Clock Tower (Kulla e Sahatit)

The Clock Tower is a cultural landmark in Tirana that has been telling time since 1822. It is next to the same-named mosque, Et’hem Bey. Climb its 90 steps to the summit for a beautiful view over Tirana’s main center and beyond. The Clock Tower is a significant component of the Tirana Municipality’s insignia and, coupled with the mosque, creates an unusual architectural ensemble. It was completed in 1822 by Ethem Bey Mollaj, a Bejtexhinj poet who also completed the adjacent Et’hem Bey Mosque. In 1822, watchmaster Ismail Tufina assembled the Tirana clock mechanism for the first time. It is a first-class cultural monument, designated on 24 May 1948.

The spiral staircase has 90 steps. It is 35 metres (115 feet) tall and was formerly the city’s highest structure. Since the tower’s restoration in 2016, 9,833 visits have been recorded. The clock was installed by the famous Tufina watchmakers. The Tufina family looked after the clock from 1822 until it was forcibly seized by the communist dictatorship in 1973.

The Ottoman Turks constructed the clock tower in an Islamic form, with a single bell from Venice ringing every hour. Ismail Tufina was the clock tower’s first watchmaker in 1822. The clock was shattered during World War I in 1916. It took until 1928 for a new mechanism to be installed. The new mechanism was acquired in Germany for 13,300 golden francs, which was paid by the city’s richest families and the municipality of Tirana. Arif Tufina, a watchmaker, and his sons installed the new mechanism. Due to the mechanism being larger than the tower itself, they added an additional 5 meters to the tower and added a new roof.

In 1928, the Municipality of Tirana acquired an authentic German clock, necessitating the reconstruction of the upper floors. The clock was destroyed during World War II and replaced in 1946 with a Roman numeral clock salvaged from a Shkodr church. The Roman numeral clock was phased out in 1970 and replaced with a Chinese clock. The tower was restored in 1981 and again in 1999. Since 1996, access to the top of the tower has been free. The Municipality of Tirana is currently restoring the building for visitors in 2010.

Its base (ground floor) is square, and the clock mechanism is located in the top portion of the property. The clock tower is only accessible through a gate. The lower section is surrounded by massive stone walls that hold wooden steps that ascend to the tower’s summit. Narrow windows give illumination. The highest section of the tower exhibits the 1928 renovations made to house and preserve the mechanisms of a working clock. The Municipality last renovated the tower in 2016.