Clock Tower of Tirana

Clock Tower of Tirana
Kulla e Sahatit
Clock tower of Tirana
Location in Albania
General information
Type	Tower
Address	Rruga 28 Nentori
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	26 Augustus 2009[1]
Design and construction
Owner	Municipality of Tirana

The Clock Tower of Tirana (Albanian: Kulla e Sahatit), was built in Tirana, Albania in 1822 by Haxhi Et`hem Bey, who also finished the building of the Et'hem Bey Mosque.^[2] The stairs have 90 steps that go in a spiral fashion. It is 35 metres (115 ft) tall and was the tallest building in Tirana at the time.

History

The clock tower 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 Shkoder, Albania.^[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]

Location in Tirana

External links

• Kulla e Sahatit (Albanian)

References

1. ^ http://lajme.shqiperia.com/lajme/artikull/iden/334441/titulli/Kulla-e-Sahatit-te-Tiranes-nis-restaurimi
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Kulla e Sahatit të Tiranës, nis restaurimi". BalkanWeb. http://lajme.shqiperia.com/media/artikull/iden/334441/titulli/Kulla-e-Sahatit-te-Tiranes-nis-restaurimi.