The magazine of the art-form of the photo-essay
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June 2015 back issue
photographs by Corentin Fohlen
story by Corentin Fohlen and David Breger
They can be seen all over Albania, from tourist beaches to deserted hills: sad concrete mushrooms inherited from the
communist era. Over 750,000 of these bunkers were built by Enver Hoxha, the paranoid leader that ruled Albania from
1944 to 1985. They were supposed to protect the country from an invasion... that never came.
Nowadays, the bunkers are still everywhere, but slowly, Albanians are saying goodbye. They are getting rid of them to
earn a few hundred euros by reusing the scrap that they are made of. For the past two years demolitions have
frequently been carried out, following the rise in steel prices.
The remaining bunkers are part of the landscape. Albanians use them as barns, stables or junk cupboards but most of
the time, they pass them by. They only arouse the curiosity of tourists.
Some Albanians try to give them a second life - turning them into a tattoo shop, a beach bar or a restaurant.
Rehabilitating or conserving them for historical purposes is still rare.
In Albania, a country still in transition and a potential candidate for EU membership, the end of the bunkers is an
important psychological step, allowing them to forget the dark years of the dictatorship. But the omnipresence of these
heavy concrete monsters - built to be indestructible - serves as a reminder of how difficult it is to escape the past.
© Corentin Fohlen/Divergence. Kavaja, Albania. June 2013. Bunker used by Arif,
fisherman, on the beach near Kavaja.
© Corentin Fohlen/Divergence. Tirana, Albania, June 2013. In the suburbs of the
capital Tirana.
© Corentin Fohlen/Divergence. Albania, June 2013. On the road north of Tiran.
© Corentin Fohlen/Divergence. MamMamurrasuras, Albania, June 2013. Catholic
Church of Mamurras (north of Tirana).
© Corentin Fohlen/Divergence. Tirana, Albania. June 2013. Memorial "Postblock"
inaugurated in March 2013 by the former dissident Fatos Lubonja and the artist Ardian
Isufi at the heart of the old quarter of the communist nomenklatura (ruling class).
Visited by tourists.
© Corentin Fohlen/Divergence. Albania, June 2013. Near the coastal of the city of
Kavaje.
© Corentin Fohlen/Divergence. Albania, June 2013. Bunker in a field near the
archaeological site of Apollonia.
© Corentin Fohlen/Divergence. Albania, June 2013. Destruction of several large
bunkers by the Pojan family, near the tourist site of Apollonia. They will keep only one,
as a souvenir and to attract tourists.
© Corentin Fohlen/Divergence. Albania, June 2013. Village at the edge of Lake Ohrid.
© Corentin Fohlen/Divergence. Albania, June 2013. Bunkers destroyed near Saranda.
© Corentin Fohlen/Divergence. Vlora, Albania, June 2013. Football field on a military
airfield in the city of Vlora.
© Corentin Fohlen/Divergence. Albania, June 2013. On the road between Tirana and
Elbasan.
© Corentin Fohlen/Divergence. Koplik, Albania, June 2013.
© Corentin Fohlen/Divergence. Pogradec, Albania, June 2013. Bunkers destroyed
around Lake Ohrid during the construction of the road that runs alongside the lake.