Museums in Albania

Korca

Bratko Museum of Oriental Art

This curious avant-garde building combining a traditional Japanese tori gate with modern glass architecture and concrete wave patterns houses the impressive art collection of the Albanian-American Dhimitër Boria (1903-1990). Boria emigrated from Albania when he was 17, attending art school in Detroit before working in Hollywood in an early animation studio and as silhouette artist. Boria became a photographer for the US Army in 1942, and after the war continued working as a photographer for the UN and US Army, traveling widely in Europe and Asia. It's in this period that he started to collect Japanese and later other Oriental art. Some 400 artifacts are now exhibited in this purpose-built museum named after his mother.
The exhibition kicks off in the cellar with several oriental carpets, but the prize artifacts are upstairs, where you'll find pottery, jewellery, textiles and furniture from 17 countries across Asia. Look out for the Tibetan tanka cloths, the Indian Hindi and Buddhist statues, the silver lobsters and chickens, and the fabulous Indonesian (and even some African) masks.

Visiting hours: 09:00-13:00, 16:00-17:00
Holiday: Saturday, Sunday
Address: Blv. Fan Noli, Korce

Medieval Art Museum

Korça's best museum has an excellent collection of 6,500 medieval and modern icons from Southern Albania, as well as 1,500 other objects, of which some 200 icons and 50 metal objects are on display in this curious building. Once the most important Orthodox church of Korça, the Mitropolia church of Shën Gjergj (Saint George) was 'renovated' beyond recognition during totalitarian rule and opened as a museum in 1987 – you can still recognize bits of the church inside and next door in the newly re-established Shën Gjergj church. Starting with icons from the 14th century and proceeding in chronological order, most icons in the museum are from the 16th-19th centuries. Many are from Voskopoja, which in the 17th was one of the main centers for iconography in the Balkans. Orthodox art was highly regulated, and all icons had to be painted following precise instructions, with a fixed position prescribed for each saint; Mary can only be depicted in nine poses. Note the two icons of St. George that incorporate grisly martyrdom scenes, with Turks (representing evil of course) inflicting unimaginable cruelty upon unwitting Christians who immediately acquire halos. The museum's highlight is the collection of icons by the 16th century Albanian master Onufri, which stand out for their vivid colors and wonderful detail.

Visiting hours: 08:00-14:00 and 17:00-19:00
Saturday and Sunday: 09:00-12:00; 17:00-19:00.
Address: L. 2, Rr. Sotir Peçi, Korçë

Archaeology Museum

Housed in two charming and well-preserved Ottoman-era buildings around a cobblestone courtyard that are worth a visit alone, the town's archaeology museum holds 1,200 Hellenic, Roman and Paleo-Byzantine objects from 6000 BCE to 600 CE. Highlights of the museum are a Byzantine-era floor mosaic and various Roman graves.

Visiting hours: Monday - Tuesday 08:00-14:00, Friday 08:00-12:00
Holiday: Saturday, Sunday.
Address: Rr. Mihal Grameno