Tirana, the capital of Albania, has been transforming its city centre into a showcase of modern city development. During the harsh communist period till 1990 a lot of history was destroyed, and after the big political and socio-economic changes in the early 1990s this continued. “No city in Europe has changed as much in the past 25 years as Tirana” magazine the Economist reported in 2017. And after 2017 this process has intensified. 

For  over two decades Albanian local and national governments have been aiming at transforming Tirana into a modern European capital. The idea is that Albania is in Europe, its future is in Europe, more precisely in the EU. Therefor Tirana should be the visiting card of Albania, a modern European capital. Architecture is an important element; the prime minister of Albania and the mayor of Tirana are both personally involved in the new developments of Tirana. 

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In the city centre we now see towers with upper income housing in apartments, offices, hotels and major public works like a new stadium and redevelopment of public space. Only few buildings in the city centre have been considered as worthy to preserve for their economic and (to a lesser extent) heritage value. In the modernization process. Tirana's citizens have raised objection against the demolition of historic buildings, especially the National Theatre was subject to intense and long struggles between citizens and government. But modernization goes on.

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As individual objects, most new architecture is not very special or attractive, but the complex of architecture and the history behind all newness, render Tirana an interesting architourism destination worth a visit.