Skënduli House

The Skënduli House, on your right, is widely considered the best-preserved historic residence in Gjirokastër’s old town and one of the most authentic examples of Ottoman domestic architecture in Albania. Its history spans more than three centuries: the earliest structure dates back to the early eighteenth century, but most of what you see today comes from 1823, when the wealthy Skënduli family, major landowners in the region, enlarged and transformed the house during the city’s most prosperous era. At that time, it was home to several dozen members of the extended family, something you can clearly sense in its impressive scale and the number of living spaces. Take a moment to notice the architecture: thick stone walls, roofs made of stone slabs, wide overhanging eaves supported by wooden beams, finely carved wooden ceilings and decorated fireplaces in almost every room. In Gjirokastër, fireplaces were a clear sign of wealth, and this house has nine of them, an exceptional luxury for the period. The residence also stands out for a number of rare features, including both interior and exterior staircases, several private hammams, rooms reserved for guests and even a space used exclusively for wedding ceremonies, all reflecting the importance of hospitality and family traditions. During the communist period, the house was confiscated and turned into a state ethnographic museum, before being returned to the family in 1993, after the fall of the regime. Today, it is still owned by direct descendants of the Skënduli family and functions as a private museum, where everything, from the furniture to everyday objects, is original, with no staged reconstruction, offering a remarkable opportunity to experience this heritage exactly as it has been passed down through generations.