The House of Leaves (Shtëpia me Gjethe) is Tirana’s Museum of Secret Surveillance, in the building where communist Albania’s secret police, the Sigurimi, ran its phone-tapping and spying operations. It’s one of the best-presented museums in the city, and the building itself is the main exhibit.
| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Where | Rruga Dëshmorët e 4 Shkurtit, opposite the Orthodox Cathedral (Google Maps) |
| Hours | Summer (1 May–15 October): daily 09:00–19:00. Winter: shorter hours, closed some days; check the website |
| Price | 700 ALL adults; reduced prices for students and seniors; under-12s free |
| Website | muzeugjethi.gov.al |
| Time needed | 1–1.5 hours |
Why it’s called the House of Leaves
The name comes from the climbing plants that used to cover the façade. It also works as a double meaning: leaves on a tree that hide things, and the leaves of the files the secret police kept on ordinary people.
History of the building
The house was built in 1931 as a maternity clinic by the Albanian doctor Jani Basho. During the German occupation in the Second World War it was used by the Gestapo. After the war, the new communist regime turned this building into an interrogation center, and from the 1950s it became the technical branch of State Security, where officers tapped phones, read post and built listening devices until the system collapsed in 1991.
What you’ll see
The museum opened in 2017 and is spread over about 30 rooms. You’ll see the actual bugs, cameras and recording equipment the Sigurimi used, rooms explaining how informers were recruited, files on individuals, and testimony from people who were watched and persecuted. Some of the displays are disturbing, with jarring testimonials from survivors of the regime telling their stories in painful detail and displays explaining the methods used by the secret police to extract secrets from the citizenry.
Beyond the equipment, the exhibits show how far the surveillance reached into daily life. Rooms cover how letters were opened and checked before delivery, how foreign diplomats and visitors were monitored, and how ordinary conversations at home, at work or in cafés could end up in a file. Interactive displays let you listen to recordings and see how the listening devices were hidden in everyday objects, which makes the scale of the regime’s paranoia feel very real. The exhibition is in Albanian and English, so it’s easy to follow without a guide.
Photography isn’t allowed inside.
House of Leaves or Bunk’Art 2?
Both cover the secret police, and there’s some overlap. House of Leaves provides more detail on the actual spying methods and technologies used by the Sigurimi, telling the story in the place where it happened; Bunk’Art 2 has the claustrophobic bunker setting and is more of an overview of the Communist era in general. If you have time, do both, House of Leaves first.
FAQ
How much is the House of Leaves museum?
700 ALL for adults, with discounts for students, seniors and groups.
Is the House of Leaves museum related to the novel?
No. Tirana’s House of Leaves is a museum about communist surveillance; the name is a coincidence.
How long should I spend at the House of Leaves?
You won’t need more than an hour to an hour and a half.
