TIRANA, June 11 – A 15th century Ottoman public bath known as hammam in the historic town of Kruja has been restored, sparking debates among social networks whether restorers have preserved its originality with some comments calling it a modern spa.
Criticism began after Prime Minister posted this week a picture of the former medieval hammam and the restored one.
Reacting to comments that described the restored hammam as a 21st century work, Prime Minister Rama said the medieval public bath had been restored by a prestigious team of experts based on a project by Sweden-based Cultural Heritage Without Borders, turning it in its original and functional form.
“In Kruja, the hammam was for many years a forgotten relic. The restoration of this monument of culture, a key vestige of the local community and potential tourism attraction, is an important step toward developing a larger network of service-based heritage sites across Albania and the Balkans,” CHWB says.
The Kruja Hammam was restored by the Swedish foundation Cultural Heritage without Borders in cooperation with the Institute of Monuments of Culture and financed by the Government of Sweden during the years 2013-2015.
The public bath has always been an important element of social life for the civilization. From Roman baths as places of meetings, exercises and exchange to Ottoman style baths housing a place of chat, intrigue, and political discussions, they have both promoted a healthy recipe of cleanliness, relaxation, and socializing. Albania has inherited number of thermaes and hammams from the Roman and Ottoman Empire. They include the Roman thermae in Durrës (1st century AD); the hammam of Shkodra (1540); the hammam of Lezha (1560); the hammam of Tirana (1614); the 17th century Baazar hammam in Elbasan and hammam of Sinan Pasha Castle; the 15th century hammam inside the castle of Kruja and the Gjirokastra’s hammam.
