by Veliaj's predecessor. In their first few council meetings, 242 social houses got allocated to families in need. Construction permits were suspended until the capital's development plan is revised and synthesized. In September 2019, Tirana was ravaged by a 5.6
magnitude earthquake with an epicenter located near Durrës. Two months after, in November 2019, another strong
earthquake with the magnitude of 6.4 hit the region again resulting in comparatively few damages in Tirana. The same month, Tirana was announced as the
European Youth Capital for 2022 with a planned program including events of cultural and social importance. In December 2022, Tirana hosted the
EU-Western Balkans summit, marking the inaugural summit to be held outside the European Union's borders. On 21 September 2024, it was reported that
Prime Minister of Albania Edi Rama was planning to create the
Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order, a sovereign
microstate for the Order within Tirana. == Geography ==