{"id":85204,"date":"2026-06-14T16:28:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T14:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/?p=85204"},"modified":"2026-06-14T19:39:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T17:39:33","slug":"property-ownership-issues-in-gjirokaster-historic-buildings-abandoned-museum-heritage-values-at-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/property-ownership-issues-in-gjirokaster-historic-buildings-abandoned-museum-heritage-values-at-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Property Ownership Issues in Gjirokast\u00ebr: Historic Buildings Abandoned, Museum Heritage Values at Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">In Gjirokast\u00ebr, property ownership disputes involving protected cultural monuments are threatening the preservation of the Stone City\u2019s historical and architectural heritage. As a result of these issues, several historic buildings and traditional houses have deteriorated or lost part of their museum and cultural value.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">\u201cOne of the main challenges we are facing in Gjirokast\u00ebr\u2019s historic center regarding the restoration and maintenance of Cultural Monument buildings is the issue of ownership. This has created several problems, as many properties cannot be sold despite strong market demand from investors interested in converting them into guesthouses or other tourism-related facilities. Another issue is the lack of restoration work, since any project or initiative funded by donors requires the consent of all co-owners,\u201d said Ardis Duka, Director of the Regional Directorate of Cultural Heritage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Authorities responsible for cultural monuments are currently carrying out restoration work on some damaged buildings. However, implementing such projects remains difficult in heritage properties affected by ownership disputes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">\u201cThis issue requires a solution through legal initiatives and stricter measures, potentially even extending to expropriation. Specifically, the Ministry of Culture is drafting a plan for several properties that could be taken into public use through expropriation, transformed into museums, and opened to visitors. This would also help prevent their further degradation,\u201d Duka explained.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to its unique architectural and historical values, Gjirokast\u00ebr has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2005. The city has also become one of Albania\u2019s most attractive destinations for international tourism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Gjirokast\u00ebr, property ownership disputes involving protected cultural monuments are threatening the preservation of the Stone City\u2019s historical and architectural heritage. As a result of these issues, several historic buildings and traditional houses have deteriorated or lost part of their museum and cultural value. \u201cOne of the main challenges we are facing in Gjirokast\u00ebr\u2019s historic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":85205,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153,1803],"tags":[243,151],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Property Ownership Issues in Gjirokast\u00ebr: Historic Buildings Abandoned, Museum Heritage Values at Risk - Euronews Albania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/property-ownership-issues-in-gjirokaster-historic-buildings-abandoned-museum-heritage-values-at-risk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Property Ownership Issues in Gjirokast\u00ebr: Historic Buildings Abandoned, Museum Heritage Values at Risk - Euronews Albania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In Gjirokast\u00ebr, property ownership disputes involving protected cultural monuments are threatening the preservation of the Stone City\u2019s historical and architectural heritage. As a result of these issues, several historic buildings and traditional houses have deteriorated or lost part of their museum and cultural value. \u201cOne of the main challenges we are facing in Gjirokast\u00ebr\u2019s historic [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/property-ownership-issues-in-gjirokaster-historic-buildings-abandoned-museum-heritage-values-at-risk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Euronews Albania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/euronews.al\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-14T14:28:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-06-14T17:39:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Gjirokaster.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1458\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"882\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nen Si\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@euronewsalbania\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@euronewsalbania\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nen Si\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/property-ownership-issues-in-gjirokaster-historic-buildings-abandoned-museum-heritage-values-at-risk\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/property-ownership-issues-in-gjirokaster-historic-buildings-abandoned-museum-heritage-values-at-risk\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nen Si\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/444d280f35e047949b7f0bc08093608f\"},\"headline\":\"Property Ownership Issues in Gjirokast\u00ebr: Historic Buildings Abandoned, Museum Heritage Values at Risk\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-14T14:28:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-14T17:39:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/property-ownership-issues-in-gjirokaster-historic-buildings-abandoned-museum-heritage-values-at-risk\/\"},\"wordCount\":265,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/property-ownership-issues-in-gjirokaster-historic-buildings-abandoned-museum-heritage-values-at-risk\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Gjirokaster.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"kryesore 1\",\"Kryesoret\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Albania\",\"Latest news\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/property-ownership-issues-in-gjirokaster-historic-buildings-abandoned-museum-heritage-values-at-risk\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/euronews.al\/en\/property-ownership-issues-in-gjirokaster-historic-buildings-abandoned-museum-heritage-values-at-risk\/\",\"name\":\"Property Ownership Issues in Gjirokast\u00ebr: Historic Buildings Abandoned, Museum Heritage Values at Risk - 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