Palace of Culture of Tirana

The Palace of Culture (Albanian Pallati i Kultures ) in the Albanian capital Tirana is the largest cultural center of the country and houses the most important cultural institutions of Albania such as the National Library of Albania (Albanian Biblioteka Kombëtare e Shqipërisë ) and the Theater of Opera and Ballet (Albanian Theatres i Operas dhe Baletit ).

The Palace of Culture was to be the first and central building built in the 1960s in the redesign of Skanderbeg Square, the main square of the city on the site of the old bazaar district. Construction began in 1960 and ended in 1966. The palace rests on a pedestal, high lead to the about a dozen steps. For square, it receives the no-frills building the viewer with a long portico, consisting of 18 narrow but quite deep column. Two of approximately equal length at right angles going to the rear wing give the illusion of a very large compact building. The southern wing of the library is rather narrow, the northern wing, in which the theater is located, more than twice as wide. Is flanked 's Palace of Culture of Et `hem Bey Mosque in the south and the Tirana International Hotel in the north.

The building has 240 rooms - the largest hall can accommodate 1000 people. His stage including revolving stage is 550 square meters and 30 meters high. It also features an exhibition and conference rooms and a café. The National Library houses a collection of over one million works - books, maps, periodicals, microfilms, etc. - and is the largest in the country.