# Roots Albania in Gjirokastra: audio stories about 15 places Canonical: https://rootsalbania.com/cities/gjirokastra Published: 15 September 2026 Roots Albania has audio stories about 15 places in Gjirokastra (Albanian: Gjirokastër), a UNESCO World Heritage site in southern Albania. The app covers 211 places in ten Albanian cities, in 28 languages, and needs no account: open Gjirokastra, pick a place and play its story. ## The 15 places in Gjirokastra with audio stories In the order the app shows them, with the Albanian name after the English one. 1. Kadare House (Shtëpia e Kadaresë) 2. Old Bazaar (Pazari i Vjetër) 3. Cold War Tunnel (Tuneli i Luftës së Ftohtë) 4. Bazaar Mosque (Xhamia e Pazarit) 5. Skenduli House (Shtëpia e Skëndulatëve) 6. Gjirokastra Ethnographic Museum (Muzeu Etnografik i Gjirokastrës) 7. Gjirokastra Castle (Kalaja e Gjirokastrës) 8. National Weapons Museum (Muzeu Kombëtar i Armëve) 9. Gjirokastra Memorial Museum (Muzeu Memorial i Gjirokastrës) 10. Zekate House (Shtëpia e Zekatëve) 11. Obelisk of Education (Obelisku i Edukimit) 12. Meçite Church (Kisha e Meçites) 13. Viroi Lake (Liqeni i Viroit) 14. Antigonea 15. Labova e Kryqit ## Is there an audio guide for Gjirokastra Castle? Yes, as audio stories. Gjirokastra Castle (Kalaja e Gjirokastrës) is place 7 of the 15 Gjirokastra places in Roots Albania: it has a short introduction and a story of about six minutes, in 28 languages, with a male and a female voice. In one line: The second-largest castle in the Balkans, with early ancient roots whose dating remains disputed, and its present form given by Ali Pasha of Tepelena between 1812 and 1821. The National Weapons Museum, opened in 1971 inside the castle, and the Cold War Tunnel have their own stories too. Roots Albania is not a guided tour: you choose the place on the city's map of places and play its story yourself. ## How to use Roots Albania in Gjirokastra Open Roots Albania and choose Gjirokastra. The city has its own map of places with all 15 places on it; tap a place to play its short introduction or its story of about six minutes. You can listen in 28 languages, in a male or a female voice, and there is no account. Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection. The stories are written by local people. ## The other nine cities - [Tirana](https://rootsalbania.com/cities/tirana), 39 places - [Vlora (Vlorë)](https://rootsalbania.com/cities/vlora), 34 places - [Saranda (Sarandë)](https://rootsalbania.com/cities/saranda), 33 places - [Durrës](https://rootsalbania.com/cities/durres), 23 places - [Berat](https://rootsalbania.com/cities/berat), 15 places - [Korça (Korçë)](https://rootsalbania.com/cities/korca), 15 places - [Pogradec](https://rootsalbania.com/cities/pogradec), 15 places - [Shkodra (Shkodër)](https://rootsalbania.com/cities/shkodra), 12 places - [Kruja (Krujë)](https://rootsalbania.com/cities/kruja), 10 places ## All 15 places in Gjirokastra, with coordinates Every place below has a short introduction and a story of about six minutes in the Roots Albania app. The names, the coordinates (latitude, longitude), the type, the period and the one line descriptions are taken from the app's catalogue on 15 September 2026; a place without a one line description here has none short enough to print. ### 1. Kadare House - Albanian name: Shtëpia e Kadaresë - Coordinates: 40.0761754, 20.1362659 - Type of place: cultural - Period: modern - In one line: The house where Ismail Kadare was born in 1936, the writer who carried Albanian literature out into the world. ### 2. Old Bazaar - Albanian name: Pazari i Vjetër - Coordinates: 40.0742447, 20.1385205 - Type of place: cultural - Period: Ottoman - In one line: The Ottoman commercial heart of Gjirokastër, with cobblestones, white limestone walls and black slate roofs, rebuilt after the fire of the nineteenth century. ### 3. Cold War Tunnel - Albanian name: Tuneli i Luftës së Ftohtë - Coordinates: 40.07469, 20.1398934 - Type of place: historical - Period: communist - In one line: An underground shelter built by Enver Hoxha's regime in the 1970s, with 59 rooms and around 800 metres of corridors, for 300 people in the event of a nuclear attack. ### 4. Bazaar Mosque - Albanian name: Xhamia e Pazarit - Coordinates: 40.073889, 20.138056 - Type of place: religious - Period: Ottoman ### 5. Skenduli House - Albanian name: Shtëpia e Skëndulatëve - Coordinates: 40.0751993, 20.1353572 - Type of place: architectural - Period: Ottoman ### 6. Gjirokastra Ethnographic Museum - Albanian name: Muzeu Etnografik i Gjirokastrës - Coordinates: 40.07555556, 20.13472222 - Type of place: museum - Period: modern - In one line: Built between 1964 and 1966 on the plot where Enver Hoxha was born, after the 1916 fire that destroyed the original house. ### 7. Gjirokastra Castle - Albanian name: Kalaja e Gjirokastrës - Coordinates: 40.074, 20.141 - Type of place: historical - Period: medieval - In one line: The second-largest castle in the Balkans, with early ancient roots whose dating remains disputed, and its present form given by Ali Pasha of Tepelena between 1812 and 1821. ### 8. National Weapons Museum - Albanian name: Muzeu Kombëtar i Armëve - Coordinates: 40.073232, 20.140008 - Type of place: museum - Period: modern - In one line: Opened in 1971 in the cells of Zog's prison inside the Castle, it covers mainly the period from the 1912 independence to the end of the Second World War. ### 9. Gjirokastra Memorial Museum - Albanian name: Muzeu Memorial i Gjirokastrës - Coordinates: 40.07452, 20.13942 - Type of place: museum - Period: contemporary ### 10. Zekate House - Albanian name: Shtëpia e Zekatëve - Coordinates: 40.0748, 20.1323 - Type of place: architectural - Period: Ottoman - In one line: A masterpiece of southern Albanian architecture, built between 1811 and 1812 by Beqir Zeko, the local general administrator of Ali Pasha of Tepelena. ### 11. Obelisk of Education - Albanian name: Obelisku i Edukimit - Coordinates: 40.07444444, 20.13805556 - Type of place: cultural - Period: modern - In one line: A monument of 124 stone blocks brought from Progonat, seven metres tall, raised to honour the teachers of Liria, the first Albanian school, opened in Gjirokastër in 1908. ### 12. Meçite Church - Albanian name: Kisha e Meçites - Coordinates: 40.076122, 20.140279 - Type of place: religious - Period: Byzantine - In one line: An Orthodox church in the Mëçitë quarter, built in 1784 with a modest facade to respect the Ottoman rules. ### 13. Viroi Lake - Albanian name: Liqeni i Viroit - Coordinates: 40.1004119, 20.1234016 - Type of place: natural - Period: ancient - In one line: An artificial lake of about 17 hectares, 3 kilometres north of the city, created in the 1950s and declared a natural monument in 1982. ### 14. Antigonea - Albanian name: Antigonea - Coordinates: 40.087299, 20.222267 - Type of place: archaeological - Period: ancient - In one line: A Hellenistic city founded around 295 BCE by King Pyrrhus of Epirus in honour of his wife Antigone. ### 15. Labova e Kryqit - Albanian name: Labova e Kryqit - Coordinates: 40.07388889, 20.28916667 - Type of place: religious - Period: Byzantine - In one line: The Church of the Dormition of Saint Mary, one of the oldest in Albania, with a cross-in-square plan and nine layers of Byzantine frescoes. ## Roots Albania in short - 211 places across 10 Albanian cities - 10 cities, each with its own map of places - 28 languages - 2 stories for every place: a short introduction and a story of about six minutes - No account - Download a city's audio, then it plays without a connection - The stories are written by local people Get the app on the [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/id6761542889) for iPhone and on [Google Play](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rootsalbania.app) for Android. Roots Albania for iOS and Android is made by ROOTS SHPK, Rruga Zef Jubani, Nd. 4, H. 1, Ap. 3, Njësia Administrative Nr. 5, 1000 Tiranë, Albania, NUIS M61803028A, D-U-N-S 631176123, +355 69 443 8348, hello@rootsalbania.com, [roots-shpk.com](https://roots-shpk.com) and [rootsearth.com](https://rootsearth.com). ## More from Roots Albania - [All ten cities](https://rootsalbania.com/cities): the ten cities with their number of places. - [What Roots Albania is](https://rootsalbania.com/app): the app in one page: 211 places, ten cities, 28 languages, how it works. - [Questions travellers ask](https://rootsalbania.com/faq): the cities, the languages, the account, listening without a connection. - [The 28 languages](https://rootsalbania.com/languages): every language with its code, and a male and a female voice in each. - [Events and activities](https://rootsalbania.com/events-and-activities): what is on in the city, and things to do you arrange with the provider. - [About Roots Albania](https://rootsalbania.com/about): ROOTS SHPK in Tirana, and the company details. - [Press and facts](https://rootsalbania.com/press): the fact sheet, the logo files, the store links and the contact address. - [Comparisons](https://rootsalbania.com/compare): Roots Albania and eight other apps, the facts of each side by side.