TIRANA, Jan. 17 – The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) and a top commercial bank gifted 36 Vienna benches to the Municipality of Tirana last week, a donation from both companies for Tirana’s Skanderbeg square.
Mayor of Tirana Erion Veliaj was present for the delivery and placement of the benches, along with the Austrian Ambassador to Albania, Johann Sattler and the executives of the donating companies.
Veliaj said the benches will attract even more people to the recently inaugurated square, which is already being used as a space to organize concerts and activities.
“This gift gives more spirit to the square. The squares are infrastructural, urban spaces, but if they have no soul, people and life, they’re not valuable to the city,” Veliaj said.
TAP’s Commercial and External Affairs Director and Albania Country Manager Ulrike Andres said the bench donation is part of TAP’s social and environmental investment program in Albania.
“Tirana is a very welcoming city where I feel like home. Today, as I look at the Skà«nderbej square with these new benches, Tirana looks even closer to us, as we have such benches in Vienna, where my family and I live,” Andres said.
Museums Quartier Vienna are the manufacturers of the 36 Vienna benches, amounting to a total of €70,000. TAP and one of Tirana’s top banks shared the donation costs, while the Austrian Embassy and the Municipality of Vienna gifted five additional benches.
There are currently 41 Vienna benches at the Skanderbeg square, not only providing plenty of space to sit but also enriching the square and grey season with their colors.
The Vienna benches decorate a number of European squares, including those in Vienna and Munich.
