The Clock Tower of Tirana (), was built in 1822 in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

by Et'hem bey Mollaj, a

Bejte The Bejtexhinj (in Albanian sing. ''bejtexhi'', pl. ''bejtexhinj''; from tr, beyte meaning "poem"), were popular bards of the Muslim tradition, literally meaning " couplet makers". It means the same in the Albanian literature, firstly muslim poe ...

xhinj poet who also finished the

Et'hem Bey Mosque The Hajji Et'hem Bey Mosque ( sq, Xhamia e Haxhi Et'hem Beut) is a mosque in Tirana, Albania. Closed under communist rule, the mosque reopened as a house of worship in 1991. Without permission from the authorities, 10,000 people attended and the p ...

next to the clock tower. Watchmaster Ismail Tufina was the first to assemble the Tirana clock mechanism in 1822. It is a monument of culture of first category, approved on 24 May 1948. The stairs have 90 steps that go in a spiral fashion. It is tall and was the tallest building in the city at the time. Since the restoration of 2016, 9,833 visitors were counted, who have visited the tower. The installation of the clock was done by the renowned Tufina watchmakers. The Tufina's took care of the clock from 1822 until 1973 when forcefully removed by the communist regime.

History

The

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

was built by the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

in an

Islamic style Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic are ...

and with simply a bell from

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

to be rung every hour. Ismail Tufina was the first watchmaker of the clock tower in 1822. In 1916 during World War I the clock was damaged. It took until 1928 to put a new mechanism. The new mechanism was purchased in Germany at the price of 13,300 golden francs, which was funded from the wealthiest families in the city and by the Tirana Municipality. Watchmaker Arif Tufina and his sons installed the new mechanism. Due to the mechanism being bigger than the actual tower they constructed an extra 5 meters on the tower and a new roof. In 1928, the ''Municipality of Tirana'' purchased an actual clock from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

necessitating a rebuilding of the upper floors. The clock was destroyed by bombardments during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was replaced in 1946 with a

Roman numeral Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...

clock from a church in

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...

. 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. A new restoration is ongoing by The Municipality of Tirana in 2010 for

tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...

Architecture

Its base (ground floor) is squared and in the upper part of the premises is the clock mechanism. The clock tower has only a gate for entrance. The lower part was built with thick stone walls supporting wooden stairs that lead to the top of the tower. Lighting is provided by narrow windows. The tower's upper portion reflects the modifications made in 1928 to accommodate and protect the mechanisms of an actual clock. The tower was last restored in 2016 by the Municipality. Occasionally, mahya lights are strung up between the clock tower and the minaret of the Et'hem Bey Mosque, especially during festive seasons such as

Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...

and Bajram.

Gallery

Clock Tower Tirana 2017.jpg Tirana-Clock Tower.JPG Stairs in Clock Tower of Tirana.JPG Kulla e Sahatit-Tiranë.jpg Dera e Kulles sesahatit ne Tirane.jpg

References

External links

Kulla e Sahatit
{{Tirana

Cultural Monuments of Albania Towers completed in 1822 Buildings and structures in Tirana Tourist attractions in Tirana Ottoman architecture in Albania 1822 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1822

History

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References

External links