Museums Archives ⋆ Page 26 of 37 ⋆ The Passenger

May 4, 2019May 30, 2019

Museumsfriedhof

People dislike to think about the end of their lifes. That is one reason why there aren’t many museums about death, even if it is inevitable for everyone. The special burial traditions of the region of the Alps is shown on the Museumsfriedhof Tirol in Kramsach, Austria. If you’re going via Brennero through the Alps it is a good stop. Don’t expect a scientific approach – it is rather an obscure collection of graveyard signs that make you wonder and laugh.

April 28, 2019February 9, 2023

Stadtmuseum

I don’t know how many times I passed the entrance of the Stadtmuseum of Kassel without entering it. It is located within the old Karlshospiz at the Ständeplatz but has the entrance in the rear. Maybe it were the windows closed with bricks that kept me from entering the building with the nice portal. At least I didn’t expect too many interesting things inside.

April 25, 2019April 30, 2019

Cutty Sark

I can’t go to London, England without visiting the river Thames. Even if I’m just on a short business trip I have to walk through the city to get to the water. Sometimes I just walk along the river from the Millennium Bridge to the Tower Bridge or from Embankment to Westminister. Sometimes I like to have a beer on the water at Tamesis Dock. Another wonderful place with good views is the Greenwich Pier where you can also admire the Cutty Sark.

April 20, 2019June 20, 2019

Dvorac Petrovića

You shouldn’t expect too much when reading about the king’s palace at Podgorica, Montenegro. It is a nice building within the Kruševac park near river Morača, it was built in 1891 and became the winter palace of king Nikola of Montenegro. Later the building was used as a school, a hospital and today it is a museum.

April 18, 2019June 20, 2019

Maritime museum

Kotor, Montenegro is an ancient trade and harbour city. It is therefore no surprise that seafaring plays an important role in the history of the city and that there is a museum dedicated to this at the historic city center: the maritime museum of Montenegro (Pomorski muzej Crne Gore). It is not a very big or modern museum, but it is worth a visit if you’re interested in the topic or want to learn a bit about the history of the city.

April 17, 2019June 18, 2019

Fascism & Communism

The regime of Enver Hoxha made sure to create enough bunkers throughout the country. But where would the government flee to in case of an attack on Tirana, Albania? In the eastern suburbs of the capital city you can find the answer: a giant fallout shelter. Close to the Dajti Ekspres you can find a long tunnel through a mountain and when leaving the tunnel and passing some buildings you can find the bunker entrances.

April 16, 2019June 18, 2019

House of Leaves

For a long time nobody really knew what was happening in the house with leaves growing around it – but everybody had a suspicion. First the Geheime Staatspolizei (Gestapo) of the occupying Germans used the building for interrogations, then the Albanian secret service, the Sigurimi, took it over for the same purpose. It became their central office between 1944 and 1991. Since 2017 the Shtëpia e Gjetheve (‘House of Leaves‘) is now open as the Museum of Secret Surveillance.

April 16, 2019June 1, 2019

Social realism

The national art gallery of Tirana, Albania or Galeria Kombëtare e Arteve is located close to the city centre at Bulevardi Dëshmorët e Kombit. You can easily find it behind the artwork ‘The Cloud‘ (REJA). From the outside the building doesn’t look too promising but it has a good collection of 4100 historic works – beginning in the 13th century CE – and the presentation of these is very good. On the ground floor changing exhibitions are shown, often with contemporary art.

April 16, 2019June 18, 2019

Albanian national history

The Muzeu Historik Kombëtar is located directly at the Skanderbeg square in the heart of Tirana, Albania. You can’t overlook this building as it carries a giant mosaic (called Shqipëria / Albania) that shows Albanians from different eras – only the red star above Mother Albania has been removed. The museum shows the national history of the country chronologially from ancient times until today.

April 16, 2019June 18, 2019

Sigurimi

Not far away from the Skanderbeg square of Tirana, Albania you can find several buildings belonging to ministries. Of course during communist times a bunker system was secretly created underneath that is today used as a museum. It is named Bunk’Art 2 and is an addition to the Bunk’Art museum within the fallout shelter in the eastern suburbs of the city.