Bunk’Art, Cold War museum in Tirana, Albania

Bunk'Art is a museum inside a former anti-atomic bunker near Mount Dajti, in the Shish Tufinë area of Tirana. Known only by the code name 0774, it holds 300 rooms on five underground floors covering 3,000 square metres, built for Enver Hoxha, politburo and People's Assembly members and key armed forces staff.

The bunker was built in the 1970s under dictator Enver Hoxha, during a period when Albania had cut ties with most of the world and feared a foreign attack. It remained unused for decades after communism ended in the early 1990s before being transformed into a museum.

The museum opened in November 2014 on the initiative of Italian journalist Carlo Bollino, at first for a single month before staying open regularly. Its rooms keep original bunker objects and explanations of how the shelter worked, alongside art installations and displays on Albanian history. Concerts, exhibitions and theatre performances are held inside.

Bunk'Art 1 lies at Shish Tufinë, near the General Staff support battalion, not in Blloku or by the cable car. The museum occupies five underground floors reached by stairs and long corridors, so allow time and wear sturdy shoes. It opened in November 2014 and also hosts exhibitions, concerts and theatre performances.

Inside the complex there is a preserved meeting hall built for wartime government sessions, which today is occasionally used for concerts and live performances. This use gives a sense of just how far the site has shifted from its original purpose.