National Museum of Independence
House near Vlorë harbour where Albanian independence was declared in 1912, kept as a museum.
The National Museum of Independence stands close to the harbour in Vlorë, in the two-storey house where the Albanian flag was raised on 28 November 1912 and independence from the Ottoman Empire was proclaimed. The building then served as the seat of the provisional government led by Ismail Qemali, the country's first prime minister, from 1912 until 1914, and it is treated as the birthplace of the modern Albanian state. It was opened as a museum in 1936, which makes it the oldest museum institution in the country.
The rooms are shown much as they were used: the assembly room where the declaration was signed, the government offices and the private rooms of Ismail Qemali, with period furniture, his desk and personal effects. Documents, seals, photographs, flags, weapons and telegrams from 1912 to 1914 set out the events around the declaration and the short life of the provisional government. A statue of Ismail Qemali and the Independence Monument stand nearby, and the museum is a focus of the national commemorations each 28 November.
Highlights
- House where independence was declared on 28 November 1912
- Seat of Ismail Qemali's provisional government, 1912–14
- Opened in 1936, the oldest museum in Albania
- Period rooms with original furniture and 1912 documents
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