Albanian bunkers galore

 

 
Albania used to be the most secretive, isolated and thus (for outsiders) enigmatic country in the whole of Europe. Its iron-fisted old-school communist dictator, Enver Hoxha, even fell out with former communist allies over their reforms of the system (first with the Soviet Union after de-Stalinization, then with China, after the reforms following Mao's death).

   
In his crazy paranoia about any outside influences, Hoxha had the land covered with countless bunkers – mostly of the small pillbox type, with just enough space inside for two or three soldiers. The story goes that he even had them tested, with the designer ordered inside, by having tanks roll over them … apparently both the bunkers and the poor man inside survived …

  

Hoxha had so many of these bunkers built – mass-produced, you can say – that it took a serious toll on the overall economy of the country and diverted much productivity to an area that to many seemed useless and mad.

   
After even Albania followed suit and abandoned communism in the 1990s, most signs of the olden days disappeared). But the bunkers remained – how could you have got rid of the lot anyway? And so they still are a unique and ubiquitous feature of the Albanian landscape.

 
They're everywhere. Now deprived of their original purpose (after Albania finally opened up to the rest of the world), they just stand around like grey concrete mushrooms (it is rumoured that these abandoned bunkers fulfil the same role as the back seats of Chevies did in the USA back in the 1950s and 60s – namely as the place where most teenagers lost their virginity …).

 
A few of those old bunkers have found new commercial uses, e.g. as bars (I even spotted one tattoo parlour!) – and some have been painted in cheerful bright colours. But mostly they just remain an odd and uniquely characteristic feature of Albania. Hence no specific locale, no particular site, is given here. Those bunkers simply form part of the overall 'dark' aspect of the experience of travelling to/in Albania.

    

Naturally, you find them in their largest numbers near borders with neighbouring countries, but I even spotted several right in the middle of Tirana! That city also has a couple of bunkers of a different sort – see BunkArt 1 and BunkArt 2.