Clock Tower, Tirana

Clock Tower of Tirana
Kulla e Sahatit
General information
Type Clock tower
Address Rruga 28 Nëntori
Town or city Tirana
Country Albania
Coordinates 41°19′40″N 19°49′11″E / 41.327798°N 19.819783°E / 41.327798; 19.819783
Completed 1822
Renovated 2009[1]
2010
2016
Owner Municipality of Tirana
Height
Top floor 35 m (115 fl)

The Clock Tower of Tirana (Albanian: Kulla e Sahatit), was built in 1822 in Tirana, Albania by Etëhem Bey Mollaj, a Bejtexhinj poet who also finished the Et'hem Bey Mosque next to the clock tower.[2] It is a monument of culture of first category, approved on 24 May 1948.

The stairs have 90 steps that go in a spiral fashion. It is 35 metres (115 ft) tall and was the tallest building in the city at the time. Since the restoration of 2016, 9,833 visitors were counted, who have visited the tower.[3]

History

The clock tower was built by the Ottoman Turks and originally had a bell from Venice, that marked the time every hour. In 1928, the Municipality of Tirana purchased a new clock in Germany, to replace the existing one.[2] The clock was destroyed by bombardments during World War II and was replaced in 1946 with a Roman numeral clock from a church in Shkodër.[2] In 1970, the Roman numeral clock was replaced by a Chinese clock. The tower underwent renovation in 1981 and also in 1999. Access to the top of the tower has been available free of charge since 1996.[2] A new restoration is ongoing by The Municipality of Tirana in 2010 for tourists.[2]

Architecture

Its base (ground floor) is squared and in the upper part of the premises are the mechanism and the bell of clock. The clock tower has only a gate for entrance. The lower part was built with thick stone wall bearing wooden stairs that lead to the upper part of tower. Its lighting is realized by narrow windows as turrets. On the upper part of the floor is set the clock mechanism. Modification of the mechanism from clock with sound in mechanized field clock has brought changes to the original appearance of this clock tower. This intervention was made in 1928, rebuilding the upper floors like we see today. It was last restored on 2016 by the Municipality.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://lajme.shqiperia.com/lajme/artikull/iden/334441/titulli/Kulla-e-Sahatit-te-Tiranes-nis-restaurimi
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kulla e Sahatit të Tiranës, nis restaurimi". BalkanWeb. Archived from the original on 2010-01-22.
  3. ↑ "Numri i vizitorëve në Kullën e Sahatit për vitin 2016". }},graphOptions:{hooks:{processOffset:{},bindEvents:{}}}}|website=opendata.tirana.al|language=Albanian}}
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