Historical Museum of Shkodra

The Historical Museum is located in a typical Shkodra house named "Oso Kuka", since 1996, right next to the "Loro Boriçi" stadium. Parallel to the central museum, the "Rozafa" Castle Museum, located in the captain's building, which was opened in 1987, continues to function.
Initially, it was based on old collections of Jesuit and Franciscan assemblies of the XIX century and from collections of Shkodra families. They were later followed by donations, purchases, chance finds and archaeological excavations. During the following years, other museums and house-museums were built, forming a museum network of 7 museum centers in the city of Shkodra. With the deep reforms that were undertaken at the beginning of the 1990s, especially with the return of the properties of the former owners, the houses where the museums were set up were privatized. Thus the museum network was disbanded, leaving only the central museum in operation, where all the museum objects of the previous centers were gathered.
Its function is to promote history and local and national cultural traditions to the citizens of the community inside and outside the country. However, throughout his life he also carried out research activities at the local level, activating many collaborators, specialists and lovers of culture. Within the city, he cooperates successfully: with L. Gurakuqi University, the "Marin Bar-leti" library, the Art Gallery and the "Migjeni" Theater and with other sister institutions in Albania and the region.
The museum periodically organizes commemorative activities, conferences and seminars with different themes. It currently publishes the magazine "Kumtari" and has undertaken the publication of 10 volumes with the materials of the seminar "Shkodra in the centuries". It includes studies in the fields of: history, archaeology, ethnology, folklore, linguistics, literature and arts. Today it consists of sections of ethnography, archaeology, visual art and the library which serves as a fund of scientific studies.