Obelisk of Education

The Obelisk of Education, in Gjirokastër

The Obelisk of Education, the Obelisku i Arsimit, celebrates the first Albanian school, at the highest point of the old town of Gjirokastër. The Gjirokastër audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this monument, linked to a founding moment of the history of the country.

The monument of the first Albanian school

At the highest point of the old town of Gjirokastër stands the Obelisku i Arsimit, the Obelisk of Education. This monument is located just next to the site of the first Albanian-language school, a highly symbolic place. For centuries, under Ottoman domination, teaching in the Albanian language was forbidden or hindered, and the opening of the first schools in Albanian marked an essential stage in the affirmation of the identity and the national consciousness of the country, at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. The obelisk pays tribute to this struggle for education and language, founding values of modern Albania. It is an important place of memory of Gjirokastër, which also offers a fine view.

What to see

Here you discover the obelisk that celebrates the first Albanian-language school, next to its site, at the highest point of the old town, a tribute to the struggle for education and language, founding values of modern Albania; the place also offers a fine view. The Obelisk of Education is a place of memory of Gjirokastër. It is a stop to be discovered, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Obelisk of Education lies at the highest point of the old town of Gjirokastër, reachable on foot by a few steps and sloping alleys. It is an open-air monument, freely accessible, which also offers a viewpoint. It is best to bring good shoes for the climb.

What does the Obelisk of Education celebrate in Gjirokastër?

It celebrates the first Albanian-language school, whose site is very close; it pays tribute to the struggle for education and language, founding values of modern Albania, at a time when teaching in Albanian was long hindered.

Where is the Obelisk of Education?

At the highest point of the old town of Gjirokastër, in Albania.