House of Leaves, Cold War surveillance museum in central Tirana, Albania
The House of Leaves is a museum in Tirana dedicated to surveillance by the secret police during communism. The building contains 31 interconnected rooms filled with listening devices, hidden cameras, and other monitoring equipment that the state deployed.
The two-storey villa with a courtyard dates from 1931, when it opened as Albania's first private obstetrics clinic. During the German occupation it was used by the Gestapo. After the war it became the Sigurimi's interception headquarters, a role it kept until the communist regime collapsed in 1991.
The exhibits show how surveillance shaped everyday life in Albania and how people lived under constant monitoring. Visitors see personal items and documents that destroyed trust between neighbors and families.
The museum sits opposite the Orthodox church near the National Bank in downtown Tirana. Visitors should expect small, dimly lit rooms that reinforce the feeling of being monitored throughout the visit.
The walls contain hidden listening devices that visitors can discover while moving through the rooms. Some concealed microphones remain visible at their original locations, showing exactly where the state listened in.
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